The tomatoes at Fair Weather Farm are growing full speed. It’s exciting week after week hunting for the bright red ripe tomatoes just like when I was little girl. After three days of working out in the fields I was rewarded with a very generous amount of organic tomatoes including gorgeous Heirloom, Roma, and a super cute tomato that grows in the shape of a long pepper. When I came home with my arms overflowing with one of our favorite ingredients, Amy declared she wanted spaghetti for dinner. So Amy whipped up some pasta dough, rolled it out and cut a batch of noodles while I simmered a hearty marinara sauce on the stove. It was a beautiful, scrumptious bowl of pasta.

Simple Pasta

Ingredients:

2 cups cake flour

1 cup all purpose flour

4 local, free range egg yolks

1/4 cup EVOO

pinch of salt

water as needed

Method:

Blend all ingredients in a food processor, adding a little water as needed until a smooth dough is formed. Knead the dough in a little flour about 6 minutes. Wrap kneaded dough in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Roll out dough in a little flour and cut dough to desired thickness (we are currently cutting the pasta with a pizza cutter). After the dough is cut, toss with a tiny about of flour and allow the noodles to rest at least 15 min. Bring a large stock pot of water to a gentle boil and add enough salt to the water so that the water taste like the ocean. Drop in the fresh noodles and cook until al dente about 10 to 15 minutes or until pasta is to your desired consistency. Immediately remove pasta from water and drop into in your favorite sauce or enjoy simply with a tab of butter and a good sprinkling of fresh grated Parmesan.

Hot Italian Sausage Marinara 

Ingredients:

8 – 10 organic tomatoes, chopped

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

4 links Detwiler’s hand made Hot Italian Sausage

2 sprigs garden fresh Rosemary, finely chopped

5 sprigs garden fresh Oregano, chopped

2 – 4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried Italian blend herbs

1 cup loosely packed garden fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon EVOO

pinch of sugar

1 tab of butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a large dutch oven over medium high heat warm the olive oil and then saute the onion and red bell until translucent, about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper. Add the chopped garlic and dried Italian herbs and saute a couple minutes longer. Next add in the Hot Italian Sausage and saute until the sausage has browned, breaking up large pieces as needed. Add in the chopped tomatoes, garlic and onion powder, chopped rosemary and oregano, a pinch of sugar, stir and then bring the tomatoes up to a simmer. Salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat and continue to simmer the tomatoes until they reduce into a beautiful marinara sauce at least 45 minutes to an hour or longer. Finish the marinara with a tab of butter and the chopped fresh basil. Adjust seasonings as needed. Serve over hand made noodles or your favorite pasta.

Note: I never seed or peel my tomatoes, as I feel it is wasteful and robs the dish of essential fiber and vitamins but feel free to take the extra couple of steps if you prefer a sauce with out bits of tomato skins.