Macaroni & (Goat) Cheese

Bean wanted to make macaroni today, so I decided to join him with my own take. He does not enjoy mushrooms, so I concocted a single-serving meal for me.

1. Boil some favorite pasta (shells, in this case).

2. Steam some glorious vegetables:

mushroom

cherry tomatoes

spinach

(I added some oregano and basil to the pasta boilage for flavor).

When the pasta was done, I added a chunk o' goat cheese until it melted. When it has just homogenized, add the steamed vegetables, stir, and serve. I topped this with Panko bread crumbs.

Mac & Cheese

And now for something I've never made for myself. I steamed some:

scallions

cherry tomatoes

mushrooms

with the intention of making them part o' the macaroni. But then, when I had cooked up some pasta and added:

~1 oz Gruyere cheese (thanks to Dani)

butter

salt

oregano

basil

It seemed far more appealing to keep the vegetables apart, to be enjoyed in their own delicious goodness.

It wasn't the same as a feels-like-home goodness, but rather a subtle pasta and cheese taste that was filling and delicious.

Bean let Sergei keep a lookout.

HOMEMADE PASTA!

We watched a few videos to mentally prepare ourselves for the endeavor. Then, ignoring most of the advice, here's what we did. Plop:

1 1/2 c. flour

sprinkle salt

in a pile on the counter. Make a lil' well, and crack two eggs into it. Whisk up the eggs a little with a knife, and slowly mix in flour from the edges until the mess is controlled enough to use your hands. Then, keep adding in and kneading flour until a stiff-and-springy ball is formed. This may not require all of the flour; we had quite a bit left over. Then, knead the ball for about ten minutes. When it's nice and elastic, and a uniform yellowish color, put it in a bag and let it rest away for 20 minutes.

Now the real work starts! With no pasta machine, we rolled out the pasta by hand, and therefore couldn't get it too thin, but it was still under a millimeter. When you're satisfied with the thickness of it, roll it into a loose coil and slice into small strips. This gives you a fettucine-sized pasta. Quite obviously, the pasta can be cut into any shape, length or thickness you see fit!

And then simply stick the pasta in some boiling water; cook it for less time than store-bought pasta of a similar size, because of its freshness.

Rarely has any meal been so satisfying to prepare, and so scrumptious. I mixed the thick (oh-so-thick, but upliftingly un-rubbery) pasta with steamed asparagus, tomato, grated Romano cheese, and pesto, and a rum & coke for good measure.

pasta and broccoli and mango and gin

This was a simple dinner; penne pasta mixed with slightly-steamed broccoli, and topped with olive oil and feta cheese. Delicious, though, because it tastes so healthy.

Then we trooped over to watch The Road, which depressed all five of us to a noticeable degree; Jesse came back and wolfed down chocolates, Sean wandered restlessly about the house, Simon descended into silence, and Hannah and I broke out the alcohol.

I have had a can of mango nectar sitting in my refrigerator for an unacceptably long time, and I had brought it with me tonight (perhaps because of the birch beer experiment). I haven't had any juice to drink for months and months because of its superb sweetness. I find it strange that I can stand any amount of sweetness in chocolate form, but fruity sugar has become unbearable in any substantial concentration.

So! I made this one more bearable (and simultaneously delicious) by adding more gin and more vanilla seltzer.

Bean also made wheat-honey bread today, but I have no proof!