Friday, September 9, 2011

making noodles & motivational issues



for some reason i find it easier to work on new projects then to work on projects that have been piling up all summer. summer has been busy. also i've been having motivation/inspiration issues lately. so it is not only exciting that i actually wanted to pick up my camera before (& during) eating today, but it is also exciting that i am actually writing this blog with these images right now. you probably aren't as excited as i am. you may have even disappeared because of my horribly inconsistent blogging. but i do hope you enjoy my photos of this half-eaten pasta, and be patient with me as i attempt to catch up on posts. like making salmon on a campfire, my favorite brunch spot in vancouver, and a recently opened coffee brew bar.

at any rate, i made a really tasty pasta tonight. got home from work late, and decided to try my hand at homemade noodles, even though i knew it would take a while, and i knew i was hungry. i think maybe i was excited to use our food processor. slowly loving this machine more and more. (hummus takes almost 5 seconds to make now. this makes me so happy!!)

i was supposed to use 2 cups of flour, 3 eggs, & a teaspoon of salt for these noodles. somehow, though, i used 1 cup of flour, 2 eggs & 1/2 a teaspoon of salt. and a little bit of olive oil. they turned out though. kind of clumpy, but nevertheless tasty. i pulsed it in the processor until it came together (drizzling a little bit of oil in), turned it out onto a floured surface, kneaded it a bit, and covered it in the fridge for 30 minutes. i then used my sister's noodle maker machine of awesomeness, but you can also roll out the dough (with flour), and cut it with a knife or something. less consistent this way, but more rustic - giving your noodles the 'i am most definitely homemade' kind of look.

for the sauce i sauted a chorizo sausage in some olive oil & bacon fat (yes, i keep my bacon fat for further use. it is amazing. you should do this too. if you eat bacon.), added onions & garlic, rosemary & thyme, zuchinni & roma tomatoes, salt & pepper. after the veggies were cooked to my liking, and the noodles were finished cooking (3-5 minutes in boiling salted water with a touch of olive oil), i just tossed the noodles straight into my veggie/sauce, added a 1/4 cup of the pasta water, stirred it all up, and served it with freshly grated parmesan. seriously delicious.

oh yeah and i had to take a photo of this zuchinni because it is hilarious. a friend of my sister's gave it to her from their garden. i love the random shape. and the tomatoes were from our awesome landlords (i also borrowed on onion from them), and the herbs were from our garden, so our meal was relatively cheap. isn't that the best? cheap AND delicious? what's not to like about that?






2 comments:

Christina said...

Joey, I love making noodles. Awesome job. You should try making ravioli sometime... it is amazing as well. You save your bacon fat for other uses? How very brave of you! :) I'm jealous of your bravery! Anyways, just wanted to say that I'm glad your noodles turned out. I make a bunch at a time and then store them so they're handy when I want a quick supper.

Anonymous said...

wow that looks good. Love that crazy looking zuchini. I tried making pasta once a very long time ago but it went completely awry. It just looks so tricky.

How do you store your bacon fat?