Talking Allergies

I just read the instructions on our breadmaker (I was looking for a recipe in the booklet). It says that I can make pasta dough and gives a basic recipe.
Given the cost of safe pasta and the fact that I can pick up a pasta machine for about 20 bucks new...maybe I should try.
Sure I'd have to do all of that cranking but fresh pasta doesn't take long to cook and I could start the dough in the machine, make the sauce and crank the dough while the water boiled.
Does anyone make their own pasta? What are the pros and cons?

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy and green beans) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: Oral Allergy Syndrome, Allergic to Birch trees

We are currently also looking into making home made pasta. We have a kitchen aid mixer and were thinking of buying the pasta attachments. Has anyone used one, if so how did you find it? I also was wondering about (eggless) recipes and and cooking tips.

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

I have a kitchen aid mixer and just got the pasta attachment. I found recipes online for eggless pasta, but so far I'm not having any luck finding the semolina flour that they all call for. I'm going to check the health food store next time I am in town.

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DS Sept 2006 - peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, coconut; contact reactions. Asthma. Many animal and environmental allergies.
DS Oct 1990 - Environmental allergies

I've made homemade pasta for a couple of years. I had the manual pasta machine and mixed the flour by hand. Honestly, it's trivial.
My first time took me an hour!
After about 10 times, I could whip out a mean spaghetti within 15 minutes. Less time than getting the kids in the car and drive to the supermarket.

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11yo boy - peanuts nuts chickpeas
8yo daughter - peanuts, nuts, mustard, eggs, sunflowers (new! ), oral allergy syndrome
husband - pollen of all kinds
me - seafood,, oral allergy syndrome

Cleo, what recipe do you use, and what type of flour? Do you use semolina flour?

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DS Sept 2006 - peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, coconut; contact reactions. Asthma. Many animal and environmental allergies.
DS Oct 1990 - Environmental allergies

I used regular flour, dropped a bit of water in it, and mixed it by hand. I added water as needed, until I got the right texture.
Then it went into the pasta making machine to get pasta sheets.
Those sheets need to dry out a little before you can cut them into spaghettis. That was the trick I had to discover on my own.

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11yo boy - peanuts nuts chickpeas
8yo daughter - peanuts, nuts, mustard, eggs, sunflowers (new! ), oral allergy syndrome
husband - pollen of all kinds
me - seafood,, oral allergy syndrome

Best eggless pasta recipe that we've found:

To make 1 pound of dough:
1/4 pound of firm silken tofu
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of flour

1. Blend firm silken tofu with olive oil, water, and salt.
2. Add flour and tofu mixture to food processor.
3. Process the mixture for 1 minute. This should give you a good, pliable dough.
4. Finish by kneading it on the table for another minute.

We recently made this into ravioli, replacing some of the water with spinach puree to make green pasta. They were delicious!

Also found this recipe for ravioli Caprese, that has no eggs too. I have yet to try this one.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giad ... index.html

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1 son allergic to eggs, peanuts, green peas, chick peas, lentils and tomatoes
(avoiding tree nuts and most other legumes too)
1 son allergic to eggs, and has outgrown peanuts
Both with many environmental allergies, asthma and eczema

I'll try that dough!
I made some dough in the bread machine and tried to roll it out by hand but I think you really do need a pasta machine to get the right shape and texture.

I've found an extruder for making shaped pasta but they don't ship to Canada.
http://www.theezycatalog.com/eshop/10ex ... de=11-p170

I must see if my sister would like to get it for me. Meanwhile, I'll get the cheapo pasta maker at Benix in a week or two. Rice pasta is $2.49 so I can definately afford the $19.99 for the machine.

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy and green beans) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: Oral Allergy Syndrome, Allergic to Birch trees