About 10 years ago, when Drew was 6, he and spent a late-autum vacation in Venice, Italy. We stayed part in the main portion of Venice, and part on the Venetian island of Lido, which is unique among the Venetian islands for having beaches, a proper grocery store, and also cars and bicycles. We rented bikes and rode to the water taxi in the morning, then we'd ride back through the chill, damp evening to our hotel and it's cozy, 3-star restaurant.
Drew's favorite (and only meal) was the Spaghetti al Ragu, which he said was, "So scrumptios, and meaty, and delicious!" This recepie is modeled after the sauce we had there, which was notable to me for its simplicity (no big chunks of vegetables or anything, and although it tasted very meaty, it wasn't overloaded) and is forever known simply as "Scrumptios Meaty"
"Scrumptios Meaty" Spaghetti Sauce
- Pasta to serve four
- 1T Canola or other cooking oil
- 1/4 lb. of ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped small
- 2T olive oil
- 1, 14.5 oz. can of crushed tomatos (I like plain but sometimes accidentally buy some already salted or with basil or something and that's OK, too, just adjust the salt and basil in the recepie accordingly).
- 1t of dry basil or 2t fresh, chopped up
- 1/4t salt (more to taste)
- 1/4t pepper (more to taste)
- 1/2t brown sugar
Get some water boiling in a pot and cook the pasta as you're making the sauce.
Warm the canola oil in a skillet (you can go without the canola oil if the meat has some fat of its own), and brown the ground beef until it's almost done. Drain the beef in a colander and set the beef aside but do not scape out the bits of meat that are left in the pan. Just leave the pan as it is, that will flavor the sauce.
Put in the olive oil in the skillet on medium low. Open the can of crushed tomatos and have it ready. When the oil is ready, put in the garlic. Stir it all the time so it will get golden, but not burnt brown. When the garlic is done, pour in the crushed tomatos. That's why I say have it ready -- I've burned the garlic while trying to get the can of tomatos open. Now add the salt, pepper, basil, and sugar (sugar was my grandma's secret ingredient in everything). Let that simmer about 5 minues, then add back in the meat and simmer another 5 minutes. That's all.
Drew and the Original Scrumptious Meaty
It's my personal goal to adopt a "very little meat" lifestyle and I'm glad this recipie works in that direction. I think a quarter-pound of meat to serve 4 is pretty good. I'm not against killing and eating animals, but I know that whenever I see an animal up close, like a cow or a chicken or a turkey, I don't want to kill it, I want to love it. And, I am absolutely against inhumane treatment of animals and the way animals are treated on industrial farms, based on what I've heard and read.
Once, after I saw pigs smushed into a transport truck, snout to rear in 100+degree heat, I tried and failed to be a vegetarian. My conclusion now is to simply follow the word of wisdom, noting here the meat "to be used sparingly" part no one seems to think too much about. I hope I can make small difference for the animals by adopting a low-meat lifestyle. As I understand it, the driver behind industrial meat production is volume. Lots of meat, for a cheap price. If we ate less it wouldn't matter so much if humane treatment resulted in less meat at a more expensive price. I've often wondered if the word of wisdom's admonition to eat less meat is also intended as much for the good of the animals as it is for the good of us.
Your thoughts? I hope you like the recepie.
Friday, May 17, 2013 
The cicadas have arrived! 
