Tag Archives: Pasta

Dumplings With Munchkin &Gnome!!

January 22, 2021 Munchkin

How is that for a catchy title. This one is about the noodle maker again…cannot help it…we love the machine!! With the pasta sheets that you make, you can them cut them into round skins to make dumplings. This post is more of a Picture Blog!!

Pasta sheets:

More pasta sheets:

We put a round bowl over the sheet and then used a sharp knife to cut around it to make round dumpling skins:

The noodle maker actually does come with a small dumpling maker. We did try to use it but it was teeny…you could only put one teaspoon of filling into it. It was laborious and tedious and we gave up after making about three of them. For our appetites, we would want to eat at least 50 between the two of us. It wasn’t worth the mess that it made because we tended to want to over-fill the dumpling and in the process of closing , a whole load of gooey mess would splat and splash everywhere. Splat…

After this, we took out our own dumpling maker…it is metal and a lot bigger…you can fill it with about 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling. Once you get into the swing of things, making fifty took about two hours. This would be the equivalent of about 8 meals for us. This was more fun and the larger size allowed easier filling and less splatting:

Some more dumplings:

We thought that having green dumplings looked really cool but when we fried them, they lost the colour and they just had that ubiquitous fried look. We won’t bother with the colour next time!

Okay, that is it for the dumpling blog post…something to do on a rainy day…talking of rain…it has been raining non-stop for days…

Belize, Food, Plants

More Pasta Colours in Belize!

January 16, 2021 Munchkin 1 Comment

I wrote a blog post titled Pasta Colours in Belize a couple of months ago. We hadn’t finished our experimentation at that point because the pasta machine couldn’t take the Munchkin and Gnome marathon. Anyway, I promised that we would continue with the pasta colours on a later date. Now that we have the noodle machine, we re-started our research on other pasta colours in Belize. I mentioned that we needed a tomato red/orange alternative…this is what we have come up with. First we tried powdered annatto and this it the result. It’s isn’t your typical orangey tomato…it is more rusty brown-orangey:

We still thought that it was a palatable and vibrant colour for a dish. Annatto powder is bland so you don’t get much in terms of contribution of flavour. The next experiment was carrot juice….this one we have fallen in love with…carrot pasta/noodles!! What a lovely colour!

We have also been looking at sources of green coloured pasta. Just as a re-cap, we’ve had spirulina pasta:

We have tried calaloo, an popular green amaranth that is grown in Belize:

We have also made chaya pasta. Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) is a green vegetable found in Belize…everyone in Belize says they love it and it’s heaps good for you but I have never seen a Belizean dish with chaya in it. This is what the plant looks like:

We got very nice results with chaya; oooh, such a beautiful mottled look!!

Chaya is a good source of protein, vitamins, calcium and iron. Using it as an ingredient in pasta/noodles boosts the nutritive value. We are also very pleased with this colour.

Belize, Food

Fasta Pasta!

December 29, 2020 Munchkin

Just when we were saying that it was time to get out on the farm again because it was drying up, we had a big glorious downpour last night. We can’t get anything done!! And it has been a recurring theme all year!! It’s wet outside…what are we going to do? I am still not done cleaning up but it isn’t a fun thing to do for an end of year finale. Oh, but of course…we can get the noodle machine out!!

This noodle machine weighs about 20lbs (10kgs) and it even comes on a stainless steel stand. It is made of cast iron and stainless steel…the plastic bits on the sides are just veneer to hide the metal gears…Gnome has taken the plastic bits off already because he thinks that they get in the way. Besides, he would rather see the exposed gears.

(I feel like I am writing a product review…Ha-Ha!!)

The Italian pasta machines were very light weight and had to be attached to the table in order to give them stability.

Another good thing (good thing because I am designated dough maker) is that you just need to mix the flour and water very quickly with a spoon. This machine is strong enough to do all the kneading. I can mix about a lb of flour at a time. With the Italian machine, it was about a 1/4lb at a time, the dough had to be kneaded by hand initially and then there was a lengthy dough working process with the pasta machine.

Be warned that using this machine still requires some arm strength but you can see that it has been designed with motorisation in mind. This machine is made in China…you may be surprised. Yes, but you have to realise that Chinese people eat noodles and there has to be machines properly equipped to meet the demand. This noodle machine is a commercial model or (according to their advertising blurb) can be used for large households to feed five or more people. It certainly does the job…

The other thing is…it is a noodle machine…not a pasta machine. You can make the following: one size of noodle (3mm…typical Chinese noodle size), ‘pasta’ sheets and dumplings. There is one noodle cutting attachment only. If you are looking for fancy mafaldine, you need an Italian pasta machine. Gnome has thought of ‘working’ the dough on this noodle machine and then passing it through an Italian pasta cutting machine but the widths of dough are not compatible.

Here is a picture of the noodle cutter in action:

These are the noodle cakes that you get:

We are very, very pleased!! Oh, and the price…some people might be interested. Italian pasta machines cost about USD$50.00. The noodle machine is about about USD$125.00. Definitely worth it if you are likely to make lots of noodles. 😉

Belize, Food

Winter Time in Belize!

December 28, 2020 Munchkin 2 Comments

It is deepest, darkest winter in Belize right now. The temperature is around18oC/ 64F and it doesn’t get light until 6am in the morning. It is really hard to get up when it is so chilly. The scarves, woolly hats and cardigans are out now and the cats are fighting for a cosy position on our laps. Anyway, I trust you all had a good Christmas; we ended up with a ham dinner since there was a cold front and drizzly showers on Christmas day. It was hard to start a fire and cook our goose in coals outside. Oh, and I was so cold, I asked Gnome to make mulled wine. Of course, we didn’t make it the traditional way (God forbid!)…I walked around the yard to pick all the ingredients…this is what we used: cinnamon leaf, allspice leaf, calamondin peel, chilli pepper and sorrel.

It was very warming and exactly what I needed for a cold winters day in Belize. All in all, Christmas day was quiet and the cats were so cold that they spent most of the time sleeping!!

Boxing Day was another cold day so we had the bright idea of bringing out the brand new noodle machine. Gnome cranked out skins to make ham and potato dumplings (from our Christmas leftovers!!). We spent the whole morning cranking and filling…ended up with 56 dumplings to freeze and managed to use up all of Christmas dinner. I will have pictures on a later post. Meanwhile, I will leave you with some pictures of our new noodle machine; Gnome is very pleased with it because it is a lot sturdier than the traditional Italian pasta machines. Perhaps this one will make it through a rigorous Munchkin and Gnome marathon! Ohhh…look at that!! Quite formidable looking…Made in China too!!

This one can take a pound of flour at one time, un-kneaded! Hours of fun!!

Belize, Food, Plants, Saving Money

Pasta Colours in Belize.

November 29, 2020 Munchkin

If you happen to have a pasta maker lying around in the kitchen during this new COVID 5am to 9pm curfew and you are stuck indoors with bad weather, you might want try your hand at making colourful pasta with the ingredients in Belize. I thought we could have a lively discussion about pasta colours today since were just talking about pasta yesterday…if you can think of anything better…I am all ears!! Yes, this is another Bored in Belize project!

The green colour in pasta is originally made with spinach greens. Here in Belize, there is a popular green called calaloo which is from the amaranth family. On our farm, it comes up everywhere as a voluntary vegetable.

I collected a whole bunch of calaloo and boiled it until it turned to mush…then I added this to flour to make the dough for pasta. The resulting colour was very nice and Gnome said that it looked like authentic spinach pasta…if you look carefully, there is a mottled green colour.

I was very pleased with this colour as we had previously tried spirulina, a high protein algae that Gnome grows for the animals. When it is freshly harvested, it is a very intense green colour:

Splat!! Spirulina looks like a big green glob and we thought it would be perfect as a colour additive in pasta. This is what we got:

It doesn’t look so bad but as it ages, it actually acquires a blue tinge to it which looks less appetizing. I don’t have a picture of the aged pasta but I have one of spirulina ice-cream; it is a funny cyan colour:

Anyway, the calaloo experiment was so much better. Another colourful ingredient that you can use is cacao powder which imparts a rich colour and chocolatey taste:

To get a vibrant yellow colour in pasta, turmeric works very well:

Alas, we have not finished our colour experiment yet because if you read our last post, you will know that our pasta machine has stopped working. We still need to find a nice red colour…I don’t want to use tomatoes because that would be too straight forward…what about ground annatto? Hopefully this will be a later blog if we ever find another pasta machine!!

Belize, Food, Saving Money

Another One Bites the Dust!

November 28, 2020 Munchkin

I am, of course, referring to the demise of our third pasta maker. These pasta makers…you know one of those ubiquitous $50.00 to $100.00 ones that claim they are Italian-made…can’t withstand the rigours of a Gnome pasta marathon. We got twenty-five hours out of then it started groaning and creaking and before we knew it, it carked it good and proper. We reckon that these pasta machine only have a 20 to 25 hour working life…

Aawwh…we were only on day 3 of 7 and had just done the lasagna sheets and linguini…we were just about to start the angel hair…

Gnome took the machine apart to try to fix it. He noted that the gears were made of a soft alloy and had completely worn out and lost shape. He has seen this problem with all our former machines and it seems that no matter what brand of pasta machine (this third one was a slightly more expensive, top of the range) they are designed with a short length of usage in mind.

Hmmm…these pasta makers should just be labelled with: Ornamental Pasta Maker: For Countertop Presentation Only with a special message for Gnomes: Warning: On no account should you be fooled into thinking that this is a fully operational pasta maker!

Anyway, we are mourning the loss and feeling a bit put out. Between Hurricane Eta, Iota and the usual high rainfall here in Toledo, we have been stuck indoors for over a month. It is either flooded or very wet outside so no farm work can be done. We were hoping to get our 2020 Pasta run accomplished. Here are some pictures of what Gnome managed to crank up:

This is a ‘cheese roll’ that Gnome made; there is a central length of cheese which is then rolled in layers of thin dough (made with the pasta maker). Before the dough is rolled, grated cheese and chilli flakes are sprinkled onto the flat sheet. In all, this cheese roll was made with about 6 feet of flattened sheet dough. You get a nice patterned effect like this:

Ohhh and Ahhh…it is crunchy in texture and tastes delicious!!

Gnome also made pastry for beef pie:

We made this food in between pasta runs so that when we had a break, we could eat something yummy. We did also make pasta:

Oh, and this time, we made green pasta from calaloo greens; more about colouring pasta in a later post. The colour turned out very well:

Do you like the picture?? This was my attempt at a fancy ‘coffee table’ picture!!

Belize, Farming, Food

A Very Wet Day!

June 15, 2019 Munchkin

We have had whole night rains for the last three days which has culminated in large ponds and pools forming on the farm. It is extremely wet; the goosies are loving the splishing and sploshing! We are stuck at home and the pasta maker done broke two days ago after a three day pasta marathon. Gnome said:

“…hmmm…things aren’t made to be used any-more…people just have these things as kitchen decoration or ‘one day I will make pasta with my pasta machine…'”

Oh dear…the poor machine did not survive the rigorous challenge of a Munchkin and Gnome marathon…we actually only got 12 hours out of it!

Anyway, Gnome has already taken the whole contraption apart and is in the process of fixing it. Meanwhile, I will sneak in a few more of our pasta pictures…

Another Picture:

This one was an experiment. We put yeasted dough, flavoured with cinnamon and sugar, through the pasta maker and made long mafaldine strips. They puffed up very nicely when fried in oil.

Gnome tells me that this type of fried dough is called chiacherre in Italy. His Mum says that it is called frappe’ in Rome. You can use vodka, dry martini or even white wine to make the dough. I had never considered using alcohol in dough (what a waste of a perfectly good beverage!) but it actually gives a distinctive flavour to it and is worth doing if you like good food! A definite thumbs up from Munchkin who has been experiencing the joys of Italian food making and eating for the last few days.

Have a Great Weekend. Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you…we think the Flood Flies are coming out tonight. There has been so much rain that we think that this will stimulate the flight of the termite queens. From our point of view, it just means that there will be a right old mess of wings to clean up the next day! Remember to switch all lights off, close all doors and windows! Early to bed tonight…

Belize, Farming

All Go!!

August 15, 2016 Munchkin

Standing.Together We have had a good run of hot sunny days so we have been able to start mowing and cleaning up the farm again. Gnome managed to fix the brush-mower…he used a die to fix the stripped threads on the spindle…in other words he used his Gnome ingenuity to save money!

Oh, and we have been getting so many jackfruits…I had to process five in 2 days. Look it the size of them! Phew…a lot of work but lots of food.

We are still making pasta…black pasta. This one is called Black Opal No.3…made with charcoal.

Amusing, Food

Hello Again!!

July 13, 2016 Munchkin

Together.on.Couch

It is really had to start back on writing the Blog after this hiatus; it is actually easier to write everyday as you get into the rhythm of writing. Oh well, let’s try again!!

It’s been raining almost everyday so we have had to resort to indoor activities. We managed to get a new hand-cranked pasta maker that is a lot sturdier than the last one. The last one was a disaster for USD $25.00; it was a Made In China piece of evil terribleness which didn’t survive past the first crank!

“Evil Terribleness!!”

Yum.Yum.Gnome

We’ve been experimenting with all sorts of wonderful and exotic ingredients including cacao butter, chocolate, banana flour and miso with great results. Here are few pictures to show what we have managed to crank. Thank goodness this machine is still going past the 20th crank (yay!!). Gnome said,

“Well. It’s because this one is made in Italy of course!”

Gnome.with.Staff

Pasta Noodle Making:

Cooked Home-Made noodles Chinese Style:

What a delight to have a machine that actually works. This means a lot when you are in a Belize because there is no Amazon 24 hour delivery…if we need anything from overseas, it is usually a 3 to 6 month wait! This one was worth the wait…

Belize, Food

Sweet Success.

January 7, 2016 Munchkin

Bean.Red.Munchkin.Eating

I spent a bit of time today catching up on cake recipes from the Festive Season for Belize Wild Recipes. I simply had to write about them because this year, for the first time ever, they actually worked out. This is a typical baking disaster…this one was Christmas Spice Cake:

Sesame.Cookie.Disaster

This year, we were made “Apple” Pie from jujube (Chinese wild plum):

The wild chinese plum has a very tart flavour similar to crab apples. These plums are about 1inch (2.5cm) in size.

And Gnome made the pastry with the pasta machine:

Oh, and look at these…

Christmas Chaos Cake:

Spice Cake:

I have also posted up a “Black Cake” recipe which was very kindly given to me by Barbara Nightingale. I haven’t tried the recipe yet…it will have to wait until next Christmas!! And sorry no picture because we polished it all off before we could get a photo!

Casa Mascia Apothecary

Tag Archives: Pasta

Dumplings With Munchkin &Gnome!!

More Pasta Colours in Belize!

Fasta Pasta!

Winter Time in Belize!

Pasta Colours in Belize.

Another One Bites the Dust!

A Very Wet Day!

All Go!!

Hello Again!!

Sweet Success.

Everything Handmade in Belize.