Rosemary Almond Spaghetti Squash

 I love using spaghetti squash in place of spaghetti, as it has no gluten and is easy on digestion.  It makes a wonderful "carrier" for any kind of spaghetti sauce.  Last week I made a meat sauce with mushrooms and served it on the squash. Dinner guest/band mate John loved it. ;)  So this dish incorporates some nuts for added texture, and herbs for nutrition and lovely flavor!  It would go really well with my Perfect Herb & Garlic Roasted Chicken.  Enjoy!


Rosemary Almond Spaghetti Squash
Makes 4-6 sides

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
2 T minced onions
1 T minced garlic
2 T crushed or slivered almonds, plus more to garnish
1-2 tsp fresh rosemary (minced)
1 tsp sea salt
Black pepper & more salt to garnish

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375.  Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.   Place face down in a glass baking pan with about 1/2 in of water.  Pierce the squash several times.  Bake for 35-45 minutes, until you flip the squash over and it's fork tender.  Let cool.

In a saute pan, get the oil and butter hot and add the garlic and onions. Saute for a few minutes, until fragrant and soft.  Add the almonds and give them a few minutes, turning the pan or stirring frequently.  Scoop the squash into the pan and add rosemary and salt. Stir until mixed well.  Serve hot with some more nuts to garnish.

Maifun Noodles {Gluten Free}

Many people range from sensitive to highly allergic to gluten, the protein found in wheat.   It's in everything from cookies & cakes to crackers, cereal, bread & pasta.   Allergic or not, gluten really gums up the system. Have you ever tried mixing water & flour?  The combination turns into a pasty glue, which coats the inside of your digestive tract & intestines.  I limit my consumption of anything wheat (pita bread, cookies, pasta, etc.) to a few servings per week and am always on the look-out for wheat-free alternatives to pasta.  To be fair, white rice can have the same affect (although less people are allergic to rice), so I also limit white rice to only once a week or so.

As far as gluten-free alternatives to wheat (semolina) pasta, we've tried everything from soba, (buckwheat), to brown rice pasta to white rice stick noodles to quinoa pasta to glass noodles (mung beans) to konjac noodles to corn noodles. Some are better than others.  Quinoa noodles come out al dente.  Brown rice noodles tend to cook well on the outside, but stay a little chewy/hard on the inside.  The konjac noodles have an odd smell...  Soba are good but very hearty.

Today in the "Exotic Foods" section at Meijer (probably my favorite aisle), I discovered Maifun, or thin white rice vermicelli noodles.   Really, it's nothing new, I've had white rice noodles plenty of times, just never this tiny and never with shrimp scampi.  YUM.

They look exactly like angel hair pasta and are very mildly flavored.  They only need to be soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, which saves you the time of boiling them (although I actually did warm my filtered water on the stove because I am anal about tap water, especially when it is hot and cloudy).  Debating whether to make an Asian stir fry creation or go the scampi route, I let Matt decide.  This is not a tough decision for an Italian. ;) I served the scampi with a super flavorful & colorful Greek salad.

1 lb Argentinian Red Shrimp (wild caught) sauteed in organic butter (3-4 tbsp), olive oil, 2 minced cloves garlic, juice of a lemon, sea salt, fresh pepper, big handful of parsley.  (Toss the rice noodles with the shrimp for several minutes).  Check the flavor & adjust.  :)

Favorite kind of salad....Greek!  Organic baby spinach, carrots, steamed yellow beet, kalamata olives, gorgeous avocado.  Best Quick Greek Dressing EVER:  equal parts red wine vinegar &olive oil, pinch of salt, sumac & a clove of garlic. Whisk or shake until really well mixed.  In the summer I add fresh herbs and steep them in there. It lasts weeks on my counter.

Whether you're gluten sensitive, have celiac disease or are just wheated down, I definitely recommend trying Maifun noodles!