My husband is different; he can play.  He’ll build towers to be knocked down, be a the dollhouse papa, and do all other manner of things which I find mind-numbing in the extreme.  And I think that’s great; he works outside of the home, so it’s nice that he can get that intensive interaction with them.

What with other things occupying my mind (and lowering my abilities), Saturday night rolled around and I hadn’t made her a gift. We had purchased several, but I realized I needed to give her something momma-made. I had started (and set aside) several projects that were just too time consuming to complete (hopefully they’ll make it into her Easter basket).

Periodically she’ll become attached to a particular blanket and want to wear it around the house as a strapless “princess” dress (think towel style). Recently the chosen blanket has been this big fleece lap throw that requires constant adjustment by yours truly in order to be worn (I think I was wrapping it around her ever twenty minutes or so).

That popped into my head along with the bridesmaids dresses I had stuffed in my fabric stash. I knew this “fancy” loving girl would love a real strapless princess dress. And she does.

Yes, she loves it, and she looks so darn cute in it.  And grown-up!  It does something to this Momma’s heart to see her in it when I’m already wondering where the last five years went and how my baby, my first baby, can already be a big, five! year old kid.

I began the switch from Typepad to WordPress, and this site’s redesign just under two weeks ago, and I threw myself into it.  At the same time I had finally decided to take some steps toward getting Ezra to sleep independently, and hopefully, through the night.  This came after nearly a month of really bad sleep, and at a point when I was so exhausted I struggled just to think and eat.

I don’t believe the timing was coincidental.  I believe I began both projects, site and sleep, at together because I needed an outlet, something to bury myself in, something to feed my mind, while I dealt with the overwhelming task of changing our sleep situation.  In retrospect, I needed to tackle another task that was new and challenging, but was also something I was confident I could figure out one way or another.  I needed the “mind” of “home-heart-mind” to counterbalance the tangle of emotions and exhaustion in my heart that, I slowly began to realize, was effecting not just me, but everyone in our home.

Since I wrote the words, “Home-heart-mind” for the first time, it has become almost a mantra for me.  I struggle with balance daily; trying to find the right combination to feed the hearts, souls and bellies of not just my children and husband, but myself also.  And reminding myself that I need to feed all parts of myself if I’m ever going to achieve it.

Yes!  Pasta again.  I keep writing about pasta, but making your own is so easy, the recipe is so forgiving and versatile, and the results are simply amazing.  I’ve given a few pasta recipes before, so this time I’m going to write more of a pasta-recipe tutorial, rather than a straight recipe.  Adjust it to fit your needs!

Pasta Tutorial: Ingredients

Simple, nutritious pasta can be made with nothing more than flour, eggs and a bit of salt.  So start there.

• 2 cups flour
• 2 or 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

I usually use half white flour and half whole wheat flour, since we like a like the wheaty flavor, but if you’re used to white pasta, go ahead and make your first batch with just white flour.  You’ll be amazed at the difference between what you’ve made and store-bought!  Also, remember that most store bought pasta is just flour and water; adding eggs makes for a whole new experience and 6 grams of protein per, means you’re adding 12-18 grams of protein to dinner on pasta night!

A dash of olive oil can go along way toward making your pasta easier to knead and roll out, so why not throw that in?

• dash of olive oil

Now, you have some choices.  The ingredients above will make a great meal, however, if you have kids like mine, you might want to hide some veggies puree in there.  Simply steam your veggies until they’re soft and puree them (add a little bit of the water you used to steam them in to the puree if it’s too thick).  You want about 1 cup of puree to replace 1 egg.

Suggested purees (the color will fade a bit during cooking):

• Green Pasta: Spinach, kale, and/or chard
• Orange pasta: carrots, butternut squash or tomatoes
• Pink/red pasta: beets, beets & carrots

Pasta Tutorial: Supplies

I make pasta with my food processor, stand mixer and pasta machine, but all you really need is a floured surface, a rolling pin and a knife.  Once you’ve cut it up you’ll want a place to let it rest until you cook it, or to dry completely if you’re planning on freezing it for later.  You can use a pasta drying rack, a floured cookie sheet or a simply run a string across your kitchen to hang the pasta on.

• Mixing: Food Processor or fork
• Kneading: Stand Mixer with dough hook or hands
• Rolling: Pasta Machine* or rolling pin
• Cutting: Pasta Machine attachment, knife,  pastry wheel* or pizza cutter
• Drying: Pasta rack*, string, cookie rack* or floured surface

Pasta Tutorial: Process

Mixing:

• Food processor with blade inserted: put your flour in, crack your eggs on top, add salt, olive oil (optional) & puree (optional), and pulse until it is mixed and crumbly but not yet a single dough ball.
• Fork: put mix flour and salt in a bowl, then slowly add eggs (1 at a time), olive oil (optional) and puree (optional) using the fork to mix the wet ingredients into the dry.  When it gets too thick, switch to mixing by hand.

Kneading:

• Once your dough is mixed knead (in stand mixer or by hand on a floured surface) it for a few minutes.  If it seems sticky add some flour, if too dry add a touch of water (a little goes a long way!).
• Form dough into a ball and cut into fourths.  Wrap each piece in cling wrap (you can freeze it or refrigerate it at this point if you want dough handy on another day) or place on a plate and cover with an inverted bowl (greener method!).  Let rest for twenty minutes.

Rolling:

• Dust a surface like a cutting board or cookie sheet with a bit of flour.  Working with one-fourth of the pasta (1 piece from above) at a time, press the dough into a flattened, rectangular piece with your hands.  Run it through your pasta machine (for my Atlas I run it through 5 times, starting at setting 1 and ending with 5–going further makes it too thin to handle in my experience) or roll to about 1/8″ thickness with your rolling pin.

• Pasta Machine Method: run the dough through the attachment of your choice, easy-peasy!
• Knife/pastry cutter/pizza cutter: make sure both sides of your sheet of dough are well floured so the pieces don’t stick together
• Fettuccine: cut 1/4″ wide strips the length of your dough, or make sure your sheets are well floured, fold in thirds and slice through then toss with your fingers (add more flour if you need to).
• Bow-tie: cut sheet into 2″ by 1″ rectangles, pinch in the middle to make a bow
• Filled Pasta: cut sheets into squares, fill with your favorite filling and fold into triangles (more here on filling pasta, and a bonus on that post, a simple cheese recipe!)

Drying:

• Fettuccine or other “stringy” (as my daughter calls it) pasta can be hung up to rest/dry on a pasta rack or string, or just tossed with extra flour and spread on a cookie sheet
• Bow-tie pasta can go on a floured cookie sheet or a cookie drying rack (especially if you’re drying to store)

If you’re cooking your pasta the same day you make it, you can cook it right away or let it rest as long as you want (nice if you want to make it in the morning for that evening’s dinner) it won’t need to be covered in the mean time.  If you want to store the pasta, make sure it dries completely (so it breaks rather than bends when you fold it) before storing.  It can stay in the fridge for a day or two, or be frozen for (days, weeks, years?  I’m always a little unsure of just how long something can be in the freezer–if it’s been a year, I usually toss it!).  I wrap it in plastic wrap and stick in a ziploc…not a green choice, but I don’t know another way..would foil do the trick? Cooking: Pretty simple: boil a large pot of water, place pasta in a colander and gently slide pasta into the water from the colander, then cover pot until water returns to a boil (I kind of tilt the lid a bit so the steam can escape and it doesn’t boil over).  Once the water is boiling leave the lid off and check the pasta every thirty seconds (pull a piece and bite into it) to see if it is done.  It will cook in just a few minutes (2-3)!  If you’re using frozen pasta the method is the same (no defrosting necessary) and it will only need to cook for a few extra minutes.

Posted to Your Green Resource via SortaCrunchy so click on over to check out more green posts!

* Disclosure

P.S. – Because I like posts with pictures, and because I’m so in love with this drawing, I thought I would share one of Junah’s recent works of art.  I love the subject, of course, but also, HER NAME!  All the letters in the right order and legible!  Just so exciting.

"X-Ray of a Baby in its Momma's Belly" - by Junah, Feb 2012

She is still sick, my poor girlie, now with a painful cough and an earache.  And so, I've come up with a new plan for New Year's Resolutions, even though I don't really do resolutions (I'm just trying to keep myself to some sort of posting regimen).  My new idea is for best and worst case scenario resolutions.  You know, make your resolution and then give yourself an out.  A modified resolution, a worst case resolution.  Something that keeps you going rather than making you feel like you've failed completely so you might as well give up altogether.

My best-case scenario resolution is still the same: to post every weekday.  And my new, worst-case scenario resolution?  To post at least once a week.  So now when a kid gets really sick in the same week that we go out of town, I can give myself a blog breather without feeling like a total failure and throwing in the towel for a few months.  

Last May I posted about making a new green shirt to replace Junah's favorite item of clothing.  Ever since I've been meaning to dig out the pattern I drafted to make another, bigger version, as the second green shirt gets quite a bit of wear (and is already a bit small).  I was going to do just that during my first sewing session at my new sewing station, but realized I didn't have any of the ribbing for it.  So instead I pulled out the pattern and did something else I've been meaning to do.  Made the girl a nightgown.  Her first. 

I intended to give it to her for her (fifth!) birthday next month, but this past weekend she mentioned a nightgown and I said, "Well, you know what I made you…"

The fabric was some knit I had on hand (I think it was intended for PJs for Ezra).  It's a bit heavier than t-shirt weight knit, but perfect for this.  

She wasn't home when I made this, so I enlarged the "green shirt pattern" by guesstimating (lengthening it quite a bit, obviously) and widened and shortened the sleeves.  The neckhole turned out too big, so I did a little fudging with the ruffled neckline, turning it into a casing into which i threaded some cord elastic.  

This girl loves ruffles, and this momma loves her serger, so all of the edges are lettuce edges.  For some reason I ruffled a strip of fabric and applied it to the bottom, rather than just ruffling the bottom edge.  I only realized later that I added unnecessary steps by doing so.  Either way this was a really quick project and she says she would like two (although more than two seems like a silly idea to her) so hopefully she will get another for her birthday.  The sleeve length seems a little weird to her (not short and not long) so I might alter those a bit.  

I'm a bit thrilled with this project.  Nightgowns were such a staple of my wardrobe growing up; it is hard for me to believe she's almost five and this dress & skirt loving girl is just getting her first one.  She did wear it the first night, but last night she chose "normal" pjs.  She is such a routine oriented child, that I'm wondering if I left the nightgown too late, if now the idea of a "dress" for bed is just too far out there for her.  The next one might have to be pink or green (or both) for her to be truly into it.  But, if she decides she's not into nightgowns, and I still have the nightgown making bug, well, it's been a long time since I've had one…

If I do “Random Thoughts Weekly” most weeks will be the same I’m afraid; lamenting my lack of sleep could be the entire list.

The thoughts of a well-rested person are much more varied and interesting than the thoughts of a sleep-deprived person.

I’ve been sleep-deprived for nearly five years.

I used to count the last few months of my pregnancy with Junah into my sleep deprivation count.  I’ve stopped that.  The sleep deprivation of the childless pregnant woman is nothing to the sleep deprivation I’ve experienced since Junah’s birth.

I miss the way I used to write my blog posts. Now I’m trying to be a “Craft Blogger” and a “Mom Blogger” rather than Barbara, a blogger.

I just scared my kids by totally cracking up while reading this (from this blog post):  “…let me tell you a little story about my bridal shower. I cried when I opened ever single card, from card 1 to card X, I kid you not. Everyone thought that it was just because I am an overly-emotional ninny and started making bets about when I would lose it on my wedding day (the general consensus was at the beginning of the rehearsal the night before). And, for a tangent on this tangent–I was amazingly calm, cool and collected throughout my wedding day and the day prior. The real reason I lost it over and over at my bridal shower was nervous-ninny-ness. I was so nervous (they’re all staring at me! they’ve all stopped talking amongst themselves like good guests and they’re staring right at me!) that I cried while reading the first card and immediately realized that I would have to cry at each and every subsequent card or else I would hurt someone’s feelings.”

I don’t think I have as many random thoughts anymore.  I have fixed thoughts.  What to make for dinner.  Do laundry or knit?  Remember to pack Junah’s lunch/buy milk/clean out fridge.

I want to try eating more vegetables & protein and less of the carby food I always turn to (like bread & pasta).  If I do attempt this I am considering a potato a vegetable, NOT a carb.  I can do life with less pasta, even less bread, but fewer potatoes, no.

These are the of the best things I’ve ever added to my kids’ craft supplies.

I wondered once (pre-kids) why more people don’t use cloth diapers.  Now I have two kids and I know.  One of my personal failures: the switch to disposables.

In my attempts to be an awesome “Mom/Craft Blogger” I try not to post pictures that show the disposables Ezra wears because I’m still embarrassed about the switch.

I have very strong political views, which I don’t think is readily apparent from my blog.  Most days I’m listening to news programs and political podcasts all day long on my iphone.

In honor of the holiday, and the man himself, I would just like to say, thank you Dr. King.

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I want to be the type of person who has beautiful craft spaces like the one above, rather than the type of person who has a cupboard stuffed full shoeboxes (also stuffed full of various and sundry items) threatening to slide out everytime I open the door.  

Fortunately in the midst of my dreaming, in the midst of my chaos, I received an email from my sister with a link to Tales of a Music Mama's Beauty and the Mess post.  Because yes.  Yes, yes, (oh, especially about the wooden toys versus plastic toys).  It helped me to remember this post I wrote about my own mess.  

I will continue to drool over beautifully organized spaces.  I will continue to dream about getting my house just so.  I may even organize a beautiful space for myself.  But, hopefully, I'll also feel a little less shame upon opening my flatware drawer and noting (and further ignoring) all the crumbs in with the forks.  And I'll enjoy the things I do create: a sweater, a blog post, a meal; and feel a little more grateful for the chaos that helped me do it.