Sunday, February 19, 2012

Roasted & Squashed again; or, The Blog is Back!

What is this--"the blog is back?" And what exactly is a Cantabrigian, and are they nice?

For readers joining us for the first time, here is the back story. A while ago, as a new PhD, a Swedish mathematician of Polish extraction found himself living on the plains of Oklahoma, working in the Mathematics Department at Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater. Before he left Stockholm, some of his friends expressed a desire to follow the Swede-Pole's adventures in the American South on the internet. Our hero was wary of blogging at first (what would he write about? he is a little boring.), but then it was suggested he should write about his meals (there were some doubts whether he would be able to feed himself in the Sooner State--he mostly eats vegetarian meals and beef is one of Oklahoma's main exports...). A blog about cooking sounded like a good compromise--and the Swedish-Oklahoman Food Blog was born!

Our blogging hero's Oklahoman year was an interesting and in many ways very rewarding experience; and he did make many good friends in Stillwater and elsewhere. (Interested readers may learn more from the Swedish-Oklahoman Food Blog Archives.) But in June 2011, it was time to keep on movin' on, as the songs have it. After spending a few months back in Sweden at Institut Mittag-Leffler, an institute for research in the mathematical subjects located in the suburbs of Stockholm, it was time for our old mathematician/blogger to try his luck in famed Cambridge, home to so many great scientists, writers, politicians, and royals over the years. (And at one time, Nick Drake and Syd Barrett were Cantabrigians, or inhabitants of Cambridge, too. ND was an English Literature student in Fitzwilliam College.)

Our blogger certainly feels very lucky and privileged to be part of this remarkable academic institution, and is excited about the scientific possibilities that await. Cambridge is also a very pretty town, located in an area of England known as the Fens that used to consist of marshland, and that used to be the center of the eel industry (true story). And yes, Cantabrigians are very friendly. More on Cambridge soon--

But now it is time for dinner. After moving to Cambridge, our blogger was delighted to discover that the delicious butternut squash is readily available in England; after all, the roasting of a beautiful homegrown squash he was presented with by a colleague back at OSU was the subject of a blog entry. New, improved, and served with pasta--the squash is roasted again!

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash
1 yellow onion
1 bell pepper
4 cloves of garlic

passed tomatoes
spaghetti

olive oil
salt and pepper

aluminum foil



Turn to oven to 200C/400F, cover an oven tray with some aluminum foil . Start by cutting the butternut squash in half (N/S direction). Scoop out all the seeds and put them aside for the moment; they will be roasted later. Next, cut the squash into smaller pieces to make peeling easier. After you get the skin off, cut the squash into medium-size cubes.

Soak the squash cubes in some olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Pour the squash onto the foil covered tray, and into the oven it goes!



While the squash cubes are roasting, chop up the onion and slice the garlic cloves. In a frying pan, sautee the garlic and the onion in olive oil. Slice the bell pepper (we want longish strips) and add to the pan. Turn down the heat a little, season with salt and pepper, and add the tomatoes. After a while, turn down the heat and let the sauce simmer.

Check on the squash. We want the cubes to be soft, and a little crispy around the edges. If the squash is done, remove the tray from the oven, pour the squash cubes into a bowl and cover them.


Next, pour just a little olive oil onto the foil and add the squash seeds. Make sure they're evenly spread, and put the oven tray back into the oven.

While waiting for the seeds, cook the pasta. It is not difficult, just follow the instructions on the package, if necessary; just make sure to serve the spaghetti al dente.

Once the seeds are roasted, turn off the oven, and toss the spaghetti with the sauce. Prepare a serving of pasta on a plate, add the squash, and the roasted seeds as topping. Done!

Serving suggestions: "The English Settlement" by XTC on the side, a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale from Chico, CA.





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