Noodles from Scratch. Where have you been all my life?

It’s absolutely INSANE that I was over the age of 40 when I experienced FRESH pasta for the first time in my life. I blame my parents. I mean, they didn't keep me from it intentionally, but regardless, I feel robbed.

My fresh pasta adventure started on a snowy spring break ski trip with the hubs and the teens. While the fabulous four spend five full days on the slopes, I spend three full days (sometimes four) mostly in the condo, faced with three choices. 1) watch TV all day, 2) read a book until I fall asleep (generally after 4 pages), or 3) shop online. I chose option # 3 for obvious reasons. I was perusing the William Sonoma website and the Phillips Pasta Maker caught my eye. It looked like a lot of fun - an adult kitchen gadget that's a cross between a bread maker and a playdoh hair studio. It came with several disks, so I could make different shaped noodles. Spaghetti, Fettuccini, Rigatoni, Lasagna... AHHH! SO COOL! I waited an entire day to decide. $300 is an amount (for a gadget) I have to sleep on. If I still want it tomorrow, I'll buy it. And... I bought myself a pasta maker. I seriously couldn't wait to get home from our trip, and we were in ASPEN. I know I'm a dork for saying that, but whatever. It's true.

So. I was RIGHT to be excited about this thing. It's so much fun to use. When I made my first batch of noodles, I was in love. It just tastes completely different than boxed pasta. So soft and delicious. Never rubbery, just so so good, kinda like fresh baked bread. I’ve made quite a bit of pasta, and I can’t stop telling people to quit eating dried noodles from a box. It’s not the same. Fresh pasta is AMAZING.