It was not the most beautiful dish, nor was it the most fabulous thing I've ever eaten (although most of the blame for that lies with the sauce which was homemade, but definitely not fresh). But it was pretty good. And it was pretty easy.
While I will certainly not shy away from my sweet tooth, or my love of all things cheese, probably the biggest factor in my dietary downfall has been my laziness. Somedays (okay, fine, everyday) I just can't seem to summon the will to prepare a meal. We're talking salads and sandwiches are too much work. That is some serious laziness. So I reach for whatever is easiest, which often is baked goods or chocolate or ice cream or whatever else my sweet tooth is craving. Cause sugar can motivate like nothing else.
But tonight I cooked. I made something simple, with ingredients I was in full control of, and it felt good. It may not have been the prettiest/fanciest/healthiest meal, but it was fresh and prepared by me in the moment for my enjoyment. I hope to do more of this in the future, and take back a little more control over what I am putting into my body.
I will make pasta again. I plan to try it with some different types of flours to experiment with wheat free options, and I will definitely make the sauce fresh at th same time. Tonight was just a test run so I only made a little in case I had to scrap the whole thing (Brett took the kids out for burgers so it's not like I was depriving them of dinner- although they did eat half of mine, and Jack cried when it was gone), but next time it will be for the whole family. I better rest up.
Making healthy changes (and food from scratch) is not for the lazy.
update 2-1-10:
the recipe I used (although I used roughly half):
2 1/4 cup flour
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt (I didn't use enough due to my random adjustment of ingredients and mine needed more)
mound flour in a bowl and pour beaten eggs and salt into the center. Mush around and combine using a fork or your hands until it becomes dough. Form into a ball and cover with cling wrap for 30 min.
wash hands,wash counter, sweep up all the flour you spilled, etc.
separate ball into smaller sections (fourths or less depending on your space). Place on floured section and roll out into a misshapen, flat shape. Slice unequal, crooked strips using a pizza cutter.
Boil in oiled, salted water until firm yet tender. Water will be cloudy from the extra flour, and pasta will be very goopy at first leading you to think you've ruined it. Go wash the baby's hair, and when you come back it will have firmed up nicely.
Strain, rinse, and top with your favorite sauce (prefereably not week old leftovers).
Enjoy!
That's awesome! I'm impressed; making pasta sounds so daunting! We had pasta tonight, too. From a box. Yay, me! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've never made pasta from scratch! I guess it always seemed like too much work. That looks reeeeeally good right now though ... :)
ReplyDeleteit was surprisingly easy - just eggs and flour basically. messy and sticky (there are no in progress photos because my hands were covered in flour and dough and husband was unavailable for photog duty), but easy. And this is coming from someone who never makes anything from scratch - don't think I've even baked a cake from a mix in ten years. So if I can do it, you can do it.
ReplyDelete