Have you noticed that lots of people are buying spiral slicers that turn veggies like beets, zucchini, and sweet potatoes into “noodles?” It’s a great way to by-pass grains and get more veggies in the diet. Plus kids love ‘em. Veggies are much more nutrient dense than a gluten or gluten free pasta. Squash is filled with fiber, vitamins, and nutrients. If you don’t have that slicer gadget, here’s a recipe for the next best thing: making “spaghetti” out of squash. And tis the season because there is a bounty of squash in the markets now.

The yellow squash are often labeled as spaghetti squash in the produce section so you can easily find them. Bring one home, slice it in half the long way. Take a tablespoon and scrape out the middle part where the seeds are – much like you would scrape out a pumpkin – and discard. Then get a roasting pan big enough to fit both halves of the squash (usually that’s a 9” by 13” baking dish). Put in about ½ cup of water and then set both halves in the pan, inside down. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, uncovered.

Take it out of the oven, let it cool. Get a mixing bowl and a fork. Use the fork to scrape the inside fleshy part of the squash into the bowl. You will see that what you scrape looks like spaghetti!

At this point, you can use a marinara sauce or whatever you like. My way is to add some butter, some roasted pine nuts, chopped raw red bell pepper, and sage. I’m no green thumb in the garden but even I can grow sage so I have fresh leaves to pick and chop up for this dish. If fresh is not available, then sprinkle some dried sage from your spice rack.

Serve it cool. Squash tends to be generous – we always have leftovers. I put leftovers in the refrigerator and serve them again in a few days.