Making Pasta: The New Gym Membership

I believe we have figured out why Italians can eat all of the beautiful foods of their land and still remain incredibly fit. All you need to do is climb hills and make pasta by hand, though I'd assume that multitasking in this instance may not be the best idea.

We just finished learning how to make tagliatelle, these beautiful strips of homemade farina pasta. First you make a volcano with flour, crack an egg in the middle and then use your fingers to beat the eggs. Then you slowly mix in the flour with the egg, again all with your fingers, until a nice dough starts to form. With the newly formed dough, roll into a ball and kneed for a good while (regard the precise italian time frame). Then comes the fun part, rolling out the dough. Using a rolling pin, flatten the flour into a cylindrical shape, making sure that all ends are even, the shape is somewhat circular, the thickness is uniform, nothing is sticking to the counter, the children are not bleeding, or lighting anything on fire, the dog has not found its way to the pantry, and the neighbors do not see the huge mess of flour you've managed to disperse everywhere.

At this time, roll the pasta out onto a towel and allow to dry for approximately 10 minutes. Then fold in the ends of the circle about 3-4 inches. Continue to fold each end in until you have a flat long shape. (NOTE- do not press down on the dough now, you will be unfolding it after you cut it). With a sharp, non serrated knife, cut the pasta along the short end into mini strips. Unfold the strips and place haphazardly on a tray dusting with flour of fairy dust, which ever is available.

If cooking within the next few hours, allow to dry uncovered. If not cooking within next few hours cover the tray with celephane and refridgerate up to a few days.

Tonight, we will see if our hard work paid off, or if we should leave the pasta making to the pros, Seniora Barilla. If nothing else, we'll have really defined biceps!

- Amanda