Homemade Wholemeal Pasta.

One whole afternoon on my Apple working & searching for new meal ideas was so rejuvenating. Since the month of May took away almost all my relaxing time, it was better than doing nothing. I didn't plan ahead which resulted in me often eating out and due to stress..I snacked. But every mistake is a lesson learnt, I took my exercise regime for granted and neglected other equally important factors like hydrating enough, sleeping early and managing my stress, it sure took me into a round of reflecting and browsing through all my health magazines definitely got me motivated back on track. But well, lesson learnt: fail to plan, plan to fail! 

I haven't really give a introduction into how my new space and recipes work so here I go. I removed 'winieatsclean' as a hashtag because I felt the definition of eating clean is too narrow for most and sometimes people (including me) find very restrictive. In light of that, I have decided to share recipes that are balanced and proportional (more of real food) Ultimately, its not called dieting or losing how many pounds in how many days, its about adapting a healthy lifestyle. Once in a while, grab an ice cream if you crave for it, a healthy life is made up of a healthy soul and body. YES I can't miss my truffle fries cravings! 

Having a healthy lifestyle isn't about healthy eating, it runs throughout our bodies; mentally and physically. Its about having a good balance. I wouldn't admit I'm good at maintaining a balanced lifestyle, but I'm slowly moving towards it. Managing my stress is definitely one point I need to work on. I told you, nothing builds my mood back immediately other than preparing a homemade meal;)

Back to the topic, I remember I mentioned I love making things from scratch, (flour stuff especially, I guess thats why I end up doing all the baking) indeed the process was really fruitful. That afternoon made me felt like I could breathe again. Watching food videos, learning about basic baking all over again... more of such afternoons please? 

My family eats pretty differently from me, so I usually only cook my own share. Please feel free to double or  triple the quantity if cooking for more ;) The above picture shows how the dough looks like just right after all ingredients come together, all crumbly and rough (before the kneading of dough stage). 

The recipe I adapted from DulceDelight recommended that we should knead it from at least 15 minutes, thats crazy, I don't even knead my marshmallow fondant for that long! Haha, okay I was just lazy. But look how smooth and pliable it become just after about 5 minutes of kneading it? I do not have a way of kneading it, but many blogs do show the 'right' way of kneading, they turn out really delicious anyway :p and..forget about the pasta machine, I'm lazy to take it out, hand roll does the job too! 

The most fun part of it all? Create your own shapes of pasta!! I had my little baby cousin (oh dear she's turning 7 next year and not a baby anymore, but she's always tiny like a baby to me :*) to join me with these fun! We attempted Farfalle, with is also those butterflies/ bows looking pasta. There's so many different shapes you can form without using a machine, ravioli, linguine, or even ANY fun shapes you would like to have..alphabet cuts out maybe? Great bonding time without having her eyes always stuck to the iPad all the time. I would do it with my kid in the future, hee. 

Homemade Wholemeal Pasta 
(Feeds 3-4 pax, you may keep it in the fridge up to a week. Recipe adapted from DulceDelight) 

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
pinch of salt
3 eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp water 

Directions

• Mix all purpose flour and wholemeal flour together, and create a 'well' in the middle.
• Crack the eggs in the 'well' and start using a fork to scramble them up, slowly incorporating flour from the side. 
• When the mixture has come to a consistency where the liquids no longer flow, you can start kneading them together into a dough (will be crumbly as shown above)
• Start kneading them throughout for about 5-10minutes, then wrap in a cling wrap and let it rest for half an hour to an hour before using it. 
• Roll it thin manually using rolling pin or if you've got a pasta machine, that's a bonus! Have fun making all sorts of different shapes, let your creative juices run!