after dinner cooking.

Today will be my first of many posts about food. I'm not an expert by any means but I'm very interested in nutrition and food, specifically our bodies are fueled for physical activity. I have took an introductory nutrition class at Roxbury Community College last spring; it was a great opportunity to build my knowledge about the topic and I'm even more interested now in food and nutrition since finishing. 


This fall I've focused on eating local, seasonal foods as much as possible and have been buying a lot of squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and turnips. I've discovered many types of squash in the last couple months (acorn, buttercup, etc.) and so tonight I decided to try spaghetti squash since I've eaten or cooked it before. I found this great recipe on allrecipes.com and had most of the ingredients already on hand. The original recipe is below - the crossed out ingredients were substituted by the ones I've added next to them. It turned out great!


Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 tablespoons sliced black olives hot peppers
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil rosemary
My Addition: 3/4 cup chickpeas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place spaghetti squash cut sides down on the prepared baking sheet, and bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a sharp knife can be inserted with only a little resistance. Remove squash from oven, and set aside to cool enough to be easily handled.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook only until tomatoes are warm.
4. Use a large spoon to scoop the stringy pulp from the squash, and place in a medium bowl. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, chickpeas, and rosemary. Serve warm.

I also cooked a few other things tonight because I had more energy than I knew what to do with, which usually leads to me cooking or baking. Here's a list:

- Homemade Vegetable Broth (recipe from Moosewood Cookbook); froze for later use

- Ginger Roasted Winter Vegetables (recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance); will eat this week for lunch/dinner

- Vegan Black Bean Burgers (recipe from Veganomicon); froze individually for quick dinners in the next couple months

Finally, I made Roasted Chickpeas. These are a great snack and great source of protein. Since I eat a mostly vegetarian diet, I'm always looking for new ways to get protein. Vegetarians/vegans need to keep mental notes of what their eating to make sure they are eating enough complete protein; mixing and matching the right foods is easy (more on this topic in a later post). 

By the end of this cooking extravaganza, I realized that it might be a good idea to have at least one picture, so my roommate was nice enough to take the one below.

Ingredients (adapted from an allrecipes.com post)

• 1 (12 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt 
• cayenne pepper
• dried thyme

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. Blot chickpeas with a paper towel to dry them. In a bowl, toss chickpeas with olive oil, and season to taste with salt, thyme and cayenne pepper, if using. Spread on a baking sheet, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until browned and crunchy. Watch carefully the last few minutes to avoid burning.

Run in the morning - rain rain, go away.