Depression Era Cooking/Homemade Pasta...

This Homemade Pasta recipe in this post is from "Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes From The Great Depression - Clara's Kitchen" by Clara Cannucciari and her Grandson, Christopher Cannucciari. The name may look familiar if you've checked out her depression cooking videos on youtube.

A little book review before the recipe...I was a bit disappointed with the book. I was hoping for lots of depression era recipes, ways to stretch staples. Instead of that, there were colorful stories from Clara's past and not very many recipes. Of course she did include her Poorman's Dinner, which is a big hit with my kids. I also may try the Lentils with Rice. Many of the recipes I wouldn't even consider inexpensive. Meatballs, eggplant, caprese salad all call for expensive ingredients - beef, eggplant (unless you grow your own) and mozzarella balls (unless you make your own).

Homemade Pasta
1 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Large Eggs
Pinch of Salt

1. Add the ingredients to a food processor, or make the dough by hand, first pouring the flour into a mound on a clean surface. Break the eggs into the well and add the salt. With a fork, start working the rest of the flour into the eggs in the center. When the dough becomes difficult to work with a fork, use your hands to work the rest of the flour into the eggs. Knead the dough for several minutes, until it has a nice, squishy texture. You may need to add more flour as you go.

2. Cut the dough into six equal pieces and flatten each piece with a rolling pin. Pre the dough through your pasta machine, folding each piece in thirds as you roll it through. Keep pressing the dough through the machine until you achieve the desired thickness. After each rolling, lay out the dough on clean towels, making sure the edges don't touch. Rest them on the towels for about 10 minutes, giving them some time to dry out.

3. Pass the dough through the cutter of your pasta machine or cut by hand. Cook the pasta to the desired doneness and toss it with your favorite pasta topping. Just be careful, homemade pasta cooks much faster than dry. You really only need to warm it---probably not more than 3 or 4 minutes at most, depending on the thickness and shape.

I've been wanting to make homemade pasta for awhile now. This past weekend I snagged a Popeil Automatic Pasta Machine from my local www.bookoo.com for just $15. That's less than 1 meal out. I'll be honest, I'm a sucker for those infomercials and I'm amazed that I never did buy one when the infomercials first came out. According to those original infomercials (1990's), homemade pasta costs 25-30 cents per pound, a bit more now, but still a bargain, you can't beat the taste, and it's fun too!
Sunday night I made Chicken Parmigiana with homemade Vermicelli. The reviews were rave! We haven't had homemade pasta since going to a local (very pricey) italian restaurant. The meal at a restaurant would have easily cost $18.95 per person. Everyone in my family is now offering suggestions on what kind of pasta to make next.

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