The first Friday of the month is reserved for recipes. You can see additional First Friday Food posts here.

The Reason:

Ollie’s class has been “eating the alphabet” this year. From his teacher:

C was Chana Masala, an Indian chickpea curry dish. And the kids GOBBLED it up. They loved it. We insisted that everyone take at least one bite – and a good deal of the class ate and ate and ate.

Well, we’ve made this a couple of times now, and his enthusiasm hasn’t waned.

BUT I CAN’T WAIT FOR IT TO COOL IT’S TOO DELICIOUS

The Journey:

I love Indian food as much as the next guy, and I never seem to eat it often enough. By which I mean, no matter how often I eat it, it could always be more.

It is almost comedic how many spices are in this. Here is a picture of the aftermath, and believe me, this wasn’t all of it.

(My favorite part of this picture is the spray of red in the lower right corner there. Did the paprika get out of control in the madness of supper prep? Did the cayenne explode in an ecstasy of flavor? Did Ollie have to cut someone to get an extra helping? We don’t know.)

The Verdict:

::sigh::

This is a good recipe, but I just have not been able to master making Indian food like a native. I understand I didn’t exactly grow up making this kind of food, but…there’s something I’m missing. Maybe the chickpeas need to cook longer? I don’t know.

In the meantime, Ollie sure doesn’t seem to mind this as a suitable replacement.

The Recipe:

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, diced
• 1 fresh, hot green chili pepper, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 lemon (juiced)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet.
2. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat until browned (Note: make sure the onions are a little extra brown!)
3. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, cumin seeds, paprika and garam masala.
4. Cook onion mixture with spiced for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and any accumulated juices, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan.
5. Add the water and chickpeas.
6. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir in salt and lemon juice.

The first Friday of the month is reserved for recipes. You can see additional First Friday Food posts here.

The Reason:

I like spaghetti squash in principle. It *seems* like it is a good idea, however, I never seem to like the results. I’ve tried spaghetti squash recipes repeatedly, but it always came out kind of…cold and squash-y. This time, I’ve finally found a winner!

The Journey:

Spaghetti squash is kind of like magic. It looks like any regular squash…

…but then it somehow separates into these individual tentacles strands of spaghetti. So, kind of unlike every other squash you’ve ever seen. Unlike every other VEGETABLE you’ve ever seen. I mean, it’s definitely not some kind of alien fruit or impregnation device, right? Heh, because that would be *crazy*, right? RIGHT?

Make sure you squeeze as much water out of the squash as possible, so it’s not runny (also, it can’t hurt *just in case* they are actual alien tentacles). Throw some salt in there too; you never really can be too careful with potential slimy alien tentacles.

The Verdict:

Maybe I just like lasagne. When I was a kid, lasagne was my “birthday meal”. So if I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO INGEST ALIEN TENTACLES (and/or impregnation devices), then disguising them as lasagna is really the way to go.

(This post was definitely written by Shane Halbach, being sound of mind and body, and not some alien overlord guest blogging and trying to make you eat our weird alien fruits and/or impregnation devices.)

The Recipe:

Recipe from The Kitchn:

• 5 pounds spaghetti squash (2 medium-sized squash)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups ricotta, whole or 2%
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• Chopped parsley or basil, to garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the squashes in half and scoop out the seeds. Lay them cut-side down in a roasting pan or other baking dish, and add about an inch of water. Roast for 45 to 60 minutes, until soft when poked with a fork. Transfer to a cooling rack until cool enough to handle.
2. While the squash is roasting, warm the olive oil in a high-sided skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions and cook until translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the ground beef and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook until well-browned, breaking up the beef into small crumbles, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering the sauce until the squashes are ready, 5 to 20 minutes. Taste the sauce and add more salt if desired.
3. Use a fork to shred the inside of the squash, leaving about a half-inch of squash left in the shell. Mix the shredded squash into the tomato sauce. In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, the parsley and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
4. Layer one half of the tomato-squash mixture into a 9×13 pan and top with the ricotta. Top with the second half of the tomato-squash mixture.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, then sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until bubbly.
6. Sprinkle parsley or basil over the tops and serve immediately. Leftovers will keep for 1 week in the fridge.