Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Pasta, Rolls, & Celery Leaves

Imperia Italian Pasta Maker

Borrowed this little beauty from Anja, our farm wife last week, and have been itchin' to give it a try.
I have made my own soup noodles for years, but have never ventured any further.
THIS little gem allows me that freedom!
(I want me one of these...)

Homemade linguine resting on coarse cornmeal

It took a bit of gettin' used to, and a lot of help from Farmboy, but between the two of us we did it!
The cornmeal on the tray keeps the pasta from sticking together, and when boiling, it falls to the bottom of the pan.
I served this with a roasted heirloom tomato sauce I had made a few days earlier, and homemade meatballs.
SO good!

Hard Rolls and Italian bread

I have been trying to perfect a crusty, chewy hard roll and I think I have it.
I take the New York Times No-Knead recipe (just google it!) and when it comes time to plop the dough on a cornmeal dusted dishcloth, I simply cut it into 7 pieces, dusting with as much flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to my hands too much, and let them rest on a cornmeal coated pizza peel.
Rise for about an hour while the oven, and the pizza stone, preheat to 425F.
Make sure there is a large pan at the very bottom of your oven while pre-heating, and after sliding the rolls onto the wicked hot stone, add 2 cups HOT water to add steam.
Taking great care not to splash any water onto the glass door cause....

IT COULD SHATTER!!!

Watch carefully, as this is an experiment, but I think they took about 15-20 minutes.
We really loved these!
Crusty on the outside, and chewy on the inside!
I typically use equal parts whole wheat and unbleached flour for this bread, so you still get a nice wheat-y taste.

I also tried an italian loaf, which was just OK.
Kinda bland.
Next time I will cut it length wise and make garlic toast out of it.
THAT would have been perfect with the pasta and sauce!

Celery leaves dried in my handy dandy Excalibur Dehydrator.

I love my dehydrator!
Look! Look! Look!
That enamel bowl holds about 8 quarts.
Once I crunched those celery leaves THIS is what I got!

Not even a full pint of dried, organic celery leaves!

That's OK....these will be perfect for soups/stews this winter!


UPDATE!!!
39th Wedding Anniversary photo taken Saturday, September 18, 2010

We'll talk real soon!

xoxo,
Cindy
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20 comments:

Anonymous said...

sigh. another item for my Christmas wish list.

Pioneer Beauty said...

Oh My Goodness...My Husband and I have been wanting to make homemade Pasta...He's Italian...:) I was looking at some of the pasta makers from William Sonoma and another Company that had a really nice one as well...that allows you to make many different varities..Be watching out Cindy I might just have to by the House next door to you...or is it the farm next to you..whatever it is be looking for the Uhaul Trucks.. :)

By the way you two are a Very Handsome Couple..

Anonymous said...

I buy multi grain buns locally from Yoder's Fresh Produce that have the chewy crust and soft insides.

Faith said...

You know, if either one of us ever has to move in with the other...

YOU are cooking! LOL

~Faith

Camille said...

Your food all looks soooo yummy Cindy! How fun that you are enjoying your dehydrator so much! WOW...did those leaves ever crush down alot! :) Your pasta looks yum.

I like your updated photo...you look great! :)

Blessings,
Camille

Cheryl said...

Everything looks so good. I enjoy my pasta machine. I have made noodles for lasagna. Learn the more you use it what settings to use for your own taste. Haven't given crusty bread a try yet, you inspire me to give it a try soon.

Vickie said...

Homemade pasta - I've been wantin' to do that! I also want one of those dehydrators. Do you like the one you have? I don't know what brand to get...

Happy Anniversary, you two - Very nice-looking couple there!

Michelle (She Looketh Well) said...

Yeah, the rolls worked!

gorgeous pasta ( I love my pasta maker too)

gorgeous rolls

gorgeous couple!! Love the picture. you both look so 'normal' ;-) even though you are a little goofy. Wouldn't have you any other way!!!! Love you

Kelle at The Never Done Farm said...

Yep, my Atlas noodle maker is one of my favorite tools! Mike made me a noodle drying rack, it's just a
1" piece of dowel and he drilled four holes( below each other going in different directions( hope that makes sense) and then we had some smaller doweling to push through( the holes were slightly larger for easy fit) and you can hang the noodles to dry, looks like a noodle tree when it's full.*wink*

We're dehydrating sage right now( the house smells wonderful), then we'll dehydrate Parcel( it looks like parsley but has the flavor of celery)

Love your new anniversary photo, thank you for sharing. You make a handsome couple. :o)

Kelle at The Never Done Farm said...

Okay, I need to add, the holes were slighly larger for the smaller doweling to push through easily. Sorry I'm not good at giving directs, more of a hand on person*wink*

Regan Family Farm said...

I loved seeing the pic's through the years...and BTW, you are amazing in the kitchen. If I ever get the energy, I just might try those rolls. They sound delicious! We are quite broken hearted after reading your comment to me...we are praying for him.
XOXO
Kathy
Sometime we'll talk about the flea market fiasco :( Hope you had fun

Farmchick said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog the other day.

I LOVE making homemade pasta...so good and so fun too! The kids love it too!!

I also make french bread - the key is the water in the oven! So good!!

Renata said...

You've reminded me I've got a pasta maker in the cupboard that I haven't used for a while (oops) - homemade pasta is definitely more delicious - well done for making some. We used to make the yummiest ravioli as well - you can put whatever you want in the "pockets"!
Those rolls sound just delicious - but the water in the oven thing sure sounds scary - clumsy me would spill it everywhere I'm sure.
I do have a question - have you made sourdough bread? I have started a starter & I'm after a good recipe.
Hope you have a wonderful day & congrats on 39 years!!!
Renata:)

City Sister said...

That bread looks amazing...is it like the master boule?

Maria said...

I have an imperia pasta maker - I haven't used it in a while, so thanks for the timely reminder! Great picture of you and hubby!

Joy Tilton said...

I've tried so many recipes to find that hard crust that I love on rustic breads...can't wait to try this one! Loving your blog, come over to Granny Mountain for a visit!

Katie Zeller said...

Happy belated 39th! Dried celery leaves... what a wonderful idea. I have one of those pasta makers - for about 25 years.... wonderful!

Jane said...

Happy 39th Anniversary. That's a great photo of you two.
I'm in awe of you making homemade pasta and homemade rolls. Everything looked delicious. I remember my neighbor when I was growing up making homemade pasta. It was always the best.
Jane

Holly said...

I love my pasta machine and have used it for many many years but now I'm wanting one of those that does the penne noodles etc. too. Greedy, I know. I'm anxious to try the bread trick. Next week, I'll have to give it a try.Okay, I said I wasn't going to give a date when I do things. So sometime soon I'll try it.

amothersheartinwords said...

you haven't changed a bit, beauty! Happy Anniversary.