That’s Amore!

Today was my first attempt at homemade pasta; I have been meaning to try this for a while now. It took a few hours but it was fun and tasty. 

 First, I gathered all the ingredients and setup the pasta machine.

Then, I made the pasta dough.  You have to slowly incorporate the flour into the pool of eggs in the center.  This is much harder than it sounds.  In spite of my constant kneading, the dough stayed pretty flaky.

You can see the flaky texture of the dough.  Also, it was very tough and hard to knead.  Once it is mixed it has to be wrapped in cling-wrap and let set at room temperature for 30 minutes.  It was much more cohesive after that and it had a more elastic quality.

Finally, the fun part! The dough has to be divided and rolled through the machine about 20-30 times (at different roller widths) to make long thin sheets.

The sheets are then passed through the noddle cutters and out comes fettuccine.

I found a great recipe on Epicurious.com (originally from Gourmet Magazine) for a pancetta and sun dried tomato cream sauce to showcase my homemade fettuccine.  At last, it was time to eat!  A little garlic bread…a little Pinot…yum…

My pasta making skills need some work but it was a good first try.  I feel so gourmet.  Maybe my skills will improve enough to impress my Italian in-laws. 

Kids say the darndest things

I think the thing I love most about working with junior high age students is their insatiable curiosity.  It is impossible to prepare for the questions I am asked each day.  I have been collecting student quotes and questions since the beginning of the year.  Below are a few of my favorites. 

1. You know how sometimes men dress like women…do they want to be called ‘he’ or ‘she’?

2. In your opinion, if President Bush had not been president, do you think we would have still been attacked on September 11th?

3. Have you heard of this band called ‘KISS’?

4. Is there a rule that says you have to shave your armpits?

5. If are pregnant with twins how many placentas do you have?

Their fresh minds make me smile.

The beginning of possible greatness…

I make fun of Ethan for being a nerd…a lot.  But the truth is, I like it.  I even like some of the things I make fun of him for liking.  I don’t really hate the giant Pac 10 football standing board we made.  I don’t really mind the Harry Potter ornaments on my Christmas tree.  And I kind of think his giant collection of “action figures” (not to be confused with “toys”) is cute.  Weddings usually get a bad rap for being all about the bride and I don’t want that to be case.  So, I have created a wedding craft that will pay tribute to his true love (other than me of course)…Star Wars. I have not worked out all the engineering yet, but below is my first attempt at a lightsaber boutonniere (sorry for the poor image quality).

I could be making wedding history here. I just need to figure out how to keep it quirky but not too over-the-top.  This will definitely not be the last post on this project…