Spaghetti squash bonanza

We have a bonanza of spaghetti squash in the garden. The plants had a second wind in late summer, which means many of the younger squash aren't ripe (I'll pick them and try ripening them off the vine, but I'm not overly hopeful). However the ripe squash are abundant and ready to pick.

Older Daughter has a delicious recipe she uses with spaghetti squash, which includes pesto and pork sausage, but I wanted to try making a sort of veggie fettuccine alfredo. (I adore fettuccine alfredo.)

So I started by picking a nice ripe squash.

I cut this in half and scraped out the seeds (as it turns out, I missed a few).

I sprinkled a bit of salt over the face of the squash, then put them face-down on a pan.

These I baked in the oven (actually, our toaster oven) at 400F for about an hour.

While it baked, I made an alfredo sauce (butter, cream, Parmesan cheese), to which I also added some basil. It's worth noting the only ingredients of this dish that didn't come from our own efforts were the salt and the Parmesan cheese.

The squash came out of the oven tender, though I had missed a few seeds I had to scrape off afterward.

Using a fork, I scraped the "pasta" fibers from the squash into a bowl.

Then it was a simple matter of pouring the aldredo sauce over the squash fibers.

Easy-peasy and very yummy!

As I ease back into cheesemaking, Parmesan is something I've always wanted to try. That way – excepting salt – this meal could become an entirely home-grown affair.

UPDATE: I asked Older Daughter for her Pesto Spaghetti Squash recipe, and here's what she said:

• 2 spaghetti squash, split and deseeded. Coat with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake face-down on an oiled cookie sheet at 400F for one hour. After baking, scrape out the squash "pasta" with a fork. To this, add:
• 1/4 cup of pesto (or to taste)
• Parmesan cheese mixed in (to taste)
• Onions, sautéed until soft (this is for me)
• OR, cherry tomatoes, sautéed until soft (this is for Older Daughter)
• 1/2 lb. spicy Italian sausage, cooked until brown

Mix everything together, and voilà.