I've been having big squash cravings lately.  Winter squash are deliciously sweet and have tons of fiber, vitamin A and potassium. Squash are an anti-inflammatory food and are particularly helpful at healing the lungs. Maybe I'm craving them to purify all the lovely exhaust I breathe everyday.

I bought this spaghetti squash recently, but wasn't sure how I wanted to fix it up.

Years ago I used to live in Ft. Greene with my friends Geneve and Sarah. It was an amazing apartment. Two floors, a garden, and a basement with a washer and dryer! The kitchen was huge and had a beautiful old Garland stove. Sarah and Geneve are both great cooks, and I learned a lot from them about building meals around simple fresh ingredients. One night Geneve made me a pasta dish tossed with a sage butter sauce. It was so delicious, that I still remember it to this day! The browned butter has a wonderful nutty taste and the cooked sage turns fragrant and crispy.

I decided to try it on my spaghetti squash.

I had never cooked spaghetti squash before, but it was really easy.

Here's the recipe (from Seasonal Eating )

1 medium spaghetti squash (about 3 pounds)
3 T butter
1 T minced fresh sage leaves
1/2 C grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Make several slits in the squash with a paring knife to allow steam to escape while cooking.

Bake on a baking sheet until a knife slides in easily about 75 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat.

When the butter stops foaming, add the sage and cook for about 1 minute, until butter is golden brown. Remove from heat.

Slice squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds with a spoon.

Drag a fork through the flesh to remove it strands.

Toss the strands in a bowl with the cheese and sage butter.

Add plenty of salt and pepper and serve immediately.

And... enjoy!