First off, let me agree that New Hampshire wildlife is off the hook! We live in Ohio, but in a town...so mostly our wildlife consists of dogs (on a leash), raccoons (knocking over our garbage cans), and juvenile delinquents (testing car-doors in search of loose change or CDs).
However, nature does prevail occasionally, and the kids managed to discover giant puddles full of it at the soccer fields this week. The drenching rains that have made this sports season so delightful created a home for millions of tadpoles. The children spent hours, literally, catching and releasing (mostly) these little creatures in empty Gatorade bottles, never happier:
What I really wanted to discuss was The Mentalist. Oh My Gosh!! Did you see that awesome season finale?? Yay, love!
Actually, what I really wanted to talk about was pasta, and how fun and easy it is to make noodles at home with your kids with no fancy ingredients and no special equipment. The fact is, you don't have to be perfect in order for this to turn out and amaze the kiddies! Give it a try!
Homemade Pasta - recipe from www.foodsogoodmall.com
Ingredients
2 cups flour
3 egg yolks
2 T olive oil
water
Instructions
1. Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center.
2. Add eggs and oil into the well, and use your fingers to mix together.
3. Add water as necessary (in small increments) till you get a nice dough-like consistency.
4. Remove the dough and knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is elastic and smooth.
5. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
6. Remove the dough from wrap, and role out into a thin sheet. Get it as thin as you can, but make sure your table is floured so dough won't stick to it.
7. Cut pasta into strips as thin or thick as you like.
8. Hang to dry for about 20 minutes (I use hangers!)
9. To cook pasta: Add to heavily salted boiling water and cook for around 3 minutes.
10. Enjoy with butter and parsley, or however your kids eat noodles!
Well, I just wanted to share the pasta process because it was one of those things that intimidated me. I thought you needed special flour or a special machine or a special Mario Batali gene....but it's NOT scary! Maybe one day I will get an appliance to help me roll and cut it out; but until then, it's nice to think that I can make it like the women did way back before those machines were invented!
Easy Rule #41113: Don't be afraid to try something new, something homemade. You may be surprised!
Easy Rule #22644: Sometimes it may be a bad surprise.*
*I tried this custard pie recipe last week that was an EPIC DISASTER! It was disgusting, seriously; I even lost a cookie sheet because the pie overflowed and then the filling burned onto the tray and I couldn't get it off so I threw everything out. Sad, sad day.
I still remember when you used to throw spaghetti on the ceiling to see if it was done!
ReplyDeleteHa! Now my babies do that..to see if mommy will clean it up....Also, homemade noodles seem to precious to toss against the wall so cavalierly. BUT, I definitely have to time my pasta; otherwise there's no telling how long it will boil away, unattended.... ;)
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