Yep. That’s my drive home from work. Isn’t it pretty?

I should preface this recipe by telling you that we spent much of this past weekend thrift store shopping (don’t worry, we’ll come around to the Spaghetti Squash Bread eventually, but if you’re too impatient just scroll down). Anyway, I tend to get excited when I find fun things in thrift stores, and I just need to share it with the world 🙂

During our weekend of running around town to thrift stores, used bookstores (Bookmans), and a farmer’s market (St. Philips Place Farmer’s Market), I walked away with the following:

1. 4 New Books, 3 of which are cookbooks (…maybe that seems a little excessive. Don’t worry though – I got rid of three boxes of books during our adventures to Bookmans and the thrift stores, and walked away with a nice $170 store credit to Bookmans. Sweet!)
2. A jar of raw Orange Blossom honey from New Mexico (courtesy of Bee Chama Honey)
3. A clear vintage glass Fire King oval baking dish
4. A glazed (peach) glass Fire King double serving dish
5. “S” and “P” ceramic salt and pepper shakers
6. A 70’s era mug with flowers on it
7.  Two 60s-era Japanese gold leaf flower-decorated bowls
8. A 1977 mustard yellow edition “Betty Crocker Recipe Card Collection” in pristine condition (and complete!)
9. A new favorite Mexican restaurant in Tucson. Rosa’s is great – my beef tamale was to die for (and didn’t cause me any digestive upset, as Mexican Food often does…). TMI?

When I got home Sunday afternoon I immediately cleaned all of my goodies (I like to see old things get a fresh new sparkle), and then laid them out on the counter just to take it all in. There’s something deeply satisfying about looking at the beautiful things that you’re able to find after sorting through junk all day.

While admiring my finds from the weekend, I couldn’t help but see my lonely spaghetti squash from last week’s farmer’s market, staring at me from the other side of the kitchen counter. I wanted to ignore that it was there, and just bask in the afterglow of a successful weekend of finding some good deals. Why couldn’t I just ignore the fact that I needed to do something with it – anything with it? Honestly, the spaghetti squash had been bothering me all weekend.

Hmm… where to begin? It started with the CSA share we picked up last week (see my last post). I hate to admit it, but over the last few months Kirk and I haven’t eaten as many veggies as we should have. I’d like to blame it on stress and moving… but the bottom line is that we really just love unhealthy food. I know we can’t be alone – if it has been deep fried, covered in melted cheese and/or full or carbs, you better believe we want to eat it 🙂

So now that we have an excess of veggies courtesy of our CSA, I’ve been feeling pretty overwhelmed trying to think of creative and tasty ways to use them up before they all wilt/rot in the fridge. The oranges, of course, are long gone – they got sliced and eaten almost immediately. The braising greens were used up Saturday night (I made spicy braised greens with bacon to accompany a nice piece of baked salmon with fresh dill and lemon). The kohlrabi, two tomatoes, a few carrots, and a few leaves of Tokyo Bekana were used in a salad last night. The collard greens were sauteed in chicken broth, garlic, and bacon tonight. The sourdough bread was sliced, toasted, and spread with butter and raspberry preserves for breakfast this weekend (although there’s still about a third of the loaf left. The sourdough is insanely delicious, I might add). So I think we’re doing fairly well! It really takes a lot of meal planning when you have this much produce on your hands!

But here’s the thing, the Spaghetti Squash had been staring at me all weekend and I had no idea what to do with it until Sunday, when I was standing there looking at my “new to me” kitchen ware and wanting to be in complete denial of it’s very existence. I mean geez, it was huge! I had been scouring the internet looking for some fun way to use it, and the general consensus seemed to be that most people roast it, sprinkle it with a little olive oil and salt, and eat it just so. I’m sorry, but that just seemed boring. I’ve eaten it that way before – in fact that’s the only way I’ve ever prepared it. And don’t get me wrong, it’s good! Wonderful in it’s simplicity when you’re craving something, well, simple.

I don’t know why, but I had been craving some banana bread in the morning. Why? I don’t know. I just was. Who can explain such things? And then it hit me – why not make a sweet quick bread with the giant spaghetti squash??? Really? I mean, people make zucchini bread, carrot bread, pumpkin bread, etc… so why not spaghetti squash bread? In theory, it shouldn’t be much different, should it? Well, it isn’t 🙂 And I love it! I really couldn’t be happier with this discovery.

Spaghetti Squash Bread

Ingredients (for two loaves)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups cooked spaghetti squash

Directions