A Breath of Fresh Air

   March 1. I am six weeks away from graduation; six weeks from the end of my official studies of creative writing. In six weeks I can go back to writing what I want to write every day--sometimes pages and pages of story drafts, sometimes just snippets of ideas. I miss reading in the evenings (okay, reading iteresting things in the evenings) and cooking dinner. Josh has been the most amazing partner through this crazy college journey--I could not have done any of this without him (Husband, you are my hero).
   Will I be done studying in April? No, of course not. There is always an opportunity to learn, and for all writers and artists, even masters, there is always room for improvement. Practice makes perfect, after all, and every artist and writer will tell you that they practice their craft every day. (Unless you are a creative writing student still in college. I haven't done anything creative in a couple months now. Except this. It's making me a little crazy.)
   As I write this I am looking out onto a beautiful sunshiny day. There is an odd contrast to the day, however, as the wind is screaming--there's a bean sidhe wailing in protest against the sunny early spring afternoon. Part of me wants to go outside and play with her: one angry faerie and one frustrated writer, think of all the havoc we could cause; the rational part of me does not want to go out and freeze, however, and since my homework is done for the weekend, I have a free afternoon to do whatever I want. First up, laundry and dishes (maybe I should go play with the bean sidhe), then reading the letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman. I also have a new food magazine that my best friend sent me, and can actually make dinner tonight. I find the prospect of all of this quite delightful (not the laundry and the dishes).
   A few weeks back in a misguided belief that I could still manage to do work, homework, childcare, chores and dinner, I bought several winter squashes. The two spaghetti squash and three butternuts have been giving me accusatory glances lately and I am beginning to question my self-worth in light of their withering stares. Tonight, I shall sacrifice the spaghetti squash to the greater good! (And by greater good I mean our tummies.) Since I actually have time to try something new, I have gone to visit Matt Robinson's fabulous blog Real Food by Dad and pulled up his Spaghetti Squash Bowl with Smoked Sausage. This is actually meant to be a summertime recipe, with the sausage grilled, but I'm going to pan-sear it so it gets crispy around the edges. I'm not going to wax poetic about how excited I am to make this recipe tonight, you'll all end up thinking I'm some weird old lady who stays cooped up in a dark apartment with a hundred cats when the reality is I'm a weird 42 year old who can act like a lady when the occasion demands and does get out and socialize when time allows and only has two cats, both of whom are evil. (Thinking of that, I need to change my bio...) ANYWAY, here you have tonight's recipe, brought to you by Real Food by Dad, which the Perkins family will be enjoying this evening. I hope you are having a lovely day, and I am going to make every effort to update again soon.

Spaghetti Squash Bowl with Smoked Sausage

 

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Author: Matt Robinson

Ingredients

• 1 13 oz. Farm John Smoked Sausage, cut on the diagonal into ¼-inch thick slices
• 2 medium size squash (about 2 pounds), halved and seeded
• ¼ fresh parsley
• ½ cup grated Pecorino
• ½ cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• kosher salt
• watercress
• 2 avocados, sliced
• lemon wedges

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle squash halves with olive oil and season with salt. Place squash cut side down and roast until tender, 30 minutes for al dente, longer if you want it softer. Once the squash is cooled enough to touch, use a fork to scrape out “spaghetti.” Place scraped spaghetti squash on paper towels to dry.
2. While the spaghetti squash is cooking, prep the grill for medium heat for direct cooking (350F). Place sliced smoked sausage on the grates and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high until browned and nutty scented. Add the spaghetti squash, parsley Pecorino, and ½ cup Parmesan, then stir to combine until squash is heated through, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle in pepper and season with salt to taste.
4. To serve, divide spaghetti squash, smoked sausage and avocado slices between 4 servings. Serve with lemon wedges and watercress.

https://realfoodbydad.com/spaghetti-squash-bowl-with-smoked-sausage/