Easy Peasy Pitas

I normally don't like to eat other people's food.  I don't know how clean they are in their kitchens (I wash my hands at least a dozen times while cooking) and I don't know what they put in there (eggs and mayonnaise, probably).  So I politely refuse and use my excuse of "weird eating habits," and no one pushes it further.  A few months ago, though, one of my coworkers made a dish that she said was vegan and something I would like.  She also said she made it knowing that I could eat it.  You can't really refuse that offer, so I decided to give into my phobia and try it.

It was a mixture of black beans, chickpeas, chopped onions, green peppers and corn tossed in olive oil and lemon juice, that she put inside a whole wheat pita.  Right up my alley!  I wrote down the few ingredients on a post-in note and then put it somewhere that I wouldn't find for another few months.  (Typical). Well, a few weeks ago I decided I wanted a healthy lunch that I could eat all week, so I got all the ingredients and mixed them together in a large bowl.  The problem was, I can't find pitas here anywhere. The only store that had them had pocketless pitas-- which I didn't learn until I got home.  I tried to make it work, but that was kind of a disaster.   No, that was a huge disaster. Word of advice: don't try to turn pocketless pitas into pockets or you will have a big mess on your hands.

It turned out I had enough to feed an army and nothing to put it in, so I ate it plain with a spoon.  The thing with this meal is that it's better for a house full of people.  There is just so much of it that after awhile it gets boring eating the same thing over and over again.  And it seemed like no matter how much I ate, the amount never seemed to get smaller.  It's the meal that never ends!  On the upside, it's tasty, super easy to make, really cheap (minus the pitas, all the ingredients probably cost about $5), and it has lots of protein with the chickpeas and black beans.  It's one of those foods that you feel good about eating, because you know none of the ingredients are processed or full of chemicals.

If you don't want to make this a meal, it can serve just as easily as an appetizer.  Instead of pita bread, use pita chips to scoop it up!

Fiesta Spaghetti Squash

I've always wanted to cook with squash but I really had no idea where to even begin: how do you know what size and shape to buy?  How do you cut it?  How do you cook it?  Sure there are recipes and instruction guides online, but they always seem so intimidating with their four dozen ingredients and a process that takes way too long.  But it's autumn and squash is in season, and I thought this year I would figure it out.

We went to the pumpkin patch and picked out a pumpkin, one acorn squash, one butternut squash, and one spaghetti squash.  They were super cheap at the patch, compared to the grocery store.  The first night, I decided to make a "pasta" dish with spaghetti squash by using garlic, olive oil and parmesan.  There are a few different ways to cook a spaghetti squash.  Since quash is really thick and hard to cut when it's uncooked, I went with the option that would allow me to cut it the easiest.  I threw it in the oven for an hour, let it cool for a few minutes after, and then I was able to pierce the skin very easily with a knife.  Next I scooped out the seeds like a pumpkin, which is kind of a pain, and then used a fork to "shred" the strands of the squash.

The squash in general has a very subtle flavor, which makes it good for a pasta substitute.  It has enough taste that you can toss it with a few ingredients and it's pretty good and relatively easy.  I had no idea how to judge the amount of spaghetti-like strands that come from a spaghetti squash, so I had a lot leftover-- a whole half of the squash, to be exact.  I probably shouldn't have saved it in the refrigerator, but I did anyway, figuring I would make something else with it the next day.

Well, the next day, I had a taste for Mexican... but I had a half of a spaghetti squash leftover to use, and I really didn't want it to go to waste.  So I got online, searched for "Mexican and spaghetti squash" and came up with a surprisingly great recipe.  I added a splash of water to the spaghetti squash and re-heated it in the microwave.  Meanwhile, on the stovetop, I combined black beans, corn, diced onions, tomatoes and peppers, and whatever spices I thought would give it a little flair.  Once everything was cooked and heated, I mixed the veggie and bean mixture with spaghetti squash and sprinkled a little bit of Monterrey Jack cheese on top.  This brightly colorful dish came out better than I had expected!  And aside from the cheese, it's pretty healthy and full of all good stuff.   I will definitely make this again because it was so easy and tasty, and had a lot of different flavors that actually worked together.  Who would have thought?