PASTA

I have had a pasta machine in my cupboard for about 6 years now, it was one of my visions I had when I had so much more time on my hands to actually make my own pasta. Well after last nights experience I realise that I actually do still have the time, you know it's all about just making the effort, anyone who makes their own pasta knows there is not much to it at all. Although next time I might allow myself a little more time so that we can actually eat at a normal time, little hungry tummies don't wait very long especially when they know there is two minute noodles hiding somewhere at the back of the cupboard that would surely be much easier to cook!!!
My Basic Pasta recipe goes like this:

1. Sam runs down to the chook coop to collect 5 big Fresh Eggs
2. I open the cupboard and pull out 2 1/2 cups plain flour and 1/2 tsp salt and sift these together.
3. I throw the flour on the kitchen bench, while Sam cracks open the eggs, gives them a quick whisk and throws them into the well I made in the centre of my flour.
4. While I work the eggs into the flour with my fingertips, Sam finds the Pasta machine and attaches it to the bench.Once my dough has formed, I give it a firm knead for about 6 minutes until it's nice and smooth and elastic.
5. I toss a little extra flour around to get it to the right consistency, that is when you press your finger in and it comes out clean, not sticky.
6. I then chopped my dough into four pieces, wrapped them in glad wrap and rested them for ten minutes.
7. I can't begin to tell you how much 'other' stuff I got done in this ten minutes while waiting for my pasta to rest!
8. With my hands all floured and arguments with Sam won over who was going to roll it out first, I squished down my first chunk of pasta into a slightly rectangle kind of shape and started rolling through my machine, The machine itself has 8 settings, I just kind of guessed a few settings and rolled and rolled, about 6 - 7 times reducing the setting until my pasta was nice and smooth and about the right thickness for what I wanted.
9. We then rolled it through the spaghetti maker...I say we as you actually need two people for this process, one to guide it as it goes in and the other to hold it as it comes out all spaghettied, we got a little tangled and sticky at this stage but I just kept tossing and separating my pasta on my very floury bench.
10. Into the pot of Boiling, salted water.... It was that simple.

All in all the process probably took about 1/2 to 3/4 hour, I think I can manage to find the time to do this again, The preparation was fun, the food was fresh and the taste and texture of my fresh pasta was non comparable to our usual dried store bought sticks.

What I learned today: Always double the recipe!

I have also discovered that my bread machine makes Pasta. Hmm, might try this way next week..anything to save myself a little bit of time is a good thing.
Could I still call that Handmade?