Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!

Today's blog is sort of thrown together. Nasty storms last night mean Yank is very tired. Austin is a mess right now. Lots of down trees, fences, wires, all sorts of good stuff. Yippee.

How To Make Your Own Pasta

Necessary Tools:
Bowl
Fork
Plastic wrap
Rolling pin
Knife

Tools That Aren’t Necessary But Make Things A Heck of A Lot Easier:
Mixer with dough hook (like Kitchen Aid)
Pasta roller- these are inexpensive and I really recommend having one to roll out the pasta. It ends up thinner as a result. Plus it also comes with attachments to cut the pasta into spaghetti and fettuccine sized shapes.

Ingredients for 2 servings of pasta:
1 2/3- 2 c. flour
1 T olive oil
2 eggs
1 T water
salt

Add flour to bowl. Add salt. Make a well in the center (push the flour to the sides making a hole in the center where you can see bowl). Add the eggs, oil, and water. Using a fork, beat the wet ingredients together, gradually mixing in the flour. (If you are using a mixer, add the ingredients in order, then mix using the dough hook.) Once the mixture starts to become crumbly and moistened, you are going to want to use your hands. (Unless using the mixer.) Using your hands, mix the dough together until it forms a ball and is no longer completely sticky. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until most flour crumbs are incorporated. (The mixer dough should form a ball. Let knead in mixer for a few minutes.) Once the ball is mostly smooth, cover it in plastic wrap and let sit for at least half an hour. This lets the gluten rest and helps the dough to keep its shape when rolled out.
After the resting period, divide the dough into 4-6 balls. Take one of the balls and flatten it out with your hand, trying to make a rectangle. If you have a pasta machine, make sure it is set to its widest setting. Place one end of the rectangle in the roller and roll through. You may have to do this a few times to get a smooth piece of dough. Fold the dough over if needed and put through the machine. Repeat this process at each setting, until you have rolled your dough to your preferred width. Most people enjoy their fresh pasta somewhat thin so a general rule: If you can see your hand through the pasta, it is definitely thin enough.
If you are rolling it out with a rolling pin, roll the pasta out in a rectangle, rolling it as thin as you can. It most likely won’t be as thin as the pasta machine can get it, but it still tastes the same.
Take the thin pasta strips and now put it through the cutting attachments of the pasta machines. Spaghetti attachment will make thin pasta and the fettuccine attachment, wider pasta. Hang on a rack to dry. (I use a clothes rack. Cheap and easy. Except that the cat likes to swipe at the dangling pasta.)
If you don’t have the attachments, use your knife to cut the pasta into desired shapes.
To cook, boil water and add salt to the boiling water. Add the pasta. Fresh pasta takes only a few minutes to cook, so it’ll be done before you know it.
Serve with whatever sauces you like.