Where we live there's a sweet little lake. It's one of the things I love best about living here. Nearly every day my dog and I go out to check it out. The lake and surrounding area inform me about what's going on in the world. No, it does not inform me about things like political scandals and multi-million dollar Hollywood divorces ...I mean the REAL world...things like the weather, and the seasons. The color of the water, and the texture of it's surface tell me about the wind and the sun. The big leafy trees along the edges tell me about the slow but steady and constant changing of the seasons: I love the hopefulness of tiny new buds that pop up just when you are wondering if it will ever be warm again, followed by a vibrant time of bright green leaves. Then comes this time of year, when every day it's something different...slightly lighter green, to pale yellow, to golden, to red and brown...then a big wind, or the first snowfall will come, and we'll be heading in to the season of bare crackly branches, encased in ice. Even then, you'd be shocked and amazed how much LIFE there is around the lake, even in the dead of winter.
Year round the wildlife here thrills me. I love watching the ducks (such conscientious little parents) as they dutifully, fastidiously, raise their fuzzy babies into that awkward summer adolescent stage--half fuzz, half fathers--and finally on to maturity as fall approaches. We get big herons here, eagles (one time a huge golden eagle came to perch on our front porch!) bright blue Stellar jays, quail, woodpeckers, pheasants, rabbits, racoons and turtles. Once, many years ago, a young bear even came walking down one of the streets in our neighborhood! Someone caught a picture of it. It made the front page of the newspaper.
Yesterday was a day I've been looking forward to for weeks...the first of the HUGE Canadian Geese started arriving. They stop here every year to rest up, preen, eat, and gather strength to continue their migratory path to Florida, or wherever they are heading, to wait out the snow and the cold. I saw a flock of 12 along the shoreline, and heard their honking conversations with one another. By this time next week I will start to see their V shaped flight patterns regularly throughout the day. Sometimes they are so low overhead I can actually hear the wind rushing through their feathers as they skim right above my dog and me. The lake is my "homepage" on reality.
The end of September, my friends, is squash time. And nothing goes better with spaghetti squash than meatballs. Now, I have a beef with meatballs (if you'll pardon the pun!). In my opinion, meatballs really need a carb-y binder, such as breadcrumbs or oats. Without that, they are hard, like little tough golfballs. So the paleo (grain-free) meatball recipes I've found, while I LOVE the addition of veggies, have left me wanting. However, the traditional carb-filled meatballs can be dicey for me, digestively. Both gluten free breads, and even certified gluten free oats can cause me trouble. So what to do? Somehow I needed to combine the tender bite of a carb-y meatball, with the veggie power-punch of a grain-free meatball. Enter: soaking the oats.
I've read that soaking grains in water, with an acidic medium, such as lemon juice, vinegar, yogurt or whey can significantly reduce the phytic acid, and sort of "pre-digest" the grains, making it much easier to actually absorb and use any nutrients the grains have to offer, while mitigating the trouble they can cause. So I did that. I soaked my oats overnight in filtered water, with organic cider vinegar, then rinsed and drained them, and proceeded with making meatballs.
This is a recipe I just started putting together, so it was my first experiment with it, and I think it could use some tweaks, but I'll go ahead and give it to you as is, and you can play with it yourself. It was a hit; my family said that these were the best meatballs I've ever made.
So, for what it's worth, here it is:
2 lb ground beef
1 cup pre-soaked gluten free oats (but next time I will try to reduce it to 1/2 cup)
2 eggs
1 grated carrot
1/2 grated zucchini
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
I used a medium size cookie scoop to portion the meat into meatballs, and then baked at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes, until they were fully cooked and no longer pink inside.
I know there are better meatball recipes out there, but this one was quick, low fuss, and met my criteria of being BOTH full of veggies, AND tender and juicy, AND it had a carb-y binder that did not mess with my belly...score!
I freezer tested these, and they came out beautifully. Simply thaw in the refrigerator and re-heat, gently (I had one in the microwave, and zapped it for 30 seconds, perfect--tender and moist. When I did one for 1 full minute it really, really dried it out and made it hard, so just reheat enough to heat through, but don't turn them into meatball-jerky. These are IDEAL little meaty, veggie-filled packets for the lunchbox, perfect with a container of marinara or ketchup for dipping, IF your students have access to a microwave for re-heating.
So next time I make these, it's gonna be meatball mania--I'll make dozens and freezer, then throw 'em in ziplocks and freeze, for some super-fast future dinners.
Now for the spaghetti squash. There's no easier way in my opinion than microwaving 'em. Simply:
1. Wash and dry the squash.
2. Use a sharp knife and poke it full of nice deep holes for venting the steam. Be extremely careful! Spagetti Squash are round and not very stable!
Here's me poking a hole with my right hand, while taking a picture with my left!! Yikes...do as I say, not as I do! :)
3. Place the squash in a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 6 minutes on one side.4. Use oven mitts, or towels (IT'S VERY HOT!), to flip the squash over, and microwave another 6 minutes.
It should be getting kinda soft at this point. If it's still rock-hard, go ahead and turn it a 1/4 turn and go another minute or two, but keep checking...don't just set it for 6 more minutes and walk off. Especially when you don't have enough ventilation holes in it. Or you will have a fun time of cleaning exploded squash off the inside of your microwave. Don't ask me how I know that.
5. Now let it sit for quite a while until it's cool enough to work with, then cut it in 1/2 and remove the seed with a big spoon. Then use a fork to pull out the flesh of the squash--it comes out in delightful spaghetti-like ribbons, so very fun!
If you want to see a video tutorial of this process, check out this excellent one at www.cleananddelicious.com. That is where I learned how to microwave a whole spaghetti squash, and I seriously love doing that. To me it's just WAY easier than cutting it in 1/2 when it's hard, and spending the time to oven bake it, but if you want to do that there are oven directions under the video tutorial.
Top your squash with a few meatballs and some sauce of your choice. This will be my SUPER-easy dinner for nights I just do not want to cook, once I get my meatballs in the freezer. Then it's just heat meatballs, zap squash, open marinara jar, and serve.
Voila: dinner, done.
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