Simple Gourmet...

I love homemade pasta. I used to think it must be overrated; store bought is so much easier to just grab and dump into a pot of boiling water. In reality, homemade pasta is easy and just requires a little bit of planning and preparation. It's much more nutritious (or can be, anyway) than its dried cousin too.

My husband returned from deer hunting this evening, so I made a tomato sauce from garden tomatoes and onions, grilled some meatballs, and made a batch of whole wheat pasta to greet him as he walked in the door. I used eggs that I'd just gathered from our hens and half whole wheat and half white flour. The great thing about using eggs when making your pasta is that it adds protein and a host of other nutrients, perfect for vegetarian meals. (For this reason I often don't add meat to our pasta, but tonight we had to celebrate his return and meatballs are fun!) By using whole grains we consistently eat at least half the amount of pasta than we would if it was just plain white spaghetti noodles.

Whole Wheat Pasta for a Family of 4

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2-3 eggs, at room temperature
water

Mix the flours together in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs into the center and whisk using a fork, until the flour clings too much to be workable. Knead, using your hands to incorporate all of the flour. This process takes a few minutes, and you may need to add some water depending on how many eggs you used. Just add it slowly so you don't end up with a sticky dough...you want a smooth, almost craggy dough. Once your dough ball feels good, knead it 5-10 minutes longer. Cover and let rest at least 30 minutes at room temperature.

Divide the dough in half. Flatten one piece and flour it well. If it's sticky it will stick to your pasta machine and tear. Roll to the thickness you prefer and cut. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cook in lightly salted boiling water until al dente, 3-5 minutes, depending on the size of the noodles. Drain and serve with your favorite sauce.

Serves four, with a little leftover.