Home-made pasta.
Several people asked me for more details about what I’m doing with the pasta
machine, including recs.
The pastamaker calls for two cups of flour and about 1 cup liquid (a mixture of
olive oil/water or olive oil/water/egg; the proportions are according to the
marks on a special cup that comes with the machine.) So far I have used all
whole wheat flour; equal parts whole wheat and alternative [bean/nut] flour (not
a success), and 1 cup whole wheat to 1/2 cup each white and alternative.
I have served it the following ways:
1. Take 1 lb. ground lamb. Mix with 1 cup flaxseed meal and 1 egg. Form
meatballs and set aside. Heat non-stick skillet; spray with olive oil. Sautee
chopped onions with garlic, ginger, and hot pepper paste. Add meatballs and
brown. Pour over 1/2 bottle rasberry vinagrette dressing. Stir. Cover and
lower heat and let simmer. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions.
Drain. Add to skillet and toss. Serve with salad.
2. Take 1 lb. ground beef or turkey. Sautee onions and garlic/ginger/hot
pepper paste as above. Add ground beef and brown. Add one package frozen
chopped broccoli. Stir until the larger ice crystals are melted. Pour over 1
jar of any good commercial tomato-based pasta sauce. Stir, lower heat, and let
simmer, covered. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions. Drain. Add to
skillet and toss. Serve as a one-dish meal.
3. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain. Toss with Alfredo sauce (from
jar or scratch). Serve as first course with salad and grilled sirloin strip
steak.
In each case, I had from 1/2 to 2/3 for dinner that night with a dry red wine
(Merlot, Cabernet, Shiraz, or Zinfandel), and the leftovers the next day for
either lunch or dinner with tea.
All of these kept my BS down around 100, except for the last, which made by BS
rise up into the 130s; for some of you that may not be all that high, but it is
for me. I don’t know if the cream sauce or the use of the millet/spelt flour in
the last one was the factor. I may try millet/spelt with the
beef/broccoli/tomato sauce to see what happens.
This is, of course, all very much a YMMV situation. Some of you may feel that
you can’t eat this w/out having your BS shoot up; however, with the exception of
(3), it works for me. (I know that if I used store-bought white pasta in these
recs, my BS would go through the roof, but I love pasta and this allows me to
eat it again.)
I haven’t yet tried baked pasta, such as macaroni-cheese or lasagna, with this,
but I eventually will and will let you know what happens.
Thanks!