Home made pasta!

Hi guys. I just recently bought a pasta machine and wanted to try it out. I found out that you could save a lot if you make your own pasta and the best thing is that anyone can do it! It may take a little practice at first to knead the dough but after the first or second try I'm sure you'll be surprise on how easy it is.

For the pasta dough recipe, there are tons of recipes with different flours and measurements. Some use semolina flour, others all purpose, some may also use both and even some would use whole wheat etc. But just a tip to those who do not really make pasta that often (or haven't made any yet), the simplest recipe for pasta dough is: 300g all purpose flour + 2 medium eggs. Just make a well at the center of the flour then stir the eggs inside until the flour and eggs combine. The next step is kneading. Click Here for a simple kneading video. Kneading helps develop the gluten in the flour and makes the dough elastic. After kneading, let the dough rest for 30 minutes, then roll the dough flat and put in the pasta machine. The outcome will be like lasagna sheets. You can now make different shapes of pasta! The nice thing about making home made pasta is that you can make ravioli which can never be bought in any supermarket (unless you want one ready-made with all the stuffing and sauces in a can).

Tip:
1. Do not add salt to the pasta dough. Only add salt to the water when cooking pasta.
2. Do not use eggs from the chiller.
3. Fresh pasta cooks for only two minutes.

a delicious memory....looking forward to 2010

Happy New Year!

I stumbled upon an old picture a while ago. It was a picture of a dish but it wasn't just any ordinary dish. The dish was cooked by me and my friends from Bacolod who gave it their best to come up with a savory meal for a competition.

We had much fun learning the ropes back then and never did we lose interest in our dreams and goals on becoming great chefs. Despite all the hardships in and out of the kitchen, despite all the drama, we marched proudly on graduation day. Childish as it may seem to have "dreams", I say that no one is too old or too young achieve one's desire! The world is ours and we are only limited by our own self-imposed limits!

To everyone - Have a great year! Keep your goals in mind and hold tightly to them. A toast to wealth, success, good health, prosperity and abundance!