Pasta Pasta Pasta

First thing's first: GO AND BUY A PASTA MACHINE. It will cost you around 20 dollars for an ok one, and about 80-100 for a nice nice nice one. Either way, it is well worth getting - you will not regret it.

I think I promised some people my fresh pasta recipe, so here it is.

For a regular, 4-6 person lasagne ( or 3 servings of fresh fettuccine/spaghetti), use the following quantities:

1 cup of plain flour

I tablespoon of olive oil

1 egg

(good) pinch of salt

Cold, cold water (depends on temp of air, flour used – add as needed)

Add all ingredients together in a bowl, and roll together til they form a loose dough. Turn out onto a board and knead for a good 8-10 mins, or until a). it bounces back when pressed, or b). is silky and pliable.

Refrigerate for at least 20 mins. Cut up into 4 (ish) equal sections and begin to run through setting 7 on your pasta machine. Run it through 7 a few times, then take it down gradually til you get to about setting 2 ( I use 2 - setting 1 is kind of thin and doesn’t really cook as well). Make sure to flour your machine AND the dough between rolling. Lay out the rolled pasta sheets on a damp tea towel, or else a floured surface. It should cook in 3-4 mins in a pan of boiling water, or about 30 mins as part of a lasagne.

Earl grey cupcakes with maple cream, orange zest and thyme

I have been trying to find a great earl grey tea cake recipe for ages, so decided to create my own.

I have used a basic cake base (see below) which is my fail-safe, fall-back-on cake base I've been using for years, and added some earl grey tea infused water and milk, and maple vanilla cream. I have fresh thyme growing in my garden, so thought it might add another element of earthiness to the cakes along with the tea. I also have rosemary growing too, but was unsure whether it might be a little too overpowering. I also grated some orange zest over it too, to go with the earl grey bergamot flavour. Don't add any earl grey tea leaves to the cakes – I find them gritty and they ultimately take away from the delicate tea taste.

Basic cake recipe

• 2 Earl Grey tea bags

• 60ml (1/4 cup) boiling water

• 80ml (1/3 cup) milk

• 100g butter, at room temperature

• 2 eggs

• 160g (2/3 cup) caster sugar

• 190g (1 1/4 cups) self-raising flour

Preheat oven to 180c and place 24 cupcake patty pans into a tray.

Infuse the tea with the water for 3 mins, discard teabag and add milk.

Add the tea mixture to the flour, butter, eggs, and sugar, and beat on low for 2 mins then medium for 2 mins.

Add to patty pans, cook for around 20 mins, but check after about 18.

Allow to cool, then dollop on the cream, thyme and orange rind.

Cream

• 1 cup of cream

• 1 tablespoon of maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Whip all together until soft peaks form. Grate orange zest and place thyme leaves on top.

A Start

"I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate."
Julia Child

I started cooking when I was younger. At around 10, I used to host cooking shows in the reflection of my parent's kitchen window. I don't remember what I cooked - typical, easy child-friendly recipes mum says, and pasta. There were a few years at university where I lost it to two-minute noodles and tomato paste. But since then, I have always been interested in cooking, in ingredients, in combinations and in feeding people as much as possible.

I am hoping this blog might help me to keep track of the recipes I create and try, while also attempting other, more complex recipes (primarily from tastespotting.com ).

My penchant for green tea, earl grey tea, chai tea and vegetarian recipes may be overwhelming for some...regardless, I hope it's a comprehensive blog for those who like atypical, whimsical recipes.

-Bec.