I share a lot of Paleo recipes on Freckled Italian, and while a lot of my snacks and side dishes are naturally vegetarian, I realize that I might sometimes alienate some of my vegan and vegetarian readers. So when Kate and Adam from The Florkens offered to contribute a vegetarian dinner recipe, I jumped at the chance to showcase something delicious from a different dietary lifestyle.

Spaghetti Squash with Falafel & Lentil Patties

Ingredients:

• One spaghetti squash
• Several tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 cup of cooked lentils
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• One 15-oz can of drained chickpeas
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons applesauce
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon each of onion powder, cumin, and chili powder
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Carefully cut the spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the insides, and season well with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for about an hour at 400.
2. In a food processor, combine the lentils, oatmeal, chickpeas, tahini, applesauce, garlic, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, and about a teaspoon each of salt and pepper. If you have picky vegetable eaters in your family, this is a great stage to add any "secret ingredients," like broccoli. Blend until ingredients form a paste. (If it's too runny, you can add some more oats; if it's too dry, add a splash of water.)
3. Form the paste into patties and cook for three minutes on each side over medium heat in a bit of olive oil. Set patties aside.
4. Once your spaghetti squash has cooked and cooled enough to handle, use a fork to scrape the squash out into noodles. Heat another tablespoon or so of olive oil, add some garlic, and combine with the spaghetti squash over medium heat. Add the nutritional yeast and mix well.
5. Remove spaghetti squash from heat and plate with a couple of the patties. Enjoy!

Adam and Kate plan to share more vegetarian recipes on their blog in the future, but in the meantime, you can get to know them a bit more right here. Thanks so much for the recipe, you guys!

I went to bed with a headache on Monday night and woke up yesterday with a migraine, which always makes me super nauseated. I haven't had one in a long time, though, so it kind of took me by surprise. I choked down a couple Advil and half a glass of water and fell back asleep until early afternoon. I decided to take it pretty easy the rest of they day and stayed in bed, just answering some emails, sipping on coffee, and watching episodes of Gilmore Girls. I didn't feel guilty about it once, which is sometimes just the best feeling.

Rob and I have started running regularly this week in preparation for our annual Thanksgiving 5K race in Roanoke. I get a little slower every year and my goal is to just finish under 30 minutes and the ever-cliche just have fun. I was on the phone with my friend Shawna the other day while she was taking a break from a long run and we talked about how hard it is to run more than three or four miles anymore. We still love it, though, so we keep doing it. I hope I continue to run forever.

I said "I love Charlotte" for the first time this week. And I think I meant it.

Six months and two wonderful days ago I married Rob, and I'm wondering where time is going in such a hurry. We're headed to Roanoke this weekend to celebrate our godson's first birthday and I have a feeling the holidays will be here before we know it. I'm trying to hard to just live in the moment, but it's much easier said than done. There's a lot going on in my life right now and it can really be a challenge to take it one day at a time. But I do my best.

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

--F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

What's your Myers-Briggs type?

I'm very much an INFJ- (that's introverted, intuitive, feeling, judging). I'm fine in social situations and even like them most of the time, but I'm truly an introvert at heart. I like to think that I'm creative as well as super perceptive, and when making decisions I absolutely rely on my personal thoughts and/or feelings over any sort of objective information, which is sometimes super frustrating for my incredibly logical (ENTJ) husband.

I love reading and learning about personality types, but my favorite Myers-Briggs related thing is this chart where you can find out which character from Harry Potter your personality type is most like. 

Describe your dream breakfast.

Modern Times Cafe in Minneapolis serves some of the most amazing breakfast I've ever had--and it's between their Croque John Paul with gluten-free bread and this special they offered sometimes that included eggs, black beans, corn tortillas, chorizo, fried plantains, and the most delicious avocado-cilantro sauce. Less specifically, though, my dream breakfast includes a latte followed by a Bloody Mary, Eggs Benedict, and super crunchy hash-browns.

In no particular order, what are three of your pet peeves?

When people use the word "anniversary" for anything that has been happening for less than a year, for example a "three month anniversary;" the absolute chaos that ensues when you order a burger or some barbecue without a bun anywhere in North Carolina; and when you put your blinker on and someone in the next lane deliberately refuses to let you merge.

What is your favorite show right now?

After vaguely being aware that there was hype around a show called "Parenthood" (and running out of Modern Family episodes), Rob and I decided to see what the fuss was about and are currently deep into life with the Bravermans. It's beautiful and funny and just really good. I'm extremely attached already.

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Your turn! I want to know your answers--leave them in the comments! And if you have a question you'd like me to include next time, I want to hear that, too. Thanks for playing along!