The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Whichever name is fine, but most people call me some version of my nickname, which is Crumpet.

As an example, here’s some post we received while staying at Giz’s house in March. (I’m not entirely sure Gizo’s children even know my real name.)


On the subject of wine, we have a friend in Dublin who makes hedgerow wine, but we’re sticking to the grape stuff for now, and as grapes don’t grow in Ireland, our juice sadly comes from a box.

I made a big pot of chana masala:
I used a bit too much garam masala and not enough spice (which mostly came from just a single lonely red jalapeño). I had it with yogurt and mango chutney and some underwhelming store-bought garlic naan.

I made a tasty acorn squash thing:
Roasted cubes of acorn squash and onion with crumbled bacon, feta cheese, fresh lemon juice, and fresh herbs from the garden (basil, parsley, chives, green onions).

Question: I also bought a spaghetti squash as part of an annual moment of autumnal seasonal weakness. (I always get caught up in buying pretty winter squashes and forget about how spaghetti squash don’t taste very good). Does anyone have any great recipes or ideas for them? I guess my default idea is to make tomato sauce and pretend the squash is some kind of hideous, watery spaghetti, but I’m holding out hope for something actually good.

Squash-wise I’m a fan of roasted squash soup but I don’t know how well spaghetti squash would work for that.

It’s stringy and kind of flavorless so I’m not sure how well it would work as soup

Yeah I don't cook with squash often and when I do it's acorn or butternut squash, both of which are delicious when roasted and soupified.

re: spaghetti squash

Cut it in half. Bake it. Spaghetti it (with a fork.) Add marinara sauce (don't skimp) and homemade chicken strips and cheese. Bake/broil it for another five minutes (closer to 10 if baking.) Let it cool. I eat one half for dinner and am so stuffed I typically don't eat breakfast the next morning. It's delicious.

The hardest part is frying/air frying the chicken strips while it's baking. Just because it can be messy.

If you want the real recipe (with more accurate times etc.,) let me know and I'll go look when I get home.

I find the hardest part of roasting a butternut squash is cutting the damn thing in half. (Not talking spaghetti squash.)

Pigfarmer Jr wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 07, 2020 2:26 pm

re: spaghetti squash

Cut it in half. Bake it. Spaghetti it (with a fork.) Add marinara sauce (don't skimp) and homemade chicken strips and cheese. Bake/broil it for another five minutes (closer to 10 if baking.) Let it cool. I eat one half for dinner and am so stuffed I typically don't eat breakfast the next morning. It's delicious.

The hardest part is frying/air frying the chicken strips while it's baking. Just because it can be messy.

If you want the real recipe (with more accurate times etc.,) let me know and I'll go look when I get home.

Well, that recipe started out pretty healthy, at least.

Pigfarmer Jr wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 07, 2020 2:26 pm

re: spaghetti squash

Cut it in half. Bake it. Spaghetti it (with a fork.) Add marinara sauce (don't skimp) and homemade chicken strips and cheese. Bake/broil it for another five minutes (closer to 10 if baking.) Let it cool. I eat one half for dinner and am so stuffed I typically don't eat breakfast the next morning. It's delicious.

The hardest part is frying/air frying the chicken strips while it's baking. Just because it can be messy.

If you want the real recipe (with more accurate times etc.,) let me know and I'll go look when I get home.

This sounds delicious in a faux chicken parm way, I will add it to my spaghetti squash ideas list!

fluffy wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 07, 2020 4:17 pm

Well, that recipe started out pretty healthy, at least.

Define healthy.

I do low carb so if I skimp on the marinara sauce and use substitute bread crumbs then it works for me.

So re the spaghetti squash: I ended up doing a bechamel cheese sauce with all the odds and ends of cheese I wanted to use up (mozzarella, blue, Gouda, cheddar) plus some paprika, nutmeg, garlic, salt, and white pepper. Halved, baked, and spaghetti’d the squash, mixed in the cheese sauce and chiffonaded green stuff from the garden (basil, parsley, chives, green onions, flat and curly kale), topped with parm and broiled until crispy and golden. Delicious, as far as spaghetti squash goes, but I’m probably headed for a stomachache later.

Tuesday is for nachos.

Made some chipotle and poblano chicken enchiladas.
They look better than they taste but I have ideas on how to improve it for tomorrow (and I still have plenty of filling left for it).

Also, at the grocery store today they had a great deal on Chinese fermented bean paste, and I bought a tub out of curiosity. It has a really amazing flavor to it but I'm not sure what I should actually use it in, beside maybe adding it to soups and stir-fry, neither of which I make all that often although given the rapidly cooling weather that's probably going to change somewhat. Anyone have ideas?

Cooking with Olive Oil!

Over the weekend, I went to this fantastic new Middle Eastern grocery store that opened up nearby, and got a bunch of treats. My favorite was this Russian pine cone jam (!) that tastes very piney—and the pine cones are soft and edible! It’s a bit of an acquired taste, but I think it would probably be good in a gin and tonic, I tried it mixed with soda water and that was pretty refreshing too. They also had fresh olives, so I have a jar brining now and will find out in a couple of months if I did it right: And some fancy pumpkins and fresh fava beans and Bulgarian sheep’s milk feta, which became parts of last night’s veggie feast:

• roasted Savoy cabbage with walnuts and lemon and red pepper flakes
• roasted pumpkin with hazelnuts, walnuts, fresh parsley, green onions, lemon, sumac, and toasted sunflower seed oil
• green peas and fresh fava beans with feta, lemon, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh parsley

Fava beans are so much trouble to prepare, but so delicious.

I also now have fresh chestnuts, which I’ve prepped for roasting in the fireplace soon, and fancy olives and grilling cheese, and some whole mace, which was a gift from a friend and I have no idea what to do with it.

How do you fit this into your spice grinder? Also, I am making vanilla extract from vanilla pods and bourbon. Ready in only six months!

Tri-color rotini in a cheddar-based sauce mornay. Yeah yeah it’s just Mac n cheese with different pasta. But cheese sauce from scratch y’all.

Tonight the sun is shining, the beer is cold, and the ‘too is on the bbq.

And I am listening to Lali Puna

Honestly, a bit of salt and pepper on the ‘roo, cooked rare and sliced thinly - this is one of the best finger foods.

Is ‘too a typo for ‘roo or are you also having grilled cockatoo?