Slowing Down, & Spaghetti Squash and "Meatballs" and Veggies

Life moves so quickly, especially in December.  The holidays are lurking, Andrew's hunkering down with finals on his last week of the semester, and I'm organizing my new teaching and learning opportunities that I have coming up in 2012.  It's amazing, to be here, to be embarking on the brink of newness and cumulation.  The end of one year, the beginning of another, and we're all here, waltzing through the days as they speed by.  Sometimes, I feel like I try to keep up with the speed of life.  When I first wake up, I'm accepting of slowness.  I can sip my tea, meditate, practice a little yoga and breathe before I begin my day.  Once I start, I'm competing with the speed of life, going from one thing to another in my head.

Today Andrew said "Hey, just sit, just appreciate where we are."  I looked at him and realized this was such simple advice, but something that we often forget to do.  Here I am, celebrating all of these ends and beginnings with someone I love, over a warm home cooked meal.  I need to slow it down and appreciate these moments.  How else can we recognize the beauty in things if we are not fully present?

Today is the 10th.  On the 10th day of each month, Andrew and I try to do something fun together to celebrate another month of us being married.  Today we have been married for 2 years and 2 months.  This lunch was a part of the celebration.  Maybe it's because I'm Italian, but a good spaghetti dinner can be a beautiful thing.  There's something about twirling your fork around long steaming strands of spaghetti kissed with the right amount of sauce and accented with veggies.  Things always get a little messy when eating spaghetti -- it's definitely not a first-date sort of meal.  I sort of played with the tradition of spaghetti and meatballs a bit today.  Instead of pasta, I used spaghetti squash, and instead of meatballs, I made cannellini bean falafel.  A little easier on my stomach, but just as nourishing and delicious.

 Spaghetti Squash with "Meatballs" and Veggies

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 3 cups cannellini beans, or one can
• 1/2 cup millet flour
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 small zucchini, diced
• 1 portobello mushroom, diced
• 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 cup tomato sauce (you can make your own, I used a mushroom marinara)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• olive oil, for drizzling
• optional:  grated cheese, raw spinach for garnish

So, this takes a bit of coordinating, but it's worth it.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Carefully chop off the ends of your squash, and then cut the squash in half, lengthwise.  Place on a baking tray or dish in the oven, and forget about it for a while -- it should be done in 30-35 minutes.
Next, puree the beans in the blender or food processor, adding just enough water to allow the beans to form a pulp.  Pour into a mixing bowl and add the flour, cumin, salt, and paprika.  It should have a cookie-batter like texture.  Grease a baking sheet with butter or olive oil and scoop the bean mixture onto the baking sheet -- I use a ice cream scoop for this.  Put it in the oven with the squash, and forget about this too, for a little bit -- they should be ready to flip over in about 10 minutes.
Moving on to the stove top, heat up 1/4 cup water in a saute pan.  Add in the onions, and let them cook for 5 minutes before adding in the zucchini, broccoli, and mushroom.  Cover and let cook on medium for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat.
Now, check on your squash and "meatballs."  When the timing is appropriate, flip the "meatballs" over, and then carefully take out the squash.
Once the squash has cooled, scrape out the seeds with a fork.  Then, scrape out the flesh into a bowl with a fork -- it will come out looking like spaghetti!  Once you've scraped out all of the flesh, add it into the veggie mixture in the saute pan, and mix things up a bit.
Plate, with a topping of tomato sauce.  The "meatballs" should be firm now, and make the perfect accompaniment to the meal.  Drizzle everything with a healthy bit of olive oil.  If you desire, add fresh spinach for a little more green or grated cheese for a little more protein/calcium.
Serves 2.

Sit, enjoy, and be present.  Twirl the fork around the squash strands, and appreciate where you are.