I make dinner almost every night. It’s the exception, rather than the rule, to have Stacy in charge for supper. So it was a big surprise for all of us when I had to turn over the kitchen to Stacy the other night.
Some of you parents may be familiar with this kind of thing. Finian goes to a private co-op preschool part-time because we are suburban neo-hippies like that. Part of the deal with co-op preschools is that the parents do almost all the non-teaching work in the school. That means a flood of emails with instructions on our assigned next “mission.” Frankly, I simply scan most of these and only focus on the ones that seem relevant to me. This is why I missed an email that said to change the time on the roadside signs I had spent Friday assembling and placing. This is also what found me out on the side of the road at 6 PM on a dark Sunday night taping last minute replacement paper signs in the most professional of ways. Ah well. Such is life as a parent in Fairfax County, I suppose.
While I was out doing that, rather than freak out that nothing was planned or started on my behalf, Stacy took an opportunity in the test lab. As you know, we’re doing the 21 Day Sugar Detox until this coming Saturday when we celebrate the completion of our tenth year together with a giant replacement wedding for the one we never had. Our food choices have felt a little restricted the past couple weeks because of it. Earlier that week I had screwed it up a little bit by serving butternut squash as a side when that’s on the limited list.
Stacy, however, took a look at the list of approved foods, then our pantry and invented Paleo Spaghetti Carbonara. Or, more aptly, Spaghetti Squash alla Carbonara. Carbonara is traditionally a creamy bacon and egg pasta. Originally, that was all the carbonara needed, but often you’ll find something green in there as well, like peas. If you want to add something else, we recommend you roast some broccoli and toss that in.
This is delicious stuff and was a wonderful surprise when I came in from the cold and found a great hot meal waiting for me!
Ingredients
- 1 medium spaghetti squash
- 12 oz nitrate-free bacon
- 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder
- 1/2 C full-fat coconut milk
- 6 eggs
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning (or herbs de provence)
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 heaping Tbsp lard (or butter)
Instructions
- Cut the spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the seeds, place open side down on a plate and microwave for 10 minutes (alternatively, bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees)
- While the squash is cooking, fry up the strips of bacon (whole) in a pan over medium heat. Use one you can also scramble eggs in, we like a cast iron skillet
- When the bacon is finished cooking and crispy, remove from the pan and set-aside bacon
- Over medium heat, whisk in the arrowroot powder to the bacon grease and let cook for a few minutes
- * While the arrowroot cooks, combine eggs, coconut milk, seasoning, parsley, salt and garlic powder in a bowl until all yolks are fully incorporated
- Pour eggs into pan, stirring frequently, and cook in bacon fat until still wet but cooked through (about 3 minutes)
- Slice bacon into 1/4 inch strips, add to serving bowl and top with egg mixture
- * Scoop out spaghetti squash "noodles" with a spoon and and add to serving bowl, top with lard
- *Slowly start to incorporate lard into spaghetti squash; once melted, stir to combine all ingredients
* Let your little ones help with these steps.
Note: the prep and cook time for this is insanely short at 15-20 minutes, and it’s best served right away. In other words, have the table set and be ready to eat when you begin making this!
Serves 4, or 6 if you add roasted broccoli or serve a side salad. This would also make a fantastic breakfast, so you might want to double the recipe to ensure leftovers – because we sure didn’t have any!
