Installing Indoor Cat Tree

[clare*]

Ok, I need a little bit of help here as well

 

I have made 2 batches of pasta this week. One with plain flour the other with 00 flour.

 

I have hand rolled both a thin as I could. But both lots were like chewing a bit of old carpet

 

I spent last night reading though all the other pasta comments from ages ago on the forum. Everyone else seems to making fab pasta. Why oh why is my pasta tough as old boots

 

[Lesley]

Did you hand roll it Clare* or use a machine? I only use Spelt flour for cooking so my pasta is made with it as well - I only use a pasta machine.

 

You haven't been watching Gordon Ramsey roll it by hand have you?

[Mrs Frugal]

I use Dove's Farm pasta flour which I think is "00" grade. The recipe I use is for 8oz pasta flour to 2 eggs - nothing else and it works a treat every time. I've got a cheap pasta machine from Argos for around £18.

[clare*]

Yes I am hand rolling. I've just been to Tesco and looked at a bag of fresh pasta. Maybe I am not rolling it out thin enough

 

I know your not meant to cook it for very long. Could over cooking toughen it up.

 

Oh I don't know. All I do know is what with shaking the butter in the jar,making the bread by hand and rolling the pasta. MY ARMS ARE KILLING ME

 

I will get the Argos book out and look for a cheap machine to try.

[Nicola H]

Over cooking would make it slimy, maybe you are right it is not thin enough or you haven't kneaded it enough that could make it chewy.............You can't fail with a machine.

[clare*]

Thanks Nicola

 

Have checked Argos - What do you know. Pasta machine reduced to £9.99

 

Off to get a machine tomorrow

[Guest]

I don't believe it. Now you're all making fresh pasta as well!!

 

(Another thread talks about homemade bread and butter and I am now feeling totally inadequate!)

[Lesley]

It's Clare*'s fault - she started both topics!

 

If you look through Nesting Box, you will find the topic on home-made cleaning products - just to make you feel totally inadequate. (It's that Kate - she makes everyone feel inadequate )

[Mrs Frugal]

Oh thanks!

[Guest]

I'm already feeling totally inadequate!

[red]

Don't worry - so long as you know how to pour a glass of wine / eat a box of choccies (whatever takes your fancy) (or both!) you're just fine!

[Mrs Frugal]

I'm inadequate in most other things in life so being handy in the kitchen is all I'm good for !

[Cate in NZ]

Ginette, I'm with you I aspire to doing all these wonderful things, and go a certain way to home-grown, home-made, environmentally sound, but there's just only so many hours in the day, so for me if it's a choice between Sainsburys ready made organic pasta, or however long knocking my home-made version, and spending time with my children or chickens (or on the forum ) then that's a fairly easy compromise for me. Ditto with the butter-making

I do prepare all my meals from fresh ingredients though, and the breadmaker takes care of the weekends bread. So, a compromise between aspiration and achievable. Maybe one day I'll have more time, and start butter-making, but not right now

Oh, and I'm great at the wine pouring as advocated by Red, 2 glasses of that and I don't care who makes my butter

[Guest]

Relieved! KateA. You put it so well and it echoes entirely my feelings. If only I had a bigger kitchen. Then I could have a bread-maker. I make my own yoghurt (in an electric maker) because that's really easy and not at all time-consuming.

 

My dream is to have a big farmhouse kitchen with a long table in the middle where people can sit drinking cups of tea and coffee, chatting to me while I cook. It's not going to happen in the foreseeable future

[Lesley]

If this forum gets any bigger Kate and I will also be resorting to ready meals - well, I will, can't really speak for Kate

[Cate in NZ]

This forum is something of a double edged sword, gives us brilliant ideas (well, me anyway), and some of you guys are so inspirational , but at the same time the more time spent on here the less time spent putting ideas into practice

[Mrs Frugal]

Ginette, I'm with you I aspire to doing all these wonderful things, and go a certain way to home-grown, home-made, environmentally sound, but there's just only so many hours in the day, so for me if it's a choice between Sainsburys ready made organic pasta, or however long knocking my home-made version, and spending time with my children or chickens (or on the forum ) then that's a fairly easy compromise for me.

 

For me, this all comes down to guilt. Guilt that I've never been able to run around with my boys, playing football, going for walks, stuck at home on crutches for all of their early years and guilt that my LSH goes out working long hours while I stay at home doing what I want. I put all my efforts into giving them good home produced food and as much homegrown fruit and veg as I can because I can't do all those other things that they want me to do. Don't let me make you feel inadequate. You all make me feel very inadequate too.

[Lesley]

There's another brilliant site along the self sufficiency lines which Kate and I visit - add that to your list and you could spend all day on forum and not get anything done at all

[Cate in NZ]

Oh, Kate, I feel bad now. I feel like I'm not trying as hard as some of you, especially you and Lesley who both seem to have the Domestic Goddess thing sewn up (move over Nigella ), and I wish I could be as keen and effective in the kitchen and garden as both of you seem to be. But it's all down to abilities, interests and compromises.

Don't go and let me down by feeling all inadequate..... you're my hero

[Cate in NZ]

Oh, no Lesley, please don't tell me about it I only post regularly on this forum, but there are 3 others which I visit occasionally, 1 being purely chickens, the otheres are more along the self-sufficiency lines, and I waste so much time on the forums it's not true

[Mrs Frugal]

Don't go and let me down by feeling all inadequate..... you're my hero

 

You haven't seen the state of my oven though

[Lesley]

I have

[Mrs Frugal]

Only the clean bit on the outside. I don't show the inside to anyone without a full body protective overall on !

[Lesley]

Everything looked immaculate when we visited Kate

[Mrs Frugal]

My point exactly - you didn't see inside the oven !