About Pasta...

I love pasta! I have always been fascinated by how pasta can come in different shapes, sizes and most of all by how much the real fancy ones could cost in the grocery!
Well I usually just buy the regular spaghetti but having a kid at home sometimes would call for extra creative efforts in food presentation. So when pasta is in the menu, it would be nice to use the nice, fun shaped and colorful one also like the fusilli, rotini, conchiglie, farfalle and so the list go on. If you are wondering what these lovelies look like, +disgraceonthemenu.com has a list of pasta names with a description of each and photos to help you and me find them easily. 
When I was single and with a fat paycheck, buying from the grocery was always and the only option. Now, priorities have changed and so opening up to other possibilities is a preference. That being said, I decided one day to try and make my own pasta at home. I don't have a pasta machine and I was quite hesitant at first but thanks to this fabulous lady in +Dulce Delight for having +You Tube video tutorial on how to make pasta without the thingamabob. Yay!
I'd like to share photos of how I did my homemade pasta unfortunately I didn't have any (all I have was the photo of my cooked pasta... what a shame..) but you can always visit the +Dulce Delight +You Tube channel for a detailed procedure. 
I have, however,  the list of ingredients and a step-by-step process on how to make pasta from scratch in the comforts of your own kitchen :) 
So let's not waste time, and here are the ingredients:

• 1 cup of All Purpose Flour and 1 Cup of Semolina Flour (I didn't have a Semolina Flour so I used APF in all 2 cups)
• a pinch of salt
• olive oil or any flavored oil of your choice
• 3 eggs, large
• water (just in case the dough gets too dry and you will need to add a little more liquid)
• a fork 
• a rolling pin

Steps:

1. Combine your dry ingredients on a clean surface or on your counter top (make sure it's very very clean).
2. Make a well in the middle and add your liquids.
3.  Using a fork, slowly blend your dry and liquid ingredients starting in the middle.
4. Blend until the dough comes together and you can form a ball.
5. Knead the dough until it's smooth, approximately 15 minutes.
6. Cover your dough in a plastic wrap and let it rest for at least an hour at room temperature. 
7. Cut a piece of the dough and roll it with a rolling pin as thin as you can until it becomes almost transparent or shear. Keep the rest of the dough in the plastic wrap.
8. Cut out strips using a sharp knife, circles using a piping tip, twist the cut out pasta strips, you can pretty much do anything your imagination is your limit. 
9. Let your pasta stand to dry for at least an hour before using.

One tip I learned when cooking pasta, the water has to be really boiling and should be more than the amount of the pasta. Don't add oil in the water, just salt, salt and salt. Leave the pasta in the boiling water for 45 seconds and take it out of the water to prevent it from overcooking. 
Just like the commercial pasta, you can cook a lot of different recipes with the you made at home and the ingredients are just in your sitting in your cupboard or fridge.

Sauté some tomatoes, garlic, onions and basil in olive oil and mix them to your cooked pasta and voila! Pasta heaven! So simple, so easy to put together, so delicious most of all, so light on the budget :)