Odd Bunch recipe: stuffed spaghetti squash

Part of the reasoning behind getting a veg box—aside from the obvious being unable to carry stuff or go shopping easily—is to challenge myself to eat a more varied diet instead of falling back on old standbys.

Spaghetti squash is something I enjoy when I have it, but rarely think of buying for whatever reason. In the past I’ve mainly done basic things like the classic roast, scoop, toss with garlic butter and goat cheese. Not having any goat cheese, I thought I’d look at recipes. I found one that used a couple of things I had on hand—Italian sausage, cherry tomatoes—and a couple of things I didn’t, notably kale. But, I did have broccoli. Close enough, right? It also was for a much larger number of people than I or my ingredients were suited for. So, I borrowed the inspiration, and made up my own thing.

Stuffed spaghetti squash

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash
1 tbs olive oil
1 Italian sausage
1 broccoli crown
10 cherry tomatoes
Parmesan cheese 

Directions:

Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Brush with olive oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake 35 minutes at 400°F.

Meanwhile, crumble the sausage and brown the meat in a pan. 

Cut the broccoli into florets and add to the pan. Add a bit of olive oil if it seems dry. Sauté a few minutes.

Slice the tomatoes in half and add to the pan. Pour ¼ cup of water in the pan and simmer until the water is mostly gone and the tomatoes have softened.

Flip over the roasted squash halves, fill the cavities with the sausage mixture, and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over top. Return to the oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheese and make sure everything is hot through.

Trying, trying too hard

So today I thought it would be a great idea to to go to a mall. Had a package to pick up,  and a weekday shouldn’t be too busy, right?

Somehow, despite getting twelve thousand emails about Black Friday sales, I forgot that today was Black Friday. 

Still, I tried it. The mall I went to wasn't horribly busy, and largely lit with skylights as opposed to the dreaded fluorescent. I wasn’t very far in before I felt pretty overwhelmed and needed to sit down for a bit. 

I closed my eyes and did some breathing exercises recommended by the Toronto Concussion Clinic. When I felt a little better, I went to a store that seemed quiet for a bit of a break before running the gauntlet of the food court. Then covered my face to get past a store selling perfumey soap and candles, and eventually made it to H&M to pick up my package. 

(Side note here, I ordered three things, only one was available for pickup at the local store, the other two are being shipped.)

Parts of the store are not bad, but each section has different lighting, some worse than others. Eventually I made my way to the cashier and gave them the pickup code in the email. “Oh,” said the person behind the counter, “I don’t need that, I need the order number and ID.” So I give them that and put my phone away. When they come back with the package, they ask for the pickup code. “I gave you that,” I say. “Can I get it again?” Augh. Having to pull out my phone again and unlock it and open my email and find the code again doesn’t sound like a lot for most people, but for a person with a concussion and one arm in a sling is a lot. Extra unnecessary annoyance. 

Part of my plan for the day revolved around the pretzel place being right across from H&M on the way out, so I grabbed a pretzel and went across to the park to rest for a bit before walking back to the bus stop. By then I was headachy, stumbly, and dealing with tinnitus and a bit of nausea. And so, so tired.

So I guess lessons learned are... take breaks (including closing my eyes), move slow, plan breaks, time events to be non-busy times while the sun is up, and don’t go to a mall. 

Except that when got home, there was an email saying the other part of my order shipped—to the store. I don’t know how I did that—actually I do, it’s because I have a head injury and simple tasks are sometimes overwhelming to me and I miss details. Do not like! But I guess the only way up is through. 

Survival tips: the veg box

So back in ye olden days (a couple months ago) I used to do my grocery shopping on foot. Kiddo and I would walk to the store on Sunday afternoon with four canvas bags (one for each shoulder) and load up. Shopping this way saves money and reduces impulse purchases because at a certain point you realise, “If the basket is getting too heavy to carry around the store, imagine what this will feel like walking home.” When kiddo moved away for school, my grocery shops got somewhat more random (the kid being the one with the muscles and particularity about food) and I would grab things on my way to and fro, or see what looked interesting at the greengrocer. 

Now of course I’m not going anywhere or carrying anything, so I decided to investigate getting a veg box delivered, like we used to back in the pandemic.

The one we used to get is no more, sadly. We used to get the Good Food Box, a social enterprise run by Foodshare. They no longer do that. So, I investigated other options: the ones that popped up when I was searching for the Good Food Box, the ones whose trucks I see driving around town, etc. 

Eventually, I ended up at Odd Bunch. I love it!

The Odd Bunch box for one

Firstly, it was the only service I came across that had a box for one. Other sample boxes started at two people, and although I thought about seeing if I could get it delivered only every second week (which we did with the Good Food Box), seeing sample box contents made me think, “No way am I gonna get through that many potatoes.” It’s a very reasonable size for a single!

It’s also fantastic value. I did the math last week, just to see, while I was ordering some groceries from Voilà (coffee filters, gallon of milk) and the savings are amazing:

4.99	1 acorn Squash
2.49	3 Local Cippolini Onions
4.99	15 Local Brussels Sprouts
3.98	2 Local Sweet Potatoes
2.99	1 bunch Radish
3.47	3 Local Pears
3.99	Cherry Tomatoes
2.58	2 cobs Fresh Corn
7.99	1 Fresh Pineapple
2.99	1 eggplant
TOTAL: $40.46 at Voilà

Fully a 50% saving!

Mind you, I am still finding it something of a challenge to get through the whole thing, but I think as much as anything that’s because I have a reduced appetite due to not going anywhere or doing anything. Right now my mouth is on fire from trying to finish off a whole fresh pineapple. But, I was never a pineapple eater before, so if nothing else it has introduced variety into my diet, as well as fibre! 

Survival tips: easy healthy snacks

Saving this link here because I keep losing track of it somehow: Frozen Baked Sweet Potato

(Funny, after I typed that, I remembered, oh yeah, I have concussion, that’s why I need a recipe for something this simple, and why I keep losing it.)

This was shared on Ravelry a while back, and I bought a bag of sweet potatoes at the Korean market, baked them, put them in the freezer, and forgot about them. Oh, the delight to discover a ready-to-eat yummy snack in my freezer!

My sweet potatoes were little—40-80g only, but very good snack size—and I found 40 minutes roasting at 450° f was perfect. I eat them in the skins and they are so yummy! The good thing about them being small, not only are they the right size for me, but also there were a dozen or so in the bag, so I am still snacking a month later. Yay! 

So I went to the dentist

And it wasn’t that bad!

I mean it wasn’t great either, I just imagined it being a lot worse.

I wore and eye mask, and let everyone know what had happened with me, and everyone was very calm and soothing. Helped too I think that it was a pretty minor filling, I was done in about thirty minutes. I did find myself weeping randomly in the chair, and sat for about ten minutes in the waiting room before I felt ready to go, and then sat at the subway station for about another 15 minutes waiting for my bus.

Stars aligned so that a vintage red velvet coat I had been pining for was available to pick up not far away, pretty much on my way home, and near the home of the best sandwich in the city. My dentist is also conveniently located near some nice bakeries and a bookstore where I had an order waiting (totally forgot about that—was supposed to pick it up six weeks ago, the day before my fall!), so I had picked up a book and a slice of cake on my way there, and went to the vintage & arts market and deli on my way home.

The day had started looking fairly grim (I was worried I would get rained on) but by the time I got off the bus near the market, the sun was glorious. I feel so much better when it’s sunny! I arrived a little early, so meandered around the store a bit. Wandering in junky antique stores has been a favourite pastime since I was in school, so it was really nice to do something that felt “normal,” like I’m me again. Even if I did need to leave my bag because it was feeling too heavy. I found a cute bracelet in red quartzite which supposedly brings “power, concentration, and strength” (all things I desperately need!) and is also a lovely colour. I saw some glasses I might go back for. And the coat is perfect—the most gorgeous colour, and in mint condition.

It felt so nice to be doing things I like doing, and feeling able to to them!

I was super exhausted when I got home and today my arm hurts like crazy, but what can you do. Had planned to get my glasses adjusted today, but I think I need to stay home. I walked over 2km yesterday, so a rest day is well earned. Maybe I’ll bake something; I need to outpace my veg box.

Best coat ever

The Honest Abe from When the Pig Came Home

Smetanyk slice from Cake Smith

The hard days

Occasionally I will remember a thing, or realise a thing, that leaves me feeling kinda sad.

I’ve already given away tickets to the opera, the symphony, the ballet. I’ve already accepted that we won’t be able to go the the panto this year.

But as holiday season approaches, all kinds of things are hitting me.

I decided weeks ago not to try to host my annual eggnog party this year, but just realised we probably won’t have a tree either. Getting the tree and getting it in the house is one thing; hauling the ornaments out of the closet, decorating, and then putting it all away again after is another.

And I just realised that candlelight Christmas Eve service—which I love, love, love—may well be torture. It will be our congregation’s first in our new home. I was so looking forward to it. But all that flickering... maybe we can check it out and leave early if need be? I could make my kid hold my candle, and keep a sleep mask handy in case slipping it on briefly helps? We’ll see…

I keep hoping I’ll just magically feel better—I do feel a lot better than before!—but it also hit me today that Saturday will be the six week mark. My concussion pal told me that people usually feel better in three to six weeks, or three months, or it becomes chronic. I wanted to be a six-week person. Can’t help thinking I’d be farther along if my shoulder weren’t broken as well.  

Survival tips: what to wear

Getting dressed with one arm has been a real struggle. I can somewhat use my forearm now, but I have severe pain if I don’t keep my bicep basically glued to my ribcage. So, no sleeves, pretty much. Definitely no pullovers of any kind. Bottoms are difficult too—I struggle with fasteners one-handed, as well as just getting things on.

I have really been struggling with this! In part just, literally, struggling, because it’s colder now, so can’t just bum around in tank tops or whatever (although spaghetti-strap tank tops have been a lifesaver, because you can just step in an pull them up). But also, it is just really demoralising. I normally enjoy dressing—used to work in vintage clothing, have all sorts of fun pieces, but they’re mostly not injury friendly. I prefer tailored and fitted to baggy and loose, so I can’t button my shirts over my sling easily (I had my arm buttoned into a shirt all day once, and by the end my hand was numb). I can’t wear the tank top with nothing over, because it’s too cold. Pencil skirts that zip up on the left are difficult to put on. It’s too cold for bare legs and tights are impossible. I owned precisely one pair of jogging pants before this, because they’re just not my style. Now I own about six, and I look into the mirror and it’s not my own self looking back. Whiny, but it bugs me.

But I figured out a solution. I ordered a bunch of snap tape. I took a few expendable tops—a couple of hand-me-downs that my kid outgrew, and a black mock-neck pullover I made years ago—ripped out the left side seams (if I really want, I can always re-sew them later, I guess?) and sewed in the snap tape. Voilà! Shirts I can put on. Doing up the snaps is not easy, and on cold days the feel is breezy. But it’s so much better than nothing.

Looks like a normal polo shirt!

Awkward pose, but you can see the snaps!

Then an email popped up, saying, “a seller has offered you a discount on a vintage red cape.” After sighing and wishing I could splurge on such a thing, it occurred to me—capes are perfect when you can’t wear sleeves! It should be here any minute; I keep anxiously running to the porch every time I hear a sound. (My new glasses came today too—almost as good as my old glasses!)

Glasses, new and old

I am sick of the constant jogging pants though (even if I did manage to find one cool pair). And finally, it hit me this morning—suspender tights (warning: NSFW)! Regular tights would be a nightmare to get on one-handed, not to mention having to deal with them again every time you go to the loo. With suspender tights, they’re easier to get into since the hip-to-waist area is basically missing, and once they’re on, underpants go on top, and can go up and down as needed without involving the tights. I think (hope) I have another pair somewhere!