Spaghetti Squash Macaroni and Cheese

At the potluck I hosted this week, blogger Catherine made a Spanish Macaroni and Cheese. I was inspired by her dish to make something cheesy at home. I came up with this Spaghetti Squash Macaroni and Cheese. It is not exactly like macaroni and cheese but a healthy, quick substitute. The creaminess reminds me of a risotto. Nice for a dinner when you are dining alone. A weekday supper.


Here is my recipe for Spaghetti Squash Macaroni and Cheese(1 serving or 2 appetizer servings)

2-3 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of butter
Half a spaghetti squash
2 tablespoons of flour
Milk as desired
1/2 a cup of grated Cheese(I used Beecher's Flagship and Parmesano Reggiano)
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
Chopped Chives

1. Place squash cut side up in a microwave dish with 1/4 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap and cook on high for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on size of squash. Cook more if necessary and comb out strands.
2. In a saucepan, saute the garlic in butter.
3. Add spaghetti squash, 2 tablespoons of milk and 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir.
4. Add Cheese and mix until you get the consistency that you like. Add more cheese
if needed.
5. Chop chives and mix in. Season with salt and pepper.

To decorate the plate(only if you want to feel like you are in a restaurant). I used olive oil with chives in the food processor. I placed it in a squeeze
bottle.

Food TV For Seattle Bloggers

I videotaped each blogger's dish at the Food Blogger Event. Here they are!

Here is the Yemenite pita that I made from the recipe found in the December issue of Gourmet.
Lachooch

I made Iraqi Style Kuba, looks bad but tastes good

Sweet Potato Pancakes, Labane,Lachooch and Zaatar

Winewall

Anticiplate


Herbivoracious(listen to Michael's daughter saying "I want some water).


Italian Woman at The Table


Listen to Ronald from Cornichon give tips on Italian Cocktails and where to buy cheap wine.

Cakespy

Madeleine

Seattle Food Bloggers Event

All the recipes had been building up inside, the food obsessiveness was starting to show exterior signs, the foodie twinkle in our eyes was starting to shine, our mouths were watering waiting for the next dish and most of all we needed other food obsessed bloggers to assure us that it is okay to immerse yourself in the food obsession.
It was time to release all the foodie tension. What a better way to do it? Another food blogger event!
This time we had a potluck brunch. Michael from Herbivoracious brought a white bean salad with grilled onions and his gorgeous daughter.
Chef Paul Redman and Helen Redman of Winewall brought country style pate made of pork from a pig that Paul actually butchered himself.
Kari of Anticiplate brought a fig and goat cheese crostini and her taste tester husband Eric.
Catherine from the Madeleine was a little late because she was taking her dish out of the oven, Saffron Fideos con Chorizo y Piquillos en Cazuela (Spanish Macaroni & Cheese). Her hubby Ken has all the tasting qualifications since he has worked as a chef himself.
Mr and Mrs Cakespy brought fruit scones and some of Mrs. Cakespy's uber-cute artwork. Candace of Italian Woman at the Table brought biscotti with chocolate chips.
Ronald of Cornichon made Italian Cocktails for everyone. Actually he set up his own little bar which was just what we needed to wash down the the gargantuan amounts of food. Not a blogger, but foodie, Lucy Mohl of Crosscut brought roasted beets from Porcella Urban Market.
I brought Iraqi Jewish style kube which are meat filled semolina dumplings and Orna and Ella Sweet Potato Pancakes. I also made Labaneh, a yogurt cheese.
My hubby made Lachooch, a Yemenite bread that is a pancaky flatbread with a sour taste. We had a few little raffles for prizes, a gift exchange and a supertasting contest. I am working on uploading videos of all the dishes so hopefully in a few days I will succeed to put them up. All in all the eatoggers(people who eat to blog and blog to eat), had a great time and love was in the air!



Seattle Food Bloggers meet up once a month for a foodie event. If you have a blog and want to be added to the list, please send me an email to Kerenlovestocook@gmail.com.

Blogger Introduces Menu Item

Today there is a review of Cafe Flora in the Seattle PI. I heard great things about the place from food blogger Michael Natkin of Herbivoracious. He has taken a break from his computer job to do an internship at Cafe Flora. Last time I saw him he told me that he had actually invented something on the menu, Winter Green Dumplings in Shiitake Broth. In the review today, the dumplings got a graceful and delightful review, The green dumplings managed to pull off a bit of Italian-Asian fusion, as ricotta-filled won tons floated in a lovely shiitake mushroom broth. A shower of Parmesan and lemon zest provided a dramatic finishing flourish.
Just proof that dreams can come true! If I were him I would put on my bathing suit and immerse myself in the broth, with dumplings as pillows of course. Is he allowed to do that?

The Year I learned to Embrace Food

This year I learned to embrace food. I learned to feed my body what it wants. Sometimes it wants healthy vegetables dishes and sometimes it wants gooey, gunky, buttery plates of food.
I started this blog a little while after I had decided that I want to learn how to cook.
I knew a bit about cooking but never thought that I could learn so much in one year.
I started my journey with random cooking classes until I realized that I was lacking techniques. I took two classes at the Art Institute and learned the fundamentals of cooking. Yes, it was extremely expensive but I learned that everything could be made from scratch.
Chef Paul Redman taught me all the basics and from then on, no yeast, no dough and no amount of work could stand in my way( he and his wife Helen have a really nice blog).
I learned to appreciate the allurement of seasonal produce, to relish at the sight of fresh herbs and to detect great meal components from a mile away.
I learned how to throw dinner parties without getting stressed out.
I took up yoga which taught me how to appreciate life, to meditate and most of all breathe which I can't believe that I didn't know how to do before.
I met some great chefs this year, went to fascinating food events and most of all learned to absorb any info that I could find about food. I got my appendix out this year which is not as bad as it sounds.
I also got engaged and married to the love of my life.
Thank you readers for your comments(yes, you Twinkies dad) and emails. I am grateful for all the support.
Whooo! What a year!

Protein Bars

I was just going through some old posts when I realized that I wrote this one. One of my resolutions last year was to eat more protein so I think I have been keeping this up pretty well. I am trying to focus on chicken, eggs and peanut butter but sometimes I get a bit lazy.

Protein Bars
The more I am introduced to new foods, the less I eat of the old ones. I am conscious of what I eat. I would rather not eat then pile up on Subway or some other fast food that I don't really crave. Some mornings I practice yoga and the last thing I want is to feel is food in my stomach while my body is upside down. My solution for those "I don't feel like eating moments"…..tadaaaaa.........nutrition bars.
I am not running a marathon or working out heavily so I can't really eat most protein bars. All of those calories would just stick to me. I need to choose ones that are low in calories and still keep me full.
Does anyone eat protein bars? Does anyone have any recommendations? My next step is to find a bar that doesn't have so much sugar. I haven't found one yet but you never know.

My top picks are:

Luna Peanut Butter Cookie
calories per bar 180 (48g bar)
protein : 10 g
Sugars: 13 g

Pria Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch
Calories per bar: 110 (28g bar)
Protein: 5 g
Sugars 10 g

Update: Since then I have discovered some new bars and all of them have minimal sugar. This year I discovered ..............
Pure Protein
calories per bar: 190
Protein: 20 gr
sugar: 2 g
sugar alcohol: 6 g

Think Thin
calories:240
protein: 20g
sugar: 0
Sugar alcohol:15 g

I have been eating both for a while. I recently tried a Snickers protein but could not remember how much sugar was in it. Anyone know?

The Day Ice cream Died

What do you think of this video? Does it hurt you to watch it?