Friday, September 30, 2011

Spaghetti Squash with Kale Pesto

Well, it's happened. I'm on a veggie kick. I haven't eaten, bought, or made a piece of meat for over a week either for my kids or myself. My husband and I took a long look at our eating habits and I realized that we were getting fatter and raising our kids to grow up as fat, slobby Americans too. Then we watched a documentary called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". We were stunned at how the fat seemed to melt off of the two guys in the movie and how quickly it happened. That was it for me. We changed our eating habits the next day. Since then, my husband and I have been drinking home made juice for breakfast and lunch while snacking on raw fruits and veggies throughout the day. We finish it off with a healthy veggie based dinner. We're only five days into the "new" us, but I've lost 5 pounds and my husband has lost 7. I'm liking this new diet and I feel like for the most part, it's something we can continue to sustain once we've lost the amount of weight we'd like to lose. As a result, I'm posting vegan friendly dishes, of course. There won't be any bread, rice, or pasta either.

As a side note, I have still been feeding my kids some carbs. The little dears are growing and need a balanced intake of food. But now they're getting a lot more fruits and veggies and less processed crap.


Spaghetti Squash with Kale Pesto

Ingredients:
2-4 large spaghetti squash
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
½ pound lacinato kale, stems removed, coarsely chopped (1 medium bunch should do)
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup olive oil
½ tsp Emril's Essence Seasoning, plus extra to taste (recipe follows)
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (this is optional)
Ground black pepper to taste

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut squash in halves, scoop out seeds and pulp. Rub olive oil around inside squash and at edges. Season with salt, pepper, and Seasoning to taste. Place on aluminum foil lined baking sheet face down. Bake for 30-40 minutes until skin is easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add kale and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. While kale is cooking, brown walnuts in a heavy skillet with no oil until toasted. You'll need to stir these constantly so they don't burn. If they burn, they'll turn bitter. You'll know they are toasted because they'll darken just slightly and be fragrant. Remove them from heat.

When kale is soft, drain it and toss it in a blender or food processor with garlic and walnuts. Mix until kale is in tiny pieces. Add oil and Seasoning and pulse the items together. Transfer to a new container and hand mix in the cheese. Add pepper to taste. (This pesto can be kept for up to a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

When the squash is done, take it out, flip it over and let cool so that you can handle it without burning your fingers. When ready, scrape out the spaghetti like strands from the squash onto plates and top with the pesto. Voila! Enjoy!

Emeril's Essence Seasoning

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Blend all together in airtight container.

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