Learning Homemade Pasta

The past two days have been busy with work now that I’m feeling better. A few deadlines came up this week, and I’ve met all but one—the one I missed was simply because I didn’t have the information I needed. Still, I feel productive after basically taking two weeks off, one for travel and one for being sick.

Yesterday I decided to try my hand at making homemade pasta. I already had the ingredients, along with a rolling pin and bench scraper, so I figured, why not? Last night I made chicken soup from scratch and added in my first batch of noodles. It wasn’t terrible, but it kind of bombed—I’m pretty sure that’s because I used bread flour. Lesson learned: bread flour isn’t the best choice for pasta, lol.

Today I tried again, this time using all-purpose flour, and made homemade lasagna. It turned out so much better! If I keep practicing, I think I’ll eventually get really good at making pasta. Honestly, I feel better eating it than eating store-bought dry pasta. I don’t like the thought of putting chemicals and ingredients I can’t pronounce into my body. I know my body is tired of toxins and years of poor diet choices, so I feel deep down that I need to stick with the simplest ingredient lists possible.

My lasagna was just that—simple. Ground pork (it was cheaper), canned crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, spices, mozzarella cheese, and homemade pasta. That’s it! We had it with fresh green beans, steamed with butter and rosemary. I cut the lasagna into eight pieces, and after eating just one I was so full I had to go for a walk.

My walk was peaceful, and the weather was amazing. I love walking right after the sun goes down—the sky is usually painted with vivid colors and beautiful clouds. The fountain wasn’t on tonight, but I still enjoyed walking past the waterfall. I passed by a lot of people who were clearly out enjoying the evening just like I was.

Eventually, I had to head home earlier than I wanted because I needed to pick up a couple of the kids from Bible study. On the way back, I stopped at the park for some swing time. I hadn’t been on a swing in so long, but I was craving it tonight. Being there in the cool darkness was so calming—less noise, fewer distractions, just the simple rhythm of swinging back and forth.

Now, as I write this, I’m sipping on a cup of “Cup of Calm” tea and getting ready for bed. I’m starting to feel relaxed and tired. I’ve been sitting at my desk a lot, and since I’m eating more now that I’m not sick, I know I’m not exactly helping myself. That’s why I’m so glad I craved movement tonight. Maybe tomorrow I can get in a longer walk.

One of my long-term goals is to get back into running. After bootcamp, I remember going to the gym on my own and running just because I loved how I felt afterward. But when I met my husband, I started slacking off and got lazy. I haven’t been a runner since, but I really miss that feeling.

Anyway, I’m tired, so I’m signing off for the night. I hope you have an amazing day!