Comments (8)

By bethany (dreadlock girl), February 17, 2010 00:28

I have dreamed of that home-cooked, home-made pasta on my lips, and my life is now pasta complete. I used some of my Christmas money to buy the CucinaPro 150 Imperia Pasta Machine. Since the day it was dropped off at my door, every time I have made pasta, in each variety and shape it has been a meal that we have almost eaten in complete silence. I know that does sound funny maybe, unless you know what it is like to eat with small children, at least at our house know that those quiet meals are my best meals. The boys are silent while they take bite after bite and lick their lips and fingers while they are at it. There is nothing like fresh, homemade pasta, if you like pasta you will find homemade pasta a revelation(could I say life changing??), and if you consider yourself a non-pasta loving creature- I dare you to try it homemade. Dare you.

I will include sauce recipes and other tips as I continue to get better at writing the recipes down as I make them, so far I do have a fave though which includes some of my home canned summer tomatoes and cubed mozzarella cheese-terrific. I will need to check on quantities though as I am a handful here and a pinch there type of cook.

Here I leave you with the following recipe, it is the basic pasta recipe by which I have made all different types of noodles and dishes so far- it has yet to let me down. I include it here so that you see just how simple homemade pasta is, so that you will try it and love it as much as we do.

Basic Homemade Pasta Recipe:

3 Eggs (the fresher the better)
3 Cups of Bread Flour
Water (as needed)

Put the 3 eggs and 3 cups of flour into the mixer or into your bowl. Stir until combined, add water slowly and continue to mix. Knead by hand after mixing until uniform. The consistency of the dough should be firm, elastic and smooth. Work the dough in your hands for at least 5 minutes after desired consistency is reached to result in a perfect dough. Store dough wrapped in plastic wrap in fridge for 60 minutes to rest and cool. Remove dough and roll out flat. Use your pasta maker to roll dough through, on largest setting, then double and roll through on same (largest) setting. Turn nob to desired thickness, liberally flour flattened dough and run though pasta machine. Run through your noodle attachment being sure to coat dough with enough flour beforehand. Your noodles are formed! Lay them out or hang them to dry for at least 30 minutes. This drying time will make tender pasta noodles, while avoiding the sogginess.

These will only need to boil for less than half the time than the store bought dried pasta you may be used to. Bring a large pot of water to boil, add generous amount of salt (this is the only salt in your noodles) I generally add 2 Tablespoons or so. Gently place your pasta in the boiling water. Boil for approximately 4 minutes, or to taste.

Stew up your favourite sauce, or just add salt, butter and pepper for a great snack to hold you until the rest of the fam gathers for dinner.

Comments (8)

By bethany (dreadlock girl), November 9, 2009 12:43

Spring Scents Bath Salts
3 Cup Epsom Salt
1 Cup Course Sea Salt
1/2 Cup Baking Soda
2 Tbs. Liquid Glycerin
12 drops lavender essential oil
6 drops Ylang Ylang essential oil
Food Colouring Red and Blue (optional)

Use more or less essential oil depending on how strong you want your bath to be scented. Combine ingredients. I never use a particular order, just be sure to combine them completely so that you have a uniform mixture of relaxation and calm. I poured the salts into pint sized jars and added a lavender flower to the front of each just for pretties sake. The lavender and Ylang Ylang really settle a body down, bringing calm and peace. For an extra charged bath grab your Bible and some worship music to blast you into perfection.

Citrus Blooms Bath Salts
4 Cups Epsom Salts
2 Cups Sea Salt
3 Cups Baking Soda
2 Tbs. Liquid Glycerin
10 drops Lemon essential oil
10 drops Sweet Orange oil
10 drops Ylang Ylang oil
Food Colouring (optional)

Combine ingredients in a big bowl. I realized when I was dumping some of this into the bath, that yellow is not a great choice for bath salts, so I would recommend making this a different colour, or leaving it white. It is up to you. This is perfect for that soothing bath after a long day, read the Bible, listen to some tunes and restore all that faith goodness back into you. Great for relaxation and refreshing of the body too! Just as above I poured the salts into pint size Ball jars for gifts this Christmas. I also left half of the mix without colour and alternated to make a striped pattern.

This is the second recipe I have shared out of our Christmas a la Homemade (a handmade Christmas). I will be posting these up until Christmas to give you ideas for gifts you can make for your friends and family.

Enjoy a Homemade Christmas with your family too! Get started now.

This is a gift idea that I have shared for my  Christmas a la Homemade (a handmade Christmas). I will be posting these up until Christmas to give you ideas for gifts you can make for your friends and family.

Previous Ideas from my Christmas a la Homemade (A Handmade Christmas):
Rosemary Sea Salt Recipe
Bath Salts Soak Recipe
Knit Granny Washcloth (or Dishcloth) Pattern
Make a Reading Pillow for the Bookaholic(s) in Your Life

Comments (11)

By bethany (dreadlock girl), June 10, 2009 09:51

Why have oatmeal or cereal everyday? Well, I can’t find any reason for that myself, so we switch things up. Fruit and cottage cheese is nothing new, but I know that for me I sometimes need to see things in order to remember to eat them. That may be just me thoguh. This is one of our favourites, and it is actually quicker than oatmeal.  I canned peaches last year in a very light syrup (which I hope to do again this year) on top of that is cottage cheese and then a sprinkling of brown sugar and cinnamon.

Do you have a breakfast dish you’d like to share? We always are on the lookout for new treats!

Comments (2)

By bethany dreadlock girl, April 2, 2009 23:52

Oh, this was delicious it got two thumbs up from us all. I am trying to work on using up more and more eggs and this recipe was perfect for using up tons, while at the same time being extremely scrumptious.

I tend to just dump stuff into my recipes and it is hard for me to remember that if I want to put it up here I need to measure things out. Yes, I am the “handful of this” and “this much of that” type.

For this recipe I followed two recipes I searched for: how to make perfect hardboiled eggs and Curried Egg Salad. However I never follow a recipe right, and I made some amendments.

Curried Egg Salad Delight (for egg salad sandwiches)

15 hardboiled eggs
1 Tablespoon curry powder (add more to taste)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 cup plain organic yogurt (more if it seems dry)
small jar of bread and butter pickles (I used some of our homemade ones)
one red onion chopped
handful of minced chives

So for the updo, you boil the eggs (with this recipe) and then peel when they are done. Dump all of the ingredients in together as you stir be sure to get the eggs all good and chunked. Don’t get them too mushy- a good egg salad needs that texture.

When I made this I used well over 20 eggs. I mean we have tons of them anyway so why not? Now they are all cooked up into something that we can just eat quick and it is very good too. I am not huge mayo lover, and with all the eggs it seems like over- kill. I wondered if the yogurt would give it a strange flavor but I can’t taste it at all.

Be sure and let me know how yours turns out!

Comments (0)

By bethany dreadlock girl, March 21, 2009 03:27

A treat at our house is Mexican Chocolate, it is the stuff that makes you feel like you are special, warm and that your belly is filled with cinnamon, chocolate and milk. It is not something we take lightly here, it is a treat. I think I made it that way. Oh, no doubt that I would love to drink it all day long, but it is a little hassle as you need to get a big pot (depending on how gluttonous you are feeling) and a blender. No biggie for you? Well, I am not fond of doing dishes all day, maybe it is just me.

The boys have been asking for this tummy warming delight lately, and this week we have indulged multiple times. Oh, it is really worth every dish washing second!

How you do it:
*Heat milk in a pot on the stove (don’t boil).
*pour hot milk and Ibarra (or other brand) Mexican chocolate in blender.
(2 segments per cup of milk)
*blend until completely mixed and foamy.
*enjoy!

For some reason we enjoy it with tortilla chips, the boys think this is actually the way it is supposed to be done, they dip the chips in the hot chocolate as it cools.

What is your favourite tummy warming treat??

Comments (3)

By bethany dreadlock girl, February 24, 2009 16:00

Oven Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Recipe from Alton Brown of Food Network (doubled and slightly amended)

Ingredients

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoon powdered mustard
• 6 cups milk
• 1 cup yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 large egg
• 10 ounces shredded mozzarella
• 10 ounces cheddar
• 2 teaspoon kosher salt
• black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it’s free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 9 by 13 casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Remember to save leftovers for fried Macaroni and Cheese.

Comments (2)

By bethany dreadlock girl, January 25, 2009 05:41

This is an amazing recipe, I have used it twice now and it will be around our house to stay. We all love it, B the boys and I. YUM! I didn’t know if bread pudding sounded too good, but I am convinced %100.

Tomato Bread Pudding
(Katie Brown Celebrates, p. 182)
Serves 12 (makes one 13 by 9-inch pan)

This is a a great way to use up tomatoes and bread that are about to go. Combine them with cheese and spices, and you will have a delicious pudding.

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Large Onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
5 Tablespoons fresh thyme
1+1/4 Cups Heavy Cream
2+1/4 Cups Chicken Stock (we use veggie stock bouillon)
1 Tablespoon Salt
1+1/2 Teaspoons black pepper
2 eggs
10 Cups cubed french bread
2+1/2 Cups grated Parmesan
6 Cups Halved Cherry Tomatoes ( I use roma tomatoes that I canned…they are soooo good!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Heat a medium-size saute pan over high heat and add olive oil. When oil is hot, add onion, garlic and thyme. Lower heat to medium and cook until onion is soft, about 6 minutes. Place mixture in a large mixing bowl and allow to cool. Add cream, stock, salt, pepper, and eggs, and whisk until well combined.

3. Add bread, Parmesan, and tomatoes, tossing well to coat everything, and allow mixture to sit for at least 10 minutes. Place in a greased 13 by 9-inch pan and bake until top is golden brown and pudding is set, about 45 minutes.

ENJOY~