Gold Medal Spaghetti Squash for Vancouver

In honor of the 2010 winter games I am feeling the need to pay homage to our brethren to the north, Ooooooh Canada!

I was first exposed to Canadian culture at the age of 7 when my father took my excited brother and I to a WWF match in White Plains, NY. We were fortunate enough to view a cage match in which the Mountie (from Canada) gave a whoopin' to the Big Boss Man. I will never forget how his Canadian mountie baton emitted sparks when touching the cage walls thus shocking the Boss Man who was leaning against them. My next Canadian experience came in my French 1 class in the 9th grade when I learned about French-Canadian culture through the lens of "TeleFrancais," a zany French-Canadian teaching show featuring a dancing pineapple - "L'ananas son dances?" Finally in college I met some Canadians. They all played ice hockey, wore really wooly intarsia sweaters and said strange things like "When I was in grade 8" instead of "When I was in the 8th grade" and smoked a lot of pot. Thus my experiences have left me with a positive impression of Canadian culture.

But aside from a delicious breakfast on a trip to Montreal, I have not experienced Canadian cuisine. In researching the matter I have found many a hearty dish to keep those crazy Canucks warm. In looking up what is local and currently in season in British Columbia, I am drawn to the wonderfully delicious spaghetti squash. So in honor of the Vancouver games I’ll share with you my adaptation of this great recipe I found and made last week…

Baked Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Style
Adapted from Recipes.com
Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves minced
1 large (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cube chicken or veggie bouillon (this is in soup aisle)
1 can chopped black olives- drained
1 can artichoke hearts - drained and chopped
1 ½ cup shredded low–fat mozzarella or yogurt cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese (optional)

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
-Cover a baking pan with tinfoil and spray with Pam.
- Place squash halves cut side down on the baking sheet.
-Bake squash 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife can be easily inserted. Remove from oven, and cool. (KEEP OVEN ON)
-Meanwhile, spray a large pan with Pam. Over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until golden brown. Stir in tomatoes, bouillon cube, and some salt and pepper.
- Saute for about 20 minutes, and let sit on low heat until the squash is done cooking.
-Scoop out the inside of the squash with a fork (they should come out in strands, reserving the shells.
-Layer each half of squash shell with a spoonful of the sauce, a layer of spaghetti squash strands, olives, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers until shells are full, or until all of the ingredients are used. Top with Parmesan cheese.
-Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until Parmesan cheese melts.