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Cherry Balsamic Pasta

A couple months ago we took the day to sign books (thanks Ann for the photo) at a cute little book store called Salt and Pepper Books in Occoquan Virginia with the Paleo Parents. While we were there we met some wonderful people who were incredibly supportive of our book and our website. Two people in particular that we got to meet really made an impact on us, Dave and Ann Wendel. They are an active couple in the Paleo community (Ann is a new member of the Whole 9 team), as well as the D.C. Meat Up group, and if you are attending AHS this year, you will get to hear this lovely couple speak! They spoke with us like we had been friends for years, and gave me personally some insight on my current thyroid journey.

Before we said our goodbyes, Dave asked if we would be interested in trying out some cooking items. Dave works with International Gourmet Foods, and told us there were some products that he really wanted us to try because we would LOVE them. We told him we would love to try them out, and he sent them to us right away. We received a jar of coconut oil, a bottle of balsamic vinegar, and a bottle of moscatel vinegar, and saffron. We ate through the jar of coconut oil in no time, and it was quite tasty! The balsamic is the most amazing balsamic I have EVER tasted, and makes any salad delicious. We have yet to get to the moscatel vinegar or the saffron, but my guess is that both of those will be just as amazing.

Last week Bill was craving a spaghetti squash pasta with meat sauce, and announced to me that he wanted to make a sauce using the balsamic vinegar from Dave. It sounded wonderful to me, so we gathered some impromptu ingredients at the grocery store, and headed home to throw together a meaty masterpiece.

paleo pasta with meat sauce

I knew Bill was the creator behind this dish, but I couldn’t help but join in with creating this recipe. As he picked fresh herbs from our garden, I chopped onion, and started browning the ground beef for the sauce. We each threw in a few ingredients, gave the sauce a taste, and dug in. It was fantastic! It had a sweeter flavor than a typical pasta sauce, due to the sweet cherry balsamic that we added in.

Thanks Dave for letting us taste test some fantastic products! We really appreciate your generosity!

paleo pasta with meat sauce

 

Cherry Balsamic Pasta

Serves: 4

Serves: 4decrease servingsincrease servings

Ingredients

Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Remove the stem of the spaghetti squash with a sharp knife, and cut the squash in half, longways.
  3. Scoop out the seeds, and place squash on a baking sheet.
  4. Bake at 400 for 45 minutes.
  5. Heat a large soup pot on medium heat.
  6. Add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil to the pot, followed by the garlic and onion.
  7. Add the ground meat and stir constantly, breaking up the chunks of meat and making sure the garlic and onion do not burn.
  8. Once the meat is browned and the onion and garlic are translucent, add the balsamic and continue to stir.
  9. Add the fire roasted tomatoes, the diced fresh tomato, salt, and pepper, and continue to stir until all is evenly combined.
  10. Add the basil and oregano, and stir to combine.
  11. Turn heat down to low, cover and simmer until the spaghetti squash is finished.
  12. Once the squash is cooled a bit, scoop out the inside with a fork, to plate the dish.
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    COMMENTS

    1. pranapt
      May 31, 2012

      Aw, you guys are too sweet! We really enjoyed meeting you too and look forward to talking some more at AHS12. Glad to see that you created a tasty recipe with the Balsamic Vinegar. I keep eating it off a spoon…..perhaps I should try being more creative! LOL
      Ann (and Dave)

    2. Melissa Hartwig
      May 31, 2012

      First, I think this dish looks amazing, we’ll have to try it as soon as we find some cherry balsamic. Second, I almost marked your pingback on our post as spam, because the title was “Cherry Balsamic Pasta.” I thought you were some dirty grain-pushers trying to spam us with your spaghetti… then I realized it was you, and it all made sense. Ha!

      Melissa & Dallas

    3. May 31, 2012

      That’s us! The dirty grain pushers…haha (no thanks). Funny thing, I almost forget people eat wheat pasta. I only really think of noodles now as being made from squash…

    4. June 21, 2012

      I ordered a bottle of this balsamic vinegar. It’s true…it is the most amazing balsamic vinegar. It is pricey so unfortunately, I can’t afford for it to be an everyday thing, but for the occasional special occasion…it is a must! I love this stuff!

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