food trials

Nathan gave me a noodle machine for my birthday and I finally gave it a whirl. It was tricky getting the dough the right consistency and even when we did it took some trial and error to get the machine to cut it correctly. My thought during all of this time trying to get everything just right was that it takes way too much time and I don't think I'm even going to like the end result! Well, it did take a long time to get to the point where they were ready to cook, but I was surprised to find that I really did like the cooked noodles. I thought they would all stick together, but they didn't. I liked them better than dried and then cooked noodles. S liked them, too. So maybe it's just a matter of figuring out how to get the right proportions of flour and egg for the dough to reduce the time it takes to prepare them. Anyway, it was fun to try them out!

Nathan is always good to come to
my rescue in the kitchen

Some might have ended up a bit long

My second new food to try making was Irish soda bread. I've been wanting to make it for St. Patrick's Day for a few years, but it just hasn't worked out. I've even had a recipe to use. This time I actually did it! It was pretty easy and I really like how it turned out. The beaten egg spread over the top gives it a beautiful golden finish. It's a little heavier bread, but not overwhelmingly so. It's slightly sweet and the raisins give it pops of sweetness. I served it with other refreshments at my piano recital and it got eaten up, so it couldn't have been too bad ;)

Irish soda bread