Ravi-YOLO! (Homemade-ravioli)

I have never made homemade pasta before. So, with the help of a friend I decided Friday night was the night to make it. Long story short, if you have nothing else to do for an entire day, homemade pasta is the way to go!

First of all, I would like to welcome to the Kitchen of Leah, Maxwell Zambow-tie (mmzz, for short). It's Italian. Wasn't sure if a hyphenated last name was the way to go...

I'm beginning to realize I have a problem with impulsive shopping. Maxwell Zambow-tie is going to be seeing a lot of the inside of my cupboards for the next little bit. Sidenote: for those of you who are curious, yes, pasta makers are the adult playdoh machines.

Ok! So, here's the recipe. From: SOME COOKBOOK MY MOM GAVE ME! (aka- Creative International Cookbook. Thanks Mom!)

Ravioli
Eggnoodles - Italy
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp water
(*They're so easy to make!!)

Maxwell Zambow-tie in action! Works like a charm!

Filling
(This is where you can get a little creative...or just use cheese)
-About a palmful of chopped up smoked meat from the cutest little italian grocery store
-1/2 an onion chopped into tiny little bits
-enough garlic to make your kitchen stink...also chopped really small
-1 egg
-a lot of parmesan cheese
-even more marble cheese
-little bit of salt
*props to Michelle for great chopping skills!
Mix this all together and start stuffing!!

WAIT!!! Time for "recipe inside a recipe"!

Making this pasta was a long process. So if you get bored...infuse your vodka with tea and take a shot!

Any flavour of tea works. We used lemongrass and earl grey (plus a little bit of added sugar).

I bet you didn't know this is what 'those suction'ee things' are really for.

...continue making pasta...

Add a little prego and you're basically in Italy!
(I was going to make my own pasta sauce but after 2 1/2 hrs into making the pasta, that idea went right out the window)

Don't forget to play with the leftover bits of pasta!

P.S. If any of my friends need a pasta maker Maxwell Zambow-Tie would love to go on a Vacay!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Eggplant with Tomatoes (aubergines aux tomates)

Recipe from Ginette Mathiot's I know how to Cook

I've never eaten eggplant, let alone cooked with it. However, walking around the farmers market yesterday I saw this interesting looking vegetable (Fun Fact: Eggplants aren't actually vegetables, they are berries. FF#2: Eggplants contain nicotiniod alkaloids which means eggplants and tobacco are basically cousins in the "cigarette-berry family tree". But don't you worry, you would need to eat 20-40lbs of eggplant to get the same amount of nicotine that's in one cigarette. -Thank you Wikipedia).

Here's the recipe from this oversized, totally unnecessary and underused french cookbook.

Eggplant and Tomatoes is on the left

5 ounces tomatoes, chopped (I just used 1 can of diced tomatoes)
1 eggplant
Oil, for pan-frying
Salt and Pepper
1 small handfull of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 tbsp butter

Make a tomato sauce by cooking the tomatoes in a dry pan for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Mash through a strainer with a wooden spoon and set aside. Cut the eggplants into 1/2 inch slices. Heat the oil to a depth of 3/4 inch in a deep skillet. Pan-fry the eggplants in batches in the hot oil until golden, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange a layer of tomato paste and a layer of eggplants in an ovenproof dish, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle each layer with the parsley and garlic. Dot with the butter and bake for 45 minutes.

I used a lot more parsley than the picture shows, but it didn't really seem to matter. These 'eggplant chips' were actually quite good. I don't think I'll be making them in the future. I'm more of a zucchini fan. Have a great Sunday Night!!