makin' pasta & being subversive

It does feel subversive to flout the professionals and make a thing yourself.

~Barbara Kingsolver

I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle right now and it's a good thing I have my own copy. I've dog-eared and highlighted nearly every page it seems. I recommend it to anyone to read about becoming a 'locavore.' I'm inspired by their commitment to eat/buy/grow locally and did you know you can make your own cheese? You can. The Kingsolvers went to a cheese making workshop and now regularly stretch 'glossy, golden skeins' of warm mozzarella between their hands in their own kitchen! 'Why do we do this?' she asks. 'It's hard to say...but we're all dazzled by the moment of alchemy when the milk divides into clear whey and white curd...We're connecting across geography and time with the artisans. We're recalling our best memories infused with scents, parental love, and some kind of food magically coming together in the routines of childhood.'

Perhaps someday we'll dip into the world of making our own cheese, but for now I hope my children remember our homemade bread. Though most of the time I use my amazing bread machine, I should make it by hand once in awhile, inviting them to work with me, kneading and pulling the warm dough alongside me. Wearing our vintage or mama made aprons, of course.

Which brings me to....pasta! Another newly learned tidbit, thanks to this blog post here (how to make a neat little clicky link?? I don't know) http://simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com/2009/04/homemade-wholemeal-pasta.html. After reading this, I went to my handy local craigslist listings and lo and behold, found TWO brand new pasta machines (same seller) for 10.00 each. I bought them both. My children are VERY excited to make pasta. I think that will be a great weekend project.

Many people say to me 'how do you do it?' which I presume means 'how do you parent and run a house AND have time to make stuff?' Well, we are wired to create, so it's a priority for me to honor that need and to honor it in my children. I think that experiences are important, and that they learn by doing, so I bring them along in my own journey of discovery. Maybe, when they're grown, they'll have happy memories of cooking with mama, sewing with me, making pasta, planting a garden, and on and on. Plus, I'm a wee bit subversive.

A 'quick' library trip (as in, we went in for a few select books and staggered out with these) is pictured below. Eric picked out the biggest, heaviest book in the whole library, America in Space. At first I said no, then I quickly said YES as I realized I was being selfish just because I didn't want to lug that huge book around. I didn't need to carry it. He carried it himself! We're checking out some different painters. Lily enjoys the Degas book since she's taking a ballet class. We enjoyed looking at it together. I've got poems of Sappho, a craft book, a memoir, and a gardening and body care recipe book in here, too. So much great stuff at the library!