Class #2 another success

 Conditions at 6:30 - 20* and clear skies
Expected later - 23* and a chance of showers



Last nights class was another hit.  We had lots to cover and I was a little afraid we might not get done in time but we did. Everyone worked really hard at the end to get the cleaning done and we finished with 5 minutes to spare.
Unfortunately I forgot to bring the camera so I don't have any photos.
We started the class out by making pasta dough. We brought enough ingredients for everyone to make their own dough that they could take home with them. While we cut the noodles, we made the tomato sauce, and the pesto.  We cooked some pasta out of a box while we cooked the spaghetti that we made, then we sampled it with the tomato sauce  Then we cooked the noodles and mixed those with the pesto. Michaela, one of our students, didn't want to try the noodles with pesto but once she did try it, she ended up taking some home.  Every one really liked the tomato sauce and the lobster raviolli was a hit.

One of the girls brought in a manual pasta maker and now she knows how to use it. I'm hopeful that she will try it again. The recipes we made are as follows:

Pasta dough
4 cups flour
6 eggs
splash of olive oil

Put the flour on the counter and make a well in the centre. Put the eggs and the oil in the centre and slowly stir the eggs and oil and gradually incorporate the flour into the dough. This is the traditional way of doing it but you might find it easier to mix in a bowl, just use a little less flour and add more as needed.  The trick is to get it all mixed in before the eggs break through the flour wall. For those who might be visiting at Christmas, we can do this together one day.  It would be great fun. If you don't have a pasta roller, you can roll it out with a rolling pin, a small piece at a time until it's quite thin, then cut it with a knife. Most Italian grocery stores have manual machines for around $20 to $30 or you can get an attachment for the kitchen aid mixers that works quite well.

Simple Tomato Sauce

a splash of olive oil
1 large onion minced
several cloves of garlic (use a whole head if you like garlic)
one 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
a sprinkle or two of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Splash some olive oil into a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until they just begin to turn a golden brown, around 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, bay leaf, and salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering for around 15 minutes or so. At this point you can break up the tomatoes with a spoon for a rustic style of sauce or you can puree the sauce with an immersion blender.
(courtesy of Chef Michael Smith's " The Best of Chef at Home")

Pesto Sauce
a large bunch of basil
a couple of cloves of garlic
a couple of tbsp of pine nuts
olive oil

Put the first three ingredients into a blender with about 1/2 cup olive oil. Pulse a few times and if needed, add more olive oil until it becomes a medium thick sauce. The basil will all be chopped in tiny pieces. If you don't have enough olive oil, it won't break up so just add oil till it's the consistency you like. Add to cooked and drained pasta and stir well. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

What strange weather we're having. Yesterday afternoon it was 24* and this morning as I was taking out the garbage at 5:30, it's 20. It's like a warm spring morning. And last night was the same. There was a breeze blowing when I got home at 9:15 but it was a warm breeze.  Hard to believe 48 hours ago we had frost and 1* temperatures.

Exciting news - this afternoon the propane people are coming in to hook up my new stove. I had told them there was no rush when I called, as they were very busy so it's taken a while but today is the day.
Tonight I'm helping out at the Rec Centre. There's a wine and cheese party planned from 7:00 till 9:00 to raise funds for the playground.  Margie down the road, is going to be singing so I'm looking forward to it.
It's going to be another busy day - fly home, change and leave again. Nothing like the relaxed pace of life out here in the Maritimes!