Pasta

Since I've been off my feet, I've been an insomniac & just fatigued all day. My foot is finally feeling better. The bump near my toe joint (?) went down a day or two ago & I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while. It's been years since I made pasta!

Yes, I do prep work with the Little Guy on my back. He loves watching the mixer do its deed & has a much better view up there than on a chair where his fingers are at risk. This also happens to be the best way to get a tired baby to sleep when all needs are satisfied. I'm holding him. He's content, safe, in the conversation, and capable of seeing what's going on. After all, if I ignore him, I'm just a hair tug away! & I hate hair pulling!

So, pasta! The recipe is a basic egg pasta recipe, so perhaps the length of kneading time helps it more, or that substitutes not using the crank at the end. It does call for flavorings in the pasta, which most don't. I don't have the Italian pasta flour, so I'm trying this with cake flour (big no no? I don't know). If this doesn't go well, I'll give it a go with all-purpose. I like whole wheat, but figured that I need to learn the "art" before I get too crafty. Maybe I'll pull out the old pasta book I have & make green spinach pasta..

The girls are "doing teamwork" to work the dough. The dough seemed a bit dry, but with a good pressing, it's come together nicely. TJ put a stockpot of water on to boil & we'll be enjoying our "House-Made Pasta" in no time!

Delicious!

Bread & Tomato Salad

Yum! I was out of scallions/green onions, so for the children (who aren't so used to salads regularly yet) I omitted onion. The tomatoes are from our neighbor. I subbed mozzarella, which i had in the fridge, & had the basil & mint in the garden.

Croutons

Last night, I thoroughly enjoyed reading through a bunch of Poor Girl Gourmet. This morning, I used up the two day old sourdough bread: French toast for breakfast & croutons (recipe from the book) that will go with a salad. The crusts will be processed for crumbs, for stuffing or coatings.