Dinner Tonight: Not-sta

Sometimes, I just really want comfort food, and while I consider a whole lot of things "comfort foods," one of the leading contenders for comfort champ is a big bowl of pasta, with a lot of sauce on top. But sometimes I want comfort foods on days when I've already overeaten.

This morning I went to brunch with two good friends, and had something the diner called "Eggs Florentine Benedict," which is basically regular eggs benedict with an interjection of steamed spinach between the egg and the English muffin. It was fantastic, but ironically, the one part of the meal that fell flat for me, the Hollandaise sauce, was the one part that ran me way, way over for calories. So when I came home from work with a growling tummy and a pounding headache, I had to get creative about that big bowl of pasta.

This is the solution to the pasta problem: Squash. When cut into long, thin slices, steamed squash takes on a texture enough like pasta to keep me happy. When I make this at home, I use my mom's mandoline to simplify the job, but I found tonight that I can do just fine with some focus and a chef's knife. Cut the ends off the squash, halve it crosswise, and carefully cut the halves lengthwise into wide, thin strips. Cut the strips into strings. (See why I use the mandoline?)

You will need:

1 T olive oil

1 clove garlic

1/3 cup onion, chopped

1/4 cup mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup carrots, grated

3/4 cup water

1 small yellow squash or zucchini, cut into long, skinny strips

1 cup spinach, cut into strips

1 6-oz. can of tomato paste

Basil and oregano to taste

In a large pot over medium heat, sweat the garlic and onion and let them start to caramelize. Add the mushrooms and saute until they are wilted and tender, then the carrots. Stir in the squash strings and water. Cover and let cook until the squash is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and let cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste, and season to taste.

All this seems like a lot, but because it's all vegetables, it cooks up quickly once the prep is done, and it serves just one person. This recipe made me two big bowls of not-pasta comfort food, and still came in right around the 400-calorie mark. Consider me comforted.

Serves: 1

Nutrition information: 404 total calories, 49g carbohydrates, 19g fat, 16 g protein, 11g fiber, 574mg sodium.