September was such a pleasant month. It’s hard to believe it’s quickly coming to an end.
We were on our way home from the girls’ Bells and Chimes choir practice the other day and we had to stop at the cottage (Grandparent’s home) quickly. My father in law and his retired good friend were sitting casually by the river, drinking coffee and chatting, watching the salmon swim upstream. The good friend was saying how his wife was back at their farm, preparing homemade pastas for their dinner. He raved about his wife’s cooking and you could see the pride in his eyes as he described the delicious home cooked meal that would be waiting for him when he arrived home.
What struck me is that this wife could easily have been out … shopping … being busy, basically, not at home … she’s child free and not “tied” to being at home. However, every time I have dropped by their house, she’s doing something around their cute country homestead. Canning, cleaning horse stalls, cooking meals, cleaning, gardening, hanging her laundry on the line. She truly must love being a home maker – and I respect her for that. My mom is also a great example to me – she also loves to be home, cook, preserve food, clean, organize, bless others by inviting them over for delicious meals …
Having a busy schedule and running about can be a very big distraction from taking care of your home and family. There are many attractive diversions in this world that keep our hearts and minds far from home – and many of those outside engagements are valid and wonderful – but too much on your plate is still too much on your plate. I think it is very easy to validate our outside commitments and push aside our duties at home in favor of busier, sometimes more glamorous schedules.
Speaking of on your plate, the story of the homemade pasta inspired me to get out our pasta maker (given to us by a dear friend – thank you, Kate!) and make some fresh pasta noodles for our dinner that night. The girls helped and found it as exciting as ever to roll the dough through the maker and watch lovely noodles form.
Here is a basic pasta recipe:
{We double for our family.}
2 eggs
2 cups of flour
pinch of salt
teaspoon of olive oil
Pour 1 3/4 cups flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center.
Crack eggs into the well and mix flour and eggs together with a fork.
Stir oil and salt into mixture; gradually add water and remaining flour until a dough starts to come together.
Knead dough until dough is elastic and soft.
Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Separate into three equal sections, flatten out with pasta roller twice.
Choose the settng you wish for a particular noodle type and roll dough through pasta maker. That’s it!
We laid the noodles on a floured cookie tray until ready to cook.
Cook in boilng water for three to five minutes – add to favorite pasta sauce and enjoy!
by Gigi
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