Homemade Wheat Pasta

One of the things I am enjoying most about my fast is preparing the food. As I make everything, I reflect not only on the ingredients that are going into the meal but also focus on how the fast gives me a closer connection to God. It also makes me thankful for the abundance of delicious things that God put on this planet for us to eat!

Last night I finally went out to get a pasta machine. I've been wanting to get one for a while now. I roll my own gnocchi and there's just something amazing about making your own pasta. It tastes better, it's fun, and being in the kitchen always reminds me of my Grandma.

We made wheat spaghetti tonight. I didn't want Matt to miss out on the fun, so I had him come in to the kitchen to crank the pasta roller. He also prepared the salad while I sauteed some baby bellas, spinach, and garlic top put on top of our fresh pasta. It's so fun to cook together, and after dinner we washed the dishes together. I'm thankful for having time to enjoy dinner with my honey!

I'm not one for actual recipes, but here's how I made the pasta:

1 cup 100% whole wheat flour
1/2 cup water (plus another 1/2 cup on standby to add as needed)
Pinch of salt

Place the flour into a bowl and add 1/2 cup of water. Mix the dough with your hands until the water is all mixed in. Keep some additional water nearby, and reach in to the water with your fingers and just splash a little on the dough. Continue until you have a workable dough and kneed it a few times. Roll into a bowl and let sit for 10-15 minutes.

Before you start rolling your dough, start your water bowling!

Open your pasta roller to it's widest setting and take about half of the dough and roll it through. Fold in half and place the creased side back through the roller. Repeat two more times. For the last two times, I actually adjusted the setting to make the pasta a little thinner (started on a 7 and ended on a 5). Don't worry if it looks like it's falling apart the first time through. It will get better as you put it through more!

By now you should have a nicely pressed dough. Send it through the type of pasta cutter you want and you're done! It takes about 5-8 minutes to cook.


To top our pasta, I just sauteed some baby bella mushrooms in olive oil. Then I added some fresh garlic and a bag of spinach. Season with fresh black pepper, sea salt, and garlic powder (yes, I always cook with fresh garlic AND garlic powder because I LOVE garlic!). Cover and stir frequently until the spinach is cooked through. Add some chopped tomato and cook for another minute or two. Top with soy parmesan cheese and YUM!