Homemade Pasta November 03 2012

Homemade Pasta Dish
One day my boyfriend and I were discussing different types of pastas and he said noodles or pastas are basically boiled dough. That being said, tonight I decided to give it a try.  Turns out it was pretty easy to make, and I kept my pasta a bit thick since I prefer it chewy like udon. This plate is 100% wholewheat and it's very filling.  After boiling pasta you can use it however you like, just like any other pastas.

Fresh pasta is so much fun to make, and you can get your kids to participate in the making. After you rolled out the dough, which I will explain how below, you can take any cookie cutters and make the pastas any shapes you like. This is a great way to teach your kids about food and to appreciate the art behind the dinner table.

Tonight I stir fried boiled pasta with green onions and diced mushrooms called pig's ear mushroom due to the shape.  These mushrooms have a nice crunch so they helped adding a different texture in the plate. Serves 2-3 people

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
water
salt
2 table spoons of coconut oil or olive oil (or any oil of your preference)
any spices of your preference (opional)
1 rolling pin or press dough flat by hand flour knife or any knife for cutting dough

To Make:
Pour flour in a mixing bowl, add a pinch of salt, and a few pinches of spice then mix together.  Add a little water and continue to stir.  If the flour is too dry, add more water and continue stiring to get flour sticking together to create dough.  When the dough feels a bit firm, and mixed well, add about 2 table spoons of oil then mix it in dough.

Sprinkle some flour on your work space.  Remove dough from bowl and  knead dough about 1-2 mintues.  If dough feels too wet, sprinkle some flour on top and continue kneading.  After kneading, form dough into a ball shape and roll it out flat to the thickness you like.  I kept mine at approx 1/5 inch thick.  Now use a knife to cut them to desire length and width.

Fill a pot with water and bring to boil.  Now place each pasta you had cut in pot one by one to prevent them from sticking together.  When pasta is cooked, it will float to the top.  Fresh pasta should cook very quickly, but I like to leave it in the pot for an extra 10 min after they float to the top to ensure they are fully cooked.  Take one out to test.

Pour water out and they are ready to serve!  If you want to find out how I made the plate in the photo, read on.

Ingredients for stir fry:
green onions (chopped)
mushrooms (diced)
salt
oil for high heat (I prefer coconut or sunflower)
soy sauce
butternut squash
cumin powder
turmeric powder
garlic powder
onion powder

To Make:
Preheat oven to 375F.  

Peel skin of butternut squash, cut the squash in half the long way then rub the pieces in coconut oil. Place them in a pan and bake until soften.  It usually takes 1hr or a little longer to fully cook it so this would be the first thing to cook before starting to make pasta if you choose to add this to your dish.  Baking will bring the sweetest out of the squash.

After butternut squash is soften, cut them in small pieces when they are cool enough to handle.  Heat pan with some oil on the stove, pour green onions and mushrooms in pan.  Add pasta, a dash of salt, soy sauce to taste, cumin powder, turmeric powder, garlic and onion powder.  Lastly add butternut squash and your dish is ready to serve!