A nagging headache has been simmering all day, refusing to quit. I tried to sleep it off, but it just hopped to the other side of my skull like, “Still here!” Determined to ignore it, I grabbed a small bundle of double-zero Italian flour and mixed it with three eggs and olive oil directly on the quartzite countertop. Meanwhile, Dave clamped our never-before-used pasta roller to the edge. After reading the recipe’s instructions I kneaded the dough into a yellowish ball then cut it into four pieces. Dave fed one through the rollers as I caught it on the other end as we followed the oddly specific details: roll it through three times at size zero, two at one, two at two, and then one or two times between three and six. By the end of rolling the first chunk, I gave up on the formula. The dough looked flat and ready to go, so why complicate it?
With water already at a rolling boil, we dropped the knife-cut noodles in for a quick minute. Turns out the noodle-cutting accessory didn’t come with the roller, so we had to carefully cut them by hand. I was nervous about scratching up the new countertop, but hunger won out over caution.
We ended up with one pile of noodles and the three other strips of dough transformed into ravioli. Lacking that fancy roller I long ago played with at my grandma’s house, I used a fork to pinch them closed. The takeaway? It was fun, but I needed to pack the stuffing tighter to avoid water sneaking into the ravioli, and I should cut the dough smaller next time. I can totally see this being a hit at a social get-together.
I’m calling it an early night. The pounding ache above my ear is like a leaky faucet drip, drip, dripping. The only cure is a long, uninterrupted sleep, so I’ll be skipping my morning walk to soak in as much rest as possible.
Hope you’re easing out of summer and into fall smoothly. See you here tomorrow. Love, Jaclynn
Going On 40 