Local Spaghetti

Since becoming a New Yorker I've been embracing New York products and services because I believe in supporting our local economy.  I think it's natural to be proud of where one lives and what the area offers.  

Not too long ago I was messaging my cousin recommending my favorite gluten free pasta brands on Thrive Market.  As she was browsing the site she excitedly informed me that Thrive Market carries Rao's marinara sauce.  Rao's is one of the best Italian restaurants in New York and has been bottling their special sauce for years because it's that popular. 

So I decided to order some bottles of Rao's marinara sauce and give it a try in making spaghetti sauce.  I think the results were spectacular so every time I make spaghetti sauce I use Rao's.  I love the product and I love that it's from New York! Now I just need to make it into New York City and reserve a seat at one of Rao's restaurants.  

I like meat in my spaghetti sauce so I use either local, pasture raised sweet Italian sausage or local, grass fed ground beef from my CSA Greyrock Farm in Cazenovia.  They sell quality meats and it really makes a difference in taste.

I also add anchovies.  Anchovies are one of those important foods that is so overlooked.  People immediately think, "Yuck, I will never eat anchovies.  It's smelly and gross."  They have it all wrong -- anchovies are true brain food.  And if your children don't like anchovies, just don't tell them that you put it in their spaghetti sauce.  They will never know!

I recommend using as much local, organic produce as possible.  I am fortunate because my CSA carries a lot of the ingredients I use for my spaghetti sauce.  I also don't mind traveling to other local, organic farms for my vegetables.  

This spaghetti sauce is so flavorful and delicious, and like most sauces, its taste improves if aged a day or two.  If I can get the pickiest eaters that I know to eat it I think it's a winner!

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Special Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

1 bottle of Rao's marinara sauce 

2 to 3 garlic cloves minced

1/4 to 1/2 onion chopped well

3 to 4 anchovies

1 tbsp of freshly chopped  rosemary, sage, thyme

1/3 pound of sweat Italian sausage or ground beef (my meat is grass fed or pasture raised and local from Greyrock Farm), optional

1 to 2 cups filtered water

Himalayan pink sea salt

Flat parsley as garnish

Directions

In a large stainless steel pot, brown the sausage.  Add the onion and a dash or two of Himalayan pink sea salt to break up the cellulose fiber and saute for 2 minutes. Add the garlic. Saute for a minute.  Mash in the anchovies and mix in with the other ingredients.  Add the marinara sauce, the herbs, and the water.  Simmer for at least 30 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

Try this with a good organic pasta preferably made in Italy.  If you want to try gluten free pasta, try Jovial or Ancient Harvest brands.  

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“Since becoming a New Yorker I’ve been embracing New York products and services because I believe in supporting our local economy.”

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Mushroom And Beef Stroganoff

One of the neat things that my family and I did this summer was participate in the Open Farm Day event in Madison County in Central New York.  We spent a whole Saturday visiting three local farms in our area.  

My main interest for this event was to see the mushroom farm Fruit of the Fungi.  Since it's hard to find local, organic mushrooms the idea of touring this mushroom farm was such a unique opportunity I couldn't pass it up.  

If you've been following me for a while you know about my fascination with mushrooms.  Why mushrooms?  Mushrooms are medicinal.  There are certain ones that will help control blood sugar and even help ward off cancer.  Mushrooms are certainly one of Mother Nature's gifts to us.  

Fruit of the Fungi has been growing a number of certified organic mushrooms like shiitake, reishi, lion's mane, and king trumpet for ten years.  They also sell a wonderful variety of mushroom powders and dried mushrooms.  I love the versatility of the mushroom powders. I have been adding it in a lot of my dishes.  I've even used the powder as a gluten free breading for tuna cakes.

One of the perks that I got from visiting Fruit of the Fungi besides seeing how they grow their mushrooms was picking up some of their delicious mushroom recipes.  One of the recipes that I had to try right away was their stroganoff recipe.

This recipe is a winner!  You can make adjustments when needed or to one's preference.  This recipe can be prepared dairy free and gluten free.  Mushrooms really make this meal packing it with so much flavor.  I like using shiitake and cremini mushrooms.  I've tried other combinations but that's my personal preference.  The original recipe called for venison but I used grass fed sirloin steak instead.  I've also used grass fed tenderloin and that works great, too.  

I like to use local organic wheat pasta with this recipe.  For those in Central York New my favorite pasta at the moment is Flour City Pasta.  I like fettuccine for this recipe but any one will work really well.  If you would like to avoid wheat, you could use gluten free pasta, organic rice or mash potatoes.  For a gluten free pasta option I've also tried organic quinoa pasta shells by Ancient Harvest.  It's pretty good.  

Since coming across this recipe I've made it several times adding my own spin to it.  I think this is a recipe that really can't go wrong.  Even my four year old can't get enough of it.  Like I've mentioned I love the mushroom powder.  I believe that it helps thicken the sauce a bit.  If you don't use mushroom powder you could add a few tablespoons of pasta water until you like the consistency of the sauce.  Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.  I love this recipe and I hope you and your loved ones do too!

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Mushroom and Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

3 tbsp grass fed butter or ghee

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped very small

Freshly ground pepper

Himalayan pink sea salt

1/8 to 1/4 cup red wine or brandy

4 cups shiitake and cremini mushrooms (and/or mix with king trumpets and oysters)

1 lb grass fed sirloin steak, grass fed tenderloin, or venison, cut into thin strips

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp mushroom powder

1 cup homemade beef or mushroom stock

1 cup organic crème fraiche or 3/4 cup organic sour cream (dairy free sour cream is available at health food stores if you're on a dairy free diet)

1 tsp brown mustard

3 or 4 sprigs flat parsley, chopped

Directions

Heat oil and butter in a cast iron pan and saute onions for about 5 minutes.  Add mushrooms and continue to cook until mushrooms are just tender.  Remove and set aside.  Add cut steak to the same pan and quickly fry for 3 to 5 minutes.  Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and mushroom powder.  Add wine and continue cooking until alcohol burns off.  Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to release all the brown bits, they will add flavor to the sauce.  Add the stock.  Put onions and mushrooms back into the pan and cook for about 3 minutes until everything is heated through and slightly bubbling.  Stir in crème fraiche and mustard well.  Add the parsley.  Serve with pasta, mash potatoes or rice.  Enjoy!

Central New York Favorites

Fruit of the Fungi  You can order their mushroom powders and dried mushrooms on their website.  I highly recommend.  They can also be purchased through Greyrock Farm's CSA program as well as the CNY Regional Market.

Flour City Pasta  I love the texture of this pasta and that it's local and handmade the old traditional Italian style.  I get mine at Greyrock Farm.  

MacDonald Farms Mom's Mustard  I never liked mustard before until I tried this brand.  It's so delicious.  It can also be found at Greyrock Farm.

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“Mushrooms are medicinal. There are certain ones that will help control blood sugar and even help ward off cancer. Mushrooms are certainly one of Mother Nature’s gifts to us.”

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Best Burgers

I got the best compliment not too long ago.  It was really sweet and it warmed my heart.  We had our very good friends over for dinner.  I decided to serve something delicious and kid-friendly because I knew that our friends' youngest is a picky eater.  

After dinner our friends' youngest came up to me and softly whispered, "That was my favorite dinner."  I was so surprised but very touched.

Just a couple of weeks ago my husband and I packed lunch for my parents who were returning back to Virginia.  They spent almost two wonderful weeks with us visiting and exploring our area in Central New York. 

Midway through their trip I got a call from my mom.  She said that they were about to board again and that my dad asked her, "Why do Elaine's burgers taste better than mine?"

So good old fashioned burgers it was but with a healthy twist!

What makes these burgers are the local, organic ingredients that I put in them.  Fresh and local is really best!    

It's important to find top quality, premium ground beef.  I get my ground beef from our CSA in Cazenovia, New York.  Greyrock Farm sells grass fed meats sourced from local farmers.  I've tasted grass fed meats from the grocery store and sincerely they cannot compare to the grass fed and pasture raised meats I buy from Greyrock Farm.

 Another important ingredient in making the best homemade burgers is to use pasture raised eggs.  Pasture raised eggs are not the same as organic eggs, cage free eggs, or vegetarian fed eggs.  Pasture raised eggs have incredibly deep orange colored yolks and have more vitamins than all the other eggs out there.  So look for pasture raised eggs at the grocery.  Better yet find a CSA or local farmer who raises chickens out in the open pastures.  Happy chickens will lay the healthiest, most nutrient dense eggs.

Herbs give this burger recipe nice flavor and added health benefits.  Many people overlook culinary herbs but they can actually help with certain ailments.  I love using a variety of herbs for this recipe.  You can get organic herbs in the grocery store but I especially like growing my own in my vintage herb planter.

So here you go!  Try my favorite healthy burger recipe.  It's perfect for summer cookouts or just whenever you're craving a delicious homemade burger.    

Best Burgers

Ingredients

1/8 to 1/4 cup organic onion, minced

1 pasture raised egg

1 lb local grass fed ground beef

1 tsp Himalayan pink sea salt or to taste

About 3 tbsp organic herbs like parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary, etc., chopped finely

Condiments like organic ketchup, local mustard, avocado oil mayo, organic lettuce, organic tomato, organic bun (wheat or gluten free)

Directions

Place all the ingredients except the condiments in a large mixing bowl and mix well.  Shape your burgers into 4 equally sized burgers.  Grill or pan fry your burgers.  Place on toasted hamburger buns and add condiments. Enjoy!

Central New York Local Favorite

MacDonald Farms Mom's Zesty Brown Mustard.  I've never really been a mustard fan until I tasted this brand.  If you live in Central New York you need to pick up this mustard.  It is so good in burgers and any kind of sandwich or recipe that calls for mustard.  Look for raw local mustard in your area!

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“What makes these burgers are the local, organic ingredients that I put in them.  Fresh and local is really best!”

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Sami's Bakery

If I could clone Sami's Bakery in Tampa, Florida, and put it in every city in America, I would!  Sami's bread is the best clean bread that I've found.  I was privileged to first try it when my brother-in-law graciously hand carried a number of fresh loaves for a family reunion last year.  We got the millet bread, millet and flax bread, and cinnamon raisin millet bread.  

This bread is great especially for those who cannot tolerate or have food sensitivities to gluten, dairy, refined sugar, and eggs.  The ingredients are simple and straight forward.  But not all their bread and baked goods are gluten free, so I suggest you call the bakery first if gluten free products are what you are looking for.  

I like to place a large order online with Sami's in order to get my money's worth.  I normally order two loaves of millet, two millet and flax, and two cinnamon.  When I get the order, I'll put two loaves in the refrigerator and keep the rest in the freezer.  For my last order I decided to get two bags of the millet and flax plain chips as well.  I'm so happy that I got to try them because they were delicious and have become one of my favorite chips!  These chips are wonderfully tasty and crunchy!  

My parents kindly drove up from Virginia to visit us recently. While they were here, I noticed the loaves of bread in the fridge, and nostalgic thoughts of my dad's signature club sandwich came to mind.  I could not help but smile.  When I was a kid, his club sandwich was the afternoon snack that I always looked forward to.  I never grew tired of it.  So for old time's sake I asked my dad if he would make some club sandwiches with the Sami's millet and flax bread.  They turned out just how I remembered them but this time so much more tasty and healthy.  

Thanks dad and mom for always being so generous with your time and of course the delicious, unforgettable food that you share with us.  Here is my dad's clean club sandwich recipe.  Bon appétit!

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Dad's Clean Club Sandwich

Ingredients

6 slices of Sami's millet and/or flax bread, toasted

Mayo by Primal Kitchen made with avocado oil (my favorite mayo and so healthy too) to taste

Organic chicken breast, cooked and shredded, as much as you like

Romaine lettuce

Slices of tomato

Nitrate free, organic bacon, baked crispy in the oven

Directions

Prepare the chicken breast.  It can be baked in the oven with salt and pepper or pan fried on a cast iron skillet with a little bit of olive oil.  Cook it on both sides and cover from time to time to make sure the chicken gets fully cooked.  Toast 6 slices of Sami's millet bread.  Spread a little mayo on the first slice, always spreading the mayo inside of the slice.  Place your shredded chicken on top.  Next place another toasted bread with a little mayo.  Arrange 1 and half slices of bacon, tomato, and lettuce on top.  Gently press the third slice of toasted bread down with a little mayo.  And place 2 toothpicks into the sandwich and slice it diagonally.  Repeat all steps to make the second club sandwich.  Enjoy!

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Favorite Brands

Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Mayo

& 

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“So for old time’s sake I asked my dad if he would make some club sandwiches with the Sami’s millet and flax bread. They turned out just how I remembered them but this time so much more tasty and healthy. ”

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