By Late August, the turn of summer. The days are still warm but the nights have a new quality to them — a coolness after dark that wasn't there in July, a first hint of what's coming. I've been noticing this transition every year for thirty-seven years on this farm, and it still gets my attention. Summer doesn't announce its departure. It just starts becoming something else.
I picked the last of the corn this week — the stalks are browning, the season over — and made a corn chowder that I've been putting off all summer. It's a Helen recipe, rich with cream and bacon and fresh corn cut right off the cob. The kind of thing you want on a night that's just cool enough to want something warm in a bowl. It was excellent. I ate two bowls for dinner and felt no remorse.
The tomatoes are slowing. The Brandywines are done, the cherries still going. I've been dehydrating the cherries this week, which concentrates the flavor into something almost intense — excellent on pizza, in pastas, as a snack directly from the jar. The dehydrator has been running for three days.
School is starting for the boys next week — some version of school, hybrid, Teddy in person a few days a week. Our Saturday cooking lessons will shift to accommodate the schedule. We'll figure it out. These lessons have become something important to both of us, I think. He told me recently that he's made the pasta three more times on his own since I taught him. Three times is not an accident. Three times is a practice beginning.
The corn chowder used up the last of what the garden had left to say about summer, and with the squash coming in now and the nights cooling down, I found myself turning to another harvest staple that Teddy and I have been meaning to work through together — spaghetti squash, which keeps well into fall and takes to a dozen different preparations depending on what you’re in the mood for. Three times making a thing on your own is a practice beginning, as I said about the pasta — and this is the kind of recipe that rewards the same kind of patient repetition.
Spaghetti Squash
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 large spaghetti squash (about 3–4 lbs)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, torn
- Red pepper flakes, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 400°F. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Brush the cut sides with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Roast the squash. Place the squash halves cut-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 40–45 minutes, until the flesh is tender and pulls away easily in strands with a fork.
- Shred the squash. Let the squash cool for 5 minutes, then use a fork to scrape the flesh into long spaghetti-like strands. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Sauté the garlic and tomatoes. In a skillet over medium heat, warm the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook another 3–4 minutes until they begin to soften and release their juices.
- Combine and serve. Toss the squash strands with the garlic and tomato mixture. Top with Parmesan, fresh basil, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Serve warm straight from the pan.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 180 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 280mg