If you enjoyed last week’s butternut squash recipe, here’s something you’ll love.

(Actually, this column was supposed to be in last week’s paper to begin with … curse you, editors!)

Anyway, here we go:

Spaghetti squash is a yellow, rugby ball-shaped vegetable that can be prepared in much the same way as butternut squash can. You will need:

A baking pan

A cutting board

A sharp kitchen knife

A serving bowl

A spaghetti squash

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1 cup tomato sauce (optional)

1/2 onion, diced (optional)

Garlic powder (optional)

First, wash the squash in cold water and cut it in half lengthwise. There are quite a few seeds inside, stretching from end to end, but go ahead and remove them.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. After lightly coating the cutsides with olive oil, you’ll want to let your squash cook in the oven, cutsides down, for about 30-40 minutes.

Now it’s time for the fun part, when you get to turn this steaming rugby ball into spaghetti. Take the two halves out of the oven and flip them over. You’ll notice that the yellow insides look much softer now. Run a fork down the inside of each half. The cooked insides will separate into spaghetti-like strands—hence the name. Scoop out as much as you can into a medium-sized bowl.

If you’re a simple sort of person, all it takes to make this a finished dish is a little olive oil and some salt and pepper. But there is so much more you can add. You can, for example, make your own spaghetti sauce: All you need is a cup of tomato sauce simmering on low heat, with pepper and garlic powder added to taste. If you want, you can even add half an onion, diced and browned in a pan. Really, the more vegetables you add, the better your squash dish becomes. Feel free to make it up as you go.

Now go COOK!