T for Tuesday-Homemade Pasta and Bolognese Sauce

Went to the T Centre and bought these tea related items. On the left is the tin for loose tea leaf, my smallish glass cup I take to work, on the right is a tea infuser-I am addicted to these, some work and some don't

I'm on a cooking spree, homemade cooking. I subscribe to Ree Drummond-Pioneer Woman Cooks for years now and she has some wonderful recipes. These two caught my eye. I love homemade noodles and bolognese sauce. I cooked the sauce for 5 hours and added chicken livers.

I have taken to making stuff from scratch and as natural as possible, with all the processed stuff I was introduced to when I moved to Australia from Fiji 30+ years ago, our health is not as it should be. I have always wanted to make my own noodles/pasta from scratch. Even though I work full time hours I like to make stuff. This pasta machine I have owned for yonks, over 10 years and have never used it LOL. I also have never owned a table top mixer, so I knew I had to get one now that I am making stuff. It was a breeze to make dough which took all of 5 mins, a task that usually takes me longer to make. But the mess, oh the mess, there was flour everywhere.

But the noodles/pasta was to die for, so soft and fresh!!  try it some day, oh here is the recipe for noodles:

6 whole eggs

3 cups plain flour

Rule of thumb: 2 eggs per one cup of flour

Make a well in the centre of your pile of flour and crack in your eggs. Slowly mix together with your hands. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead (roll, punch, push, etc.) by hand until dough becomes smooth and pliable, adding flour to the board as necessary.

Let the dough rest for a little while before rolling it out. You can sort of figure on one egg per person to determine how much dough to make. Example: Two eggs and one cup of flour would make enough pasta dough for a dinner for two.

When you’re ready, roll it out on a floured surface as thinly as it’ll go. The noodles will plump up quite a bit when they boil in the water, so the thinner you can roll it, the better. Cut the noodles really thin. You can use a sharp knife (if you can keep it in a straight line), a pizza wheel, or a long pizza/bread cutter.

To cook the noodles, just boil them in salted water (very important!) for probably two minutes. They cook lightning fast, so don’t let ‘em go too long.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/homemade-pasta/

The first batch I made was really from scratch, this was before I found the pasta machine 2 days later:

We ate it with homemade Bolognese Sauce which I cooked for 5 hours

 ½ cup Olive Oil

1- ½ cup Grated Carrots

1 whole Large Red Onion, Diced

2 pounds Ground Beef

2 Tablespoons Dried Oregano

2 Tablespoons Dried Basil Flakes - I used fresh basil from my garden

1 can (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste

5 cloves Garlic, Minced

1 cup (to 2 Cups) Red Wine - next time I will only use 1 cup-2 is too strong for me2 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire

2 cans (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes- I also added sundried tomatoes

1 cup Milk

Salt And Pepper, to taste

Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Add grated carrots and onions and cook for a few minutes. Make a well in the centre of the mixture, and then add in the ground beef. Cook for a few minutes until brown, gradually stirring it into the carrot mixture.

Throw in oregano and basil. Use fresh if you have it; if you don’t, it’s fine. When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients, make another well. Add tomato paste and let it heat. Add garlic and stir to combine.

Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add red wine. Stir together. Add Worcestershire and stir. Add canned tomatoes. Finally, pour in milk, stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes to 2 hours—however long you need.

Serve with pasta and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/ryans-bolognese-sauce/

The finished combination YUMMMMM!!!

Here are more teapots from Mt Tambourine Tea shop

Joining Bluebeard and Elisabeth for T for Tuesday