So I missed the "dry seasoning" caveat which I guess makes this a "two ingredient" dish. This would be Spaghetti Squash with Walnuts from this month's Mother Earth News. Doesn't it look lovely?

So as soon as I was halfway into this recipe I decided they were stupid. For starters, they suggest that you cook your (1) spaghetti squash, then cut it open. This has the (supposed) advantage of keeping the squash "moist."

It has the unmentioned disadvantage of cutting open a block of hot lava and then waiting around until it isn't so hot as to nuke your fingers.

Which, by the way, is a PITA because the stuff that comes out easily, when raw, takes a lot of the cooked with it. And since you're waiting long enough to be able to handle the squash with your fingers, you're also waiting around long enough that it's too cold to eat.

Next thing we do is melt some (DOESN'T COUNT) butter.

The recipe calls for adding (WOULD COUNT) fresh sage but since I forgot that I bought sage the same time as the stupid squash, I left it in the fridge and used (DOESN'T COUNT) dry sage.

Not pictured are the (2) walnuts which we throw in a skillet to toast, or the step where we scrape out the spaghetti squash, or the step where we cook the sage in the butter, or the part where we put the spaghetti squash in a casserole and top with sage butter and walnuts. What can I say? I made candied orange peel, fudge and toffee that day and was mostly just trying to get dinner on the table.

How was it?

Fucking bland. Were I to do it again I'd fuckin' well cut the squash first. I'd also add a shit ton of parmesan. I'll be honest - this uninspiring approach to cooking squash has left me with the notion that (A) I oughtta eat more spaghetti squash (B) not use recipes from Mother Earth News. Know how you tell if spaghetti squash is cooked? You poke the flesh and see if it goes clear through. Know how not done the squash is when you try that from the outside? Let's just say it was unacceptably crunchy and leave it at that.

We served it with some uninspiring, fully-cooked chicken sausages from Trader Joe's, which my wife decided to poach in some undrinkable Raven's Crest merlot someone brought over for Thanksgiving.

2/5 would not do again