Creamy Artichoke Spaghetti Squash

If you know me, you may know that I have a slight obsession with Spaghetti Squash. I only learned of its existence while in college, and it was a true revelation for me. I'm not a religious person...but this vegetable makes me think. How can something so good, so pure, a squash that turns perfectly into spaghetti, have come about by chance? This vegetable is truly magical to me and I am very grateful to share this world with it. (Sorry to those of my readers who are rolling their eyes right now).

Anyways, onto this FANTASTIC recipe - truly worthy of spaghetti squash.
This comes from a blog called Hummusapien (Link to Recipe), which is quickly becoming one of my favorite vegetarian food blogs. She is seriously a genius.

In this recipe she makes a simple but delicious sauce from a can of artichoke hearts and some raw cashews. That's it. Stick it in a blender and you are set. This makes a super creamy and flavorful sauce!

Then you saute some onion, mushrooms, and spinach. I used a mix of thinly sliced portobello and cremini mushrooms. Add in some parsley, and chickpeas, and you've got a complete meal.

I used two small spaghetti squash, which is fine if you can't find one large one.

And here is my advice on cooking spaghetti squash, in case this is new to you:
1. Carefully stab the squash a few times
2. Microwave it 5-8 minutes. This softens it so you can cut it more easily.
3. Cut it in half lengthwise. Save those seeds! They are AMAZING roasted or cooked on the stove.
4. Place cut sides down in a baking dish with a little water.
5. Roast at 400 for 30-45+ minutes, depending on the size of the squash. It is ready when tender. String a few pieces off and see if you like the texture. It often does stay a bit crunchy.

Drool

Chickpea "Tortilla" Chips

I almost feel like no words are needed after looking at this photo. How gorgeous is that? Those beautiful chips you see above are 100% corn free, packed with protein rich chickpea flour, and straight up delicious. And did I mention they are easy to make?

This is another recipe from the oh so creative My New Roots blog (Link To Recipe).
These chips have just a few simple ingredients: chickpea flour, coconut oil, baking powder, salt, pepper, and water.  I got some chickpea flour bulk from Whole Foods and I was all set.

You basically just mix the dry ingredients, crumble in the coconut oil, and stir in the warm water to make a dough. It is seriously fast and easy!

So here is my big tip for you. You may think you have rolled it thin enough...but you haven't. Here's a picture of my dough. Not thin enough. My advice is to divide the dough in two and roll it out on two separate pieces of parchment paper (and 2 baking pans). That way you will have plenty of space to roll it super thin and won't be tempted to stop early.

Also, as you can see, perfect cuts are not necessary

This is seriously crucial. Look at the difference between these two chips. The top one is nice and crunchy and chip like. The bottom one is dense and more like a cracker. It still tasted good, but the thinner you get, the more chip like. It is easy to leave the center part too thick. Don't be scared - unless your dough starts breaking I don't think you can overdo it. But if you do leave it thick than you will need to cook it a few minutes longer. So one more time, all together now: KEEP ROLLING IT THINNER!!

Another comment is that I found these very peppery. It's fine when you eat them with other stuff but if you want to snack on them plain maybe cut the pepper in half. Try adding some of your favorite dried herbs and seasonings if you like. I can imagine a lot of flavor combos that would work great!

Enjoy!