Harvest Meal for a Gray & Dreary Day

It's been raining steadily for four days, and the forecast promises more of the same. I worked outside in the garden for a good part of Sunday nonetheless, but I just couldn't face the steady drizzle on Monday. Instead, I did my best to remind myself of the virtues of living in an area with precipitation sufficient such that I almost never have to water my garden. And I caught up on housework, which generally falls to the absolute bottom of my to-do list once gardening season begins. Yardwork or housework, but not both - that's my motto at the moment.

In addition, I took the opportunity today to make my own version of Maya's stunning homemade spinach pasta (much prettier than mine, I might add.) The arugula sylvetta is going gangbusters out there. It's one of my favorite crops because I hardly need to do anything other than harvest it once it establishes itself. And I love the flavor. I also collected some chives, sage, a tiny bit of baby spinach, and a few ramp leaves. So with our own eggs and our own garden fresh greens, I whipped up a batch of very rustic pasta, using an organic wheat flour that includes the germ but not the bran. Homemade pasta is something I know how to make. But somehow it just doesn't happen as often as it should. So thanks, Maya, for the nudge and for giving me a good rainy day project.

This mound of flour has ground up arugula and other greens already in it. I dried them as well as I could, then put them through the food processor with most of the flour. The eggs are fresh from our hens.

Blend, blend, blend

The ball of dough after a few minutes of kneading by hand. I probably should have added an extra dose of flour to the dough. The herbs added quite a bit of moisture, so the dough was pretty sticky.

There's not a huge amount of precision when it comes to making your own pasta. A general rule of thumb is to use 2 cups (27 cl) of flour to four eggs. But since the size of eggs vary and the moisture content of flour also varies with the ambient humidity, it's always a subjective, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants endeavor. I added about 2 cups, or 4 ounces by weight, of raw herbs and greens, and ended up incorporating quite a bit more flour during the kneading stage. After kneading, the dough needs a little rest in the fridge before shaping it. A pasta roller makes the shaping a breeze. (I picked mine up, with a linguine/fettuccine cutting attachment, at the thrift store for $8.) But you can roll it by hand with a rolling pin and cut it with a knife if you need to. I did that many times before finding a cheap pasta roller.

These chewy, dense noodles cooked in no time, and didn't last much longer than that. All they needed was some olive oil with sauteed garlic and a bare grating of Parmesan cheese. I can tell that fresh herb noodles are going to become a springtime tradition for us. It's a dish that can be pulled together with what few things the garden and hens give up generously at such an early date.