Spaghetti (Squash) & (Tempeh) Meatballs

Back in ye olde college days (nearly five years ago now, eew), I recall many a Tuesday/Thursday evening spent at the dining hall, fueling up for a late-night dance team practice on spaghetti and meatballs. It looked something like this:

…but plus meat and minus any real vegetable content.

I’ve since mended my ways (and learned to cook for myself, for that matter) to include neither meat in my meatballs nor pasta in my spaghetti. I might even eat my greens once in a while, too.

Tonight I butchered a spaghetti squash for the first time, and I am delighted to report that it was well worth the effort. I even came up with a tempeh meatball recipe on the fly to bulk it up a bit, though the only dance I’ll be practicing tonight is the one where I watch So You Think You Can Dance? contestants do the dancing for me. Sad face.

If you’ve never baked a spaghetti squash before, it’s really quite simple. I followed Tina’s tutorial and it worked perfectly. The sauce I made is Gena’s raw Sweet Pepper Marinara, which I now basically swear by. It gives my tummy a case of the happies. Topped with some homemade Vegan Parm, dinner tonight was just classically delicious in a Lady-and-the-Tramp kind of way.

As for the “meatballs,” my improvised recipe is quite simple and an express-lane way to amp up the “impressive” factor of this meal, if you ask me.

Tempeh “Meat”balls

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package of tempeh (about 4 oz)
• 3 tbsp Vegan Parm (or 3 tbsp nutritional yeast plus dried herbs to taste—oregano, thyme, etc. plus a dash of sea salt)
• 1 tbsp ground flax + 1.5 tbsp water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Combine flax and water in a small bowl and set aside to thicken for about five minutes.
2. Crumble tempeh into a small bowl. Add Vegan Parm and flax goo. Stir until well incorporated and sticky.
3. Prepare a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Shape tempeh mixture into about 8 balls.
4. Bake 15 minutes, until beginning to brown.

Makes 2 servings

And don’t forget to eat your greens! I’m pretty much obsessed with massaged kale salad, so trust me when I say this dressing method will convert you to raw kale, even if you’ve never had it before.

Before I sign off for tonight, I want to point out a wonderful initiative Katie has begun in an effort to raise money for charity this holiday season. 

It’s called “Operation Chocolate-Covered Kindness,” whereby she’ll be donating her Foodbuzz ad earnings to charity. Please visit her site so that she can get as many pageviews as possible right now—only by visiting her actual website can Katie earn the money she wants to give back. And while you’re there, click around a bit! You’ll increase the number of hits (aka $$$) she gets, and to be honest, you can’t shake a stick there without hitting a really good recipe. Click forth and be inspired!