Pasta maker!

I finally used my pasta maker this weekend and it was a lot of fun. After taking a pasta-making class at the Kitchen Conservatory earlier this year, I decided that I would be a person that makes her own pasta. But how time escapes me. Anyway, I came home today from a workout and errands and thought, why not now?

So to make a recipe that serves six (think leftovers!), you use a large bowl and measure 500 grams of flour. Make a hole in the middle of the flour, then add four eggs and mix it together with a fork until you get dough that is neither too wet nor too dry. Add a bit of water or more flour if you need to do so. Then knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your hands and cut a piece off to use in your pasta maker - you might even want to save some of the dough in a plastic bag for the next day.

Then piece by piece, you feed the dough through the pasta maker quite a few times until it is paper thin; then your pasta maker will make noodles (spaghetti and/or fettuccine) out of the thin dough. Also boil a pot of semi-salty water while you do this. Finally, drop the noodles into the hot water and let them boil for just a bit, then add shredded Parmesan cheese and a dab of margarine to a bowl (or a tomato sauce if you prefer). Voila! A very early Sunday supper.

Altogether with the measuring, kneading, and feeding the dough bit by bit through the pasta maker many times, I probably spent 1.5 hours in the kitchen (so lovely on a weekend, but a bit time consuming for a weekday). So I won't likely be making this a few times a week like my cooking instructor said she did. But oh so tasty! It's also nice to know exactly what you're eating:)

Weekend Eats

A few favorites:

Cheddar cheese, sliced tomato and avocado on whole wheat toast!

Dip for chips or crackers -- though I could eat this with a spoon: 1/2 avocado (chopped); 1/2 tomato (diced); 1/4 white onion (minced); 1 T garlic - stirred

Orange and Molasses Oatmeal Cookies

I sort of messed up an old Quaker Oats cookie recipe and came up with this:

- Heat oven to 350.
- Beat together 1 stick margarine, 1/2 c brown sugar, 1/4 c granulated sugar.
- Add 1 egg, 1/2 t orange flavoring, and 1 T molasses.
- Add combined 3/4 c all-purpose flour, 1/2 t baking soda, 1/2 t cinnamon.
- Stir in 1 and 1/2 c Quaker Oats and 3/4 golden raisins.
- Drop by rounded spoonful onto lightly greased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes (I have a slow oven).
- Let cool then eat!

My Cousins' Inventive Halloween Treats!

Isn't this clever? A good idea for next year!

This was called a "Kitty Litter Cake," and since I'm used to cleaning out litter boxes, I couldn't seem to try it!

Scary - but delicious - cheese blob! Boo!

These were made with Quorn, which I want to start cooking with now. So yummy!
For the adventurous!
**Recipes coming soon!**

Matzo Ball Soup

After a long day of voting, class, working out and writing, I felt like comfort food tonight. There seems to be no better comfort food than matzo ball soup. It's easy to make with a matzo ball mix, and healthy and vegetarian-friendly, too.

First you mix together 2 T vegetable oil and 2 eggs, then you add the matzo ball mix (I'm sure you could make this from scratch, but this just wasn't that kind of night) and stir. Then put this in the fridge while you make a 2.5-quart vegetable broth in a 4-quart pot, and throw in celery, carrots, egg noodles, or whatever you prefer.

When you take the matzo mix out of the fridge, make 1-inch (or 2-inch for giant matzo balls) balls with your hands and drop them into boiling water. A mix typically makes 6-9 servings for me.

Cover your pot and let simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Breakfast

My husband would never go near this, but I love it:

1/2 toasted wheat bagel
Philadelphia cream cheese
Slices of tomato, cucumber and avocado
Egg salad: one hard boiled egg with Miracle Whip and relish

So good. Protein, calcium, carbs, healthy fats, and veggies. Not a bad way to start a Sunday.

p.s. My cousins had the cutest, most creative vegetarian Halloween snacks at their party last night -- I'll try to get some photos from them to show off their work!

Homespun Pot Pie

I used a new cookbook last night for dinner with friends. I'd been perusing the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook for weeks, so I finally tried out a recipe: homespun pot pie. It was hearty and delicious, and tasted quite like Fall.

The directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 and lightly oil a 9x13 casserole dish.

2. Warm 1 t of vegetable in a soup pot (I used olive oil). Add 1 c coarsely chopped onions, 2-3 T minced garlic, cover and cook on medium for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add 1 t salt, 1 t thyme (we were out of thyme), 1 t dried marjoram, 4 to 5 c of mushrooms and 1 T of Dijon mustard. I changed this around a bit, adding only 2 cups of mushrooms and also 1 c cauliflower and 1 c broccoli instead. I forgot to add the mustard, even though we had some. Cook for about five minutes.

3. Then add 2 c peeled and chopped sweet potatoes (1/2-inch cubes), 2 c chopped potatoes, 2 c peeled and chopped parsnips (optional...I opted out), 1/2 t ground black pepper, and 3 c water or stock (I used water). Bring to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Then add 3 T of cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 c cold water into the simmering vegetable mixture and stir. When the liquid starts to thicken, add 1 c fresh or frozen peas, 1 c fresh or frozen corn, 1 T soy sauce, and 1/2 t salt. Pour the vegetables into the casserole dish and set aside.

4. In a mixing bowl, sift together 2 c unbleached white flour, 1/2 t salt, 1 T baking powder, and 1/2 t baking soda. In a separate bowl, mix together 6 T melted butter and 1 c buttermilk or plain yogurt (I eventually used more like 1 and 1/3 c of plain yogurt, since the biscuit dough seemed too dry to me). Combine the wet and dry ingredients into a soft dough and drop the biscuit batter over the vegetables in the casserole dish in six equal mounds. Sprinkle 1 t chopped fresh dill over the biscuits (again, we were all out).

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes (or 33 minutes if your oven is slow like mine is) and serve immediately. It makes the house smell delightful.

Note: to make this a vegan recipe, you'd substitute soy margarine for the butter and soymilk/rice milk or soy yogurt for the buttermilk/yogurt.

Pink Applesauce

Yesterday I chopped up seven apples (I did not peel the skin off) and put them in a pot, added 2/3 c water and 1 t cinnamon and let it simmer with a lid on for about 45 minutes. Then I mashed the mixture and voila: applesauce.

Cats and Yogurt

Apple bread

We went to Eckert's farm in Illinois last Saturday to pick apples. Strangely, I thought we should pick 80 pounds worth. So needless to say, we still have a ton of apples. I did make an apple bread last weekend, which I'll post a picture of here. I'm sure I'll be scouring my cookbooks and the Internet for more apple recipes this week:)

I used Mollie Katzen's apple cake recipe from the Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a loaf pan.

2. Combine 1 and 1/2 c peeled and grated apples, 3 T lemon juice, 1/2 t lemon rind. Beat in 1/2 c light brown sugar, 4 T melted butter and 1 egg.

3. Sift together 2 c unbleached flour, 2 and 1/2 t baking powder, 1/2 t salt and 1 t cinnamon in another bowl. Make a well in the center and add the apple mixture, along with 1 t vanilla and 1/2 c minced nuts. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.

4. Spread into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.