Spaghetti Squash with Carrots, Red Peppers, and Basil
The Frog Commissary Cookbook by Steven Poses, Anne Clark, and Becky Roller was a wonderful 2014 Christmas gift from the Robinson Family. With all the hustle bustle of the holidays, it was a great break to crawl into bed and dream of the recipes I would be making in the new year. It is hard to carve personal time out during the holidays, but having a new cookbook to run to made it a lot easier this year.
Being new to the Philadelphia area, I had never had the pleasure of eating at or even heard of Frog or The Commissary, but can now enjoy some of their amazing recipes from my new cookbook.
The original Frog restaurant closed in 1987, but the legacy lives on through several cookbooks, restaurant venues at The Franklin Institute, and the catering department of The Frog Commissary that continues to delight guests of all the many special events throughout the years.
I normally tend to go for the cookbooks that are loaded with photos, as they tempt me to try the recipes sooner than later, but when the Robinsons gave me this cookbook, they also gave me a plate of cookies that their daughter had made using one of the recipes from the book. The cookies alone, were enough to make me crack open the book, and, at the very least, dog year the page that housed the “Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies”, on page 252. The cookies that we delivered to my house omitted the walnuts from the original recipe. We didn’t miss them one bit, as they were an airy light cookie that was perfect to pair with the rich meals of the holidays. I say “meals”, but truthfully the plate of cookies were gone before our guests were.
As Christmas was winding up and I was preparing for the new year, I ventured forth with my new cookbook and tried two more recipes on my own. One savory and one sweet.
The first dish that I made reminds me of one of my favorite recipes back in California. It was a Pad Thai recipe that would only frequent the recipe calendar a few times a month. I am so excited that I whip up this easy health recipe anytime I want.
Spaghetti Squash with Carrots, Red Peppers, and Basil Recipe adapted from The Frog Commissary Cookbook (pg 212)
Ingredients:
1 small spaghetti squash (about 2 pounds)
2 tablespoons of corn oil
1 cup julienned red peppers (1 ½’’ long strips)
1 cup julienned carrots (1 ½’’ long strips)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup chopped roasted peanuts
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Use a fork to prick the spaghetti squash and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 1 ½ hours or until tender.
When the squash is cool enough to handle, slice in half, remove and discard seeds.
Take a fork remove the flesh from the squash and place in a bowl.
Stir-fry the red peppers and carrots using the corn oil.
Add the salt, sugar, and pepper to the stir-fry.
Add the spaghetti squash to the stir-fry mixture.
Sprinkle with the rice vinegar, basil and peanuts.
Serve hot or cold.