Green Pasta, Herbed Pizza and a Pizza Pretzel

Mark finally got his pasta machine. It was a long and frustrating story, which I will make short here, in favor of pictures. He got one at a World Market store back in NC, which was a cheap piece of crap that broke even before you we used it. Then we ordered one online as a wedding gift to ourselves, thinking it was the good kind. But when we opened the box, we found it was the same cheap piece of crap and had to return it. Apparently the vendor didn't know that the wrong one was shipped. Anyway, Mark finally ordered another one online, this time making sure that what we get is the one that's made in Italy and not in China (even though the Chinese were the ones to invent pasta!). And when it got here he anxiously opened the box, afraid of being disappointed again. The machine was lighter than it should be (indicating possible cheaper materials), but it was still made in Italy. He tried it on, and it seems to be working well!

So we had homemade pasta for dinner!

We had some leftover spinach, but no ricotta, so instead of spinach ravioli, we had some green fettuccine.



One is supposed to chop the pasta in a food processor, which we don't have, so the consistency of the pasta is a bit chunky. Mark thought it tasted too eggy, so next time he will try to make it with less eggs.

The day after he made pretzels - his specialty! I decided that I wanted to have a pizza-style pretzel, so I topped it with tomato sauce, basil and cheese:



They're very good as-is, of course!

And last night we had to use some leftover yogurt pizza dough, but we didn't have any spinach, and we didn't have fresh mozzarella cheese, so I suggested a herb pizza with goat cheese:



Mmmm... the thyme and oregano scents that filled the house!

Pretzels, Stollen, and Rolls

Another rather busy weekend... Mark started on Friday, with his world-famous pretzels. Last time he made them we realized - too late - that our oven is broken. So we had to bake them in the toaster oven. In addition to being extremely exhausting, the ones that went in late rose too much and got way too fat. They were still good, though.
This time we could bake them in the oven, which is much better suited for baking 16 to 24 of the beasts.

This is what they look like after they're brushed with butter and sprinkled with garlic powder.

The next day he made buttermilk rolls. These are our favorite rolls - we use them for Sloppy Joes, with burgers, hot dogs (all vegetarian, of course!), and eggs. Seems like every time they get even better!


Sunday we finally made Stollen, a traditional German bread made during the Christmas season. And I say "we" because I made the little baby Jesus that lies inside the colorful folded covers - out of almonds.

Jesus is barely visible in this picture - he seems to blend in pretty well with the blankets - but it's still very yummy. The dough is flavored with cinnamon and cardamom and rum-soaked raisins and dried fruit. The pineapple and cherries are my favorites!