Coco rolls out pasta dough while wearing her yellow chef’s hat and apron. (Every activity needs a uniform to give authenticity to the task.)
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Aghh. . . it was raining! I was at the farm with five girls—3 granddaughters and their 2 friends. Stuck indoors. What to do? Well, my daughter-in-law, Lisa, had that figured out, as she easily turned the kitchen into a creative play zone.
First, they made some DIY Play-Doh from flour, water, cream of tartar and salt. A dash of food coloring would’ve given a more authentic look, but I was all out. Still, the mixture felt smooth and pliable, sorta like putty. I couldn’t resist fashioning a few art objects myself.
Moving on to Real Dough
While the kids and I explored our sculpting skills, Lisa commenced the evening meal. We had already made a Fettuccine Alfredo and a Bolognese sauce. Next on the list was making pasta, a group activity that proved to be both entertaining and delicious.
I hate to admit this, but I’ve never used a pasta maker. I felt like a kid with a new toy! With some easy hand cranking, the dough quickly turned from long, thin sheets into a cascade of noodles. With eleven of us in the kitchen, churning out fresh pasta was a breeze.
Pasta Magnifico!
The noodles were light and luscious and such fun to make. I would definitely do this again, even on a non-rainy day. Here’s the recipe that Lisa used. Niki over at Serious Eats has extensive step-by-step photo directions on how to make your own pasta.
Lisa and Tom mixed the eggs and flour for the dough and formed it into baseball-size hunks that rested for an hour before The Great Pasta Rollout began.
The dough balls are “cradled” in Saran for their hour-long “nap” before showtime.
Tom rolls the dough, getting it ready for the pasta maker. With a few passes through the machine, the dough will be made even thinner before becoming noodles.
Coco catches the noodles as Addie and Lisa feed the flattened sheet of dough into the machine.
At this point, you’re supposed to hang the noodles over a wooden rack. We made do with fingers and arms, since the pasta was being cooked immediately. An easy way to dry noodles for storage is to remove all but the top oven rack and hang them in the oven to dry. Coat hangers work, too.
As oodles of noodles rolled off the assembly line, Robin and Tom manned the pot of boiling water. The yellow-hued noodles cook in 3-5 minutes and come out tender, rich, and silky. (The cooking time for fresh pasta is shorter than for dry.)
Adding to the Bounty . . .
A wild mushroom hunt added another treat to the bountiful meal. When Robin cooked up these Hen-of-the-Woods, the kids ate them like they were French fries!
Dessert took fewer hands since Lisa had already made a berry cobbler. A dish of cobbler with a dab of ice cream made a splendid finale to the meal. And the rain had stopped.
More Fun Stuff
As a kid, I first became interested in words by working crossword puzzles with my grandfather. It’s still a great cross-generational pastime.
An “Ozark Safari.” Both kids and grown ups love an excuse to tromp through the woods on a brisk fall day.
Woodland reflections
I doubt that these are dinosaur remains, but animal bones are always an exciting find for young explorers.
Addie doing her Sound of Music imitation to mark the end of a fun-packed few day.
