-=> Quoting Janis Kracht to Nancy Backus on 01-26-16  10:23 <=-

 JK> It is always nice to get back to a routine, understand :) I'm glad to
 JK> see their trip home was safe as well.  Now with the Christmas Tree
 JK> down we're trying to reorganize the house, well as much as you can
 JK> with a smaller house like this one.  When we're done, it should make
 JK> some things a bit more workable.  One thing we did was move my sewing
 JK> machine into the kitchen alongside the centerisle.  The cabinet has
 JK> wheels so it's easy to move 'out of the way', we'll see how that goes. :) 

I suppose that might make it easier to get sewing done... ;)  And if you
are constantly having to move it out of the way for cooking, I suppose
you might reconsider the placement after all... ;)

 >> It's insane to me...though Mom died 2012 I still have dreams like
 >> she's right here... Dad as well.  It's kind of good, though sometimes
 >> disconcerting if you know what I mean 
 > Quite...  :)  I've recently been having dreams with Daddy featuring in
 > them... and he's been gone since 2008...  They don't really leave your
 > consciousness... :)

 JK> Yes, know what you mean.  I guess that's their way of staying with
 JK> us :) 

Yup.  They stay in your memory... and that's a good thing anyway...  :)

 >> An interesting new toy here.  You may remember me yapping about the
 >> Marcato Regina Atlas pasta extrusion machine I bought .. It makes great
 >> rigagoni and spaghetti.. even though it's a manual machine... a little
 >> tough to clean the macaroni disks, but not so horrible as the
 >> Kitchenaid disks... (the horror (g))..
 >> So around Chrismas Ron was scouting around and found an electric
 >> Macaroni machine made by Philips.. It's incredibly nice.. I use it a
 >> lot.  You can make macroni in 15 minutes.. dump in the ingredients
 >> (flour, egg and water by their measurement cups, it's easy), and it
 >> pumps out 'ronies.  So far, the texture of the macaroni is great (more
 >> than great) given that it's extuded macaroni. I have to say that even
 >> using any one of the disks provided with the Philips Macaroni machine
 >> are insanely EASY to clean...
 > Sounds like the manual machine will be relegated to storage... ;)

 JK> I've got it nearby in a cupboard should I get the urge to use it ...

Not very deeply stored, I see... :)
 
 > Or does it do some forms that the new one doesn't..?  I suppose it
 > could also be useful in a power shortage... (G)

 JK> Yes, in a power outage one would have to use one of the manual
 JK> machines I have and that's good to know it's there.  It's a different
 JK> type of dough used for each as well.   The Marcato system is a softer
 JK> dough, you know more like a bread dough (but stiffer).. The extruded
 JK> dough for the Philips is a very stiff dough.  Both are good..

Ah, so it partly will depend on what you want to be working with...  :)

 JK> Right now the Philips does ravioli/lasagna sheets, Linguine, and
 JK> Ziti/Rigatoni.  I think there are more disks I can get for that one
 JK> but I haven't had time to look yet.. (g)... The Marcato does do more
 JK> macaroni 'types' which is good.  But like I said, I have to look
 JK> around for more disks for the Philips.  I've seen pictures of them
 JK> but haven't really looked locally for them yet :) 

Sounds like they'll both be useful toys... :)

 >> I'm now playing with a great mixure of semolina flour and "00" flour
 >> imported from Italy.. what fun :)  and yummy ;)
 > Are you thinking of experimenting with non-gluten flours...?

 JK> I did, and it's amazing.  It is difficult with the marcato system, but
 JK> it's extremely easy with the Philips.  And because it only takes
 JK> maximum of 15 minutes (less with a smaller batch), you can kick out a
 JK> batch of non-gluten, and then a batch of gluteny-ronies and everyone is
 JK> happy.  That's what I did for Christmas Eve Dinner with squid sauce and
 JK> macaroni.. the linquine I made was made with squid ink from a recipe in
 JK> their manual.  Nice :) 

Does sound nice...  :)  Now you can easily accomodate the whole family,
and still from homemade...  :)

 JK> This is the recipe I used for the gluten free macaroni, and it works
 JK> for any type of macaroni in the Philips machine:

That's convenient... :)

 JK> To make gluten ronies, you put 1 measuring cup of wheat or semolina
 JK> flour (or a mix of both) in the machine, start the machine, then add 1
 JK> egg+water and off you go (g)

Pretty cinch-y...  :)

 JK> For $300 bux, it's an amazing machine.  I think Amazone sells it for a
 JK> bit cheaper than that.

Not bad at all...  :)

ttyl            neb

... Peeping Tom: A perverted cat on stilts.

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