Spaghetti Squash!

I read a lot of food blogs and books and magazines and watch a lot of food shows, so I have heard of spaghetti squash a lot but it always sounded gross to me.  If you have never heard of it, it is squash that comes apart in long, spaghetti-like strands.  I always pictured it as the stringy gross bits inside a pumpkin.  Barf!

However when I was working in Vancouver a couple weeks ago, the amazing caterers on our job site made spaghetti squash for lunch one day and I tried it.  AHH so good!  It was not stringy at all - more pasta-like actually.  I definitely get now how people would use it for a pasta substitute.  It's not mushy at all like other squashes get either; it's an al dente squash.  It's as if it was actually invented to mimic spaghetti.

I bought one for supper tonight and looked up how to cook it.  The easiest method on the internet said to poke some holes in it and microwave it for 12 minutes and then scoop out the seeds and squash.

YUM, like for serious, it is that easy to cook and so delicious.  I put some breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese on mine.  Also - a whole squash makes the equivalent of just under a regular sized box of spaghetti.

This is one of those life-changing food discoveries, like Greek yogurt!  An actual vegetable pasta substitute.  Hooray!

My spaghetti squash supper, served with KFC-style oven-fried chicken.  A supper to be jealous of.

UPDATE:  The seeds are just like pumpkin seeds and you can roast them like pumpkin seeds and they are awesome!!!!  Best food EVER.