Sarah Harris
Sarah Harris

Author Archives: Sarah Harris

Sarah Harris is a passionate artisan pasta maker, dedicated to the art of creating handcrafted pasta that delights the senses and transports you to the heart of Italy. With a deep-rooted love for culinary traditions and an unwavering commitment to quality, Sarah has turned her passion for pasta into a lifelong pursuit.

History of Pasta

As not everyone is familiar with the differences between fusilli, fettuccine, and farfalle, many people have come across a dish of spaghetti Bolognese or maybe enjoyed a plate full of lasagna. In some British occupied homesteads, spaghetti has been a standard feature during dining times as early as the 1960s. It turns out to be a staple when it comes to children meals tuna-pasta-sweetcorn can be handy in maintaining students through their schooling years in cases where they board in school. A survey done globally has highlighted that pasta is the world’s most known dish ranked above the rice, pizza, and meat. Despite pasta being popular in many European countries, pasta was also one of the favorite dishes of the Guatemala, Brazil, South Africa and Philippines. Digits produced by International Pasta Organizations indicate Venezuela as the largest consumer of pasta followed closely by Italy. The top features the likes of Chile. Peru, and Tunisia. The survey also sheds some light on Argentinians, Mexicans, and Bolivians and the result shows that people from these countries consume more pasta than the British. Continue reading

Commercial Pasta Making Machines for your Restaurant or Factory

More restaurants today serve Italian cuisines and pasta as its demand increases. Pasta is easy to make and requires lesser time to prepare compared to other dishes. Fast food restaurants are a favorite among people looking for convenience. However, today people are shying away due to health complications brought about by fast foods. There are over 28 pasta variants which give chefs more freedom to play around with their dishes and help impress their clients with their culinary skills. Restaurant and factories process huge amounts of pasta and will be more inclined to using commercial pasta making machines. Below are the best 5 pasta making machines. Continue reading

How to Eat Pasta and Still Lose Weight?

While trying to lose weight many consider wheat-based foods completely off-limits. The main reason why many people shy away from eating wheat-based foods is that they contribute to weight gain. Pasta contains refined carbohydrates which get broken down easily thus get used up very fast and have very little nutritional value. After eating food high in refined carbohydrates one will experience a short burst of energy then you will feel sluggish and hungry again. This feeling will lead one to eat more and stay dormant.

Eat pasta foods with a low glycemic load

Foods with a low glycemic load are slower in increasing blood sugar levels. High sugar levels in the blood are dangerous as it increases the chances of one suffering from cardiovascular attacks. The human body stores sugar as fat in the body. This means that when one takes pasta with high glycemic load their weight increases rapidly plus they are at the risk of heart attacks. People who train heavily will tend to eat food high in glycemic load due to the energy required by intense physical activities. The excess sugars are converted into glucose and converted into energy needed by the body. However, if you are looking to lose weight the last thing you would want on your plate is food high in glycemic load. Many pasta diets are high in glycemic load and we should eat pasta in moderation. Here are some pasta foods with a low glycemic load: Spaghetti, Noodles, Linguine, Vermicelli, Shells, and Capellini.

If your workout sessions are not that rigorous, eating food with a low glycemic load will help you lose weight. The body will burn up more carbohydrates than we are consuming.

Have intense workout sessions If you find yourself eating pasta high in carbohydrates, having intense work sessions is your solution to burning the excess calories. If your job does not entail intense physical activity then you may find yourself gaining weight. Gaining weight is dangerous for your health and one has to watch their weight. Running for quite some team will burn a lot of energy. The excess sugars in your blood are quickly used and this prevents you from gaining weight. Have a timetable on when to jog and work out. Working out requires dedication and discipline which is not easy. You can look for a partner and stay true to the mission, in the long run, you will lose weight. Find a local gym if you cannot find friends to work out with and the instructor will give you the best workout routines. If you follow your routine religiously you will shed your extra weight and still enjoy pasta dishes. By cutting down your weight you are avoiding many weight-related complications. Work might be taking up a lot of time and you still can find ways to exercise. Cycling to and from might be a great way of cutting your weight. There are tons of ways how we can lose weight and stay in shape.

Dieting

Dieting is a great way of losing weight and nutritionists recommend it. Following a strict diet routine is tough since we have to restrain ourselves from eating anything and everything. While dieting we take foods that we do not normally take. Supplementing pasta with other high-fiber foods helps in losing weight. Try adding vegetables into your sauces and more fruits in the salads. Many people prefer meaty sauces which contribute to gaining weight and increases the chances of one having a heart attack. Avoiding such sauces can help one lose weight. Vegetables and fruits are highly nutritious and physicians recommend that we include them in our meals. You can reduce the amount of pasta and increase vegetables in your diet. Food high in fiber helps in cutting weight and is healthy. Fiber makes you stay fuller and focused all along the day. Dieting should not translate to you starving yourself in order to cut weight. Staying hungry makes you grouchy and easily irritable, this can affect your relationship with other people. You can find many dieting tips online and you should avoid straining yourself when it comes to dieting. Creating a good dieting plan will help you stay on track and monitor your daily food intake.

Add cereals and grains to your dough Experts recommend that we add cereals and grains to our pasta. Cereals such as millet, barley, rye, corn and whole grains can be included in the flour. To avoid destroying the texture of the dough, we should have the grains milled. Cereals and grains add vital minerals to the pasta such as omega -3 fatty acids, vitamins, phosphorous and fiber. Various recipes are available on how to mix the flour together and achieve great results. Cereals are a rich source of unsaturated fats and antioxidants which play a great role in reducing cholesterol levels. Antioxidants help in reducing weight by helping the body burn excess fats in the body.

Various pasta makers will help you create delicious pasta. Cereals and grain are excellent sources of vitamins crucial for the body’s well-being. If you are not comfortable with changing your pasta, you might opt to use cereals in your soup or sauce. This ensures your diet is full of nutrients and beneficial to your weight loss journey.

Conclusion

Losing weight is frustrating especially if we do not watch what we eat. Pasta is blamed for being ineffective in reducing weight and many people will avoid eating pasta totally. However, there are low glycemic load pasta recipes that one can try and still successfully lose weight. Combining the various weight loss methods discussed above will help one in the weight loss journey. If you are worried about adding weight then you can make pasta in moderation and stay fit. Low carb diet works hand in hand with working out in helping to lose weight and avoiding lifestyle diseases. Always supplement your diet with fruits, vegetables, and cereals so as to stay fit.

Electric pasta maker is great for lots of dishes

Pasta makers come in different brands and types that vary in size, shape, price, functionality, and overall performance. A pasta maker can either be manual or electric; some can work both ways. Although seasoned folks prefer using manual pasta machines, electric pasta makers are quickly gaining popularity because they do (almost) everything for you especially if you’re new to making pasta. This makes electric pasta makers great for lots of pasta dishes. There’s also a slight difference between electric pasta makers and fully automatic pasta makers… but we will get to that later on as we go deeper into the topic. So what makes an electric pasta maker so special? And how do they come in handy when preparing various pasta dishes?

#1: Easy to Use — Easy Mixing, Easy Rolling, Easy Cutting

This is an advantage for both veteran home pasta makers and beginners as well. Powered by an electric motor, electric pasta machines simplify dough rolling and cutting to kindergarten play. Easy peasy lemony squeezy! Using an average electric pasta maker still requires you to mix and knead the dough manually. The electric pasta machine then helps you with the rolling and cutting. All you have to do is place your small piece of square -shaped, hand -patted, flat dough between the rollers and slowly work it through using both hands.

You can work on the dough while adjusting the thickness until you achieve the desired size of pasta. From there, you can effortlessly run the ready dough through the cutter to get the strands of pasta you want or you can push the dough out through an electric pasta extruder. As many home pasta makers will tell you, rolling the dough with a pin and cutting it to even strips is not an easy thing to do by hand.

An electric pasta maker like the Lello (2730) Pro runs on a 300 watt motor to automatically mix the dough for you (up to 3lbs in 30 minutes flat!), and also extrude the finished dough as linguine, spaghetti, maccheroni, fettuccine, lasagna, bucatini and angel hair! This gives you the opportunity to decorate your dining table with different pasta dishes every time you feel like eating pasta. Another automatic pasta machine that comes highly recommended is definitely the Phillips HR2357. Despite a similarity in mode of operation and service elivery between the Lello and the Phillips, the Phillip appears to be way ahead in terms of performance and reliability. Furthermore, the Phillips (2357) offers more pasta options such as pappardelle and tagliatelle in addition to all the options you can get with the Lello. One more thing you should probably also know about electric pasta machines with automatic mixers is that they give you the opportunity to play around with the ingredients you can include in your pasta recipes. You can go wild with herbs and veggies as much or as little as you want. The possibilities are virtually endless.

#2: Consistent Results and Reliability

Daily preparation of homemade pasta is almost an impossible feat for the average person to pull off without the help of a pasta machine. Consistency is also another major issue especially for those who are still new to making pasta from home. However, all this can be made possible by investing in a good pasta maker. Most electric pasta machines come with amazing recipes that are easy to replicate day in day out and the resulting pasta is (almost) always the same. The advantage of a well built pasta maker is that it can endure constant abuse even when used on a daily basis! And that’s without faltering in performance. Please note that many people just starting out on making pasta from home cannot produce the same quality dough even if they made two dough batches in immediate succession. However, a fully automatic pasta maker with a mixer can produce hundreds of batches of the same quality dough.

#3: Availability of Cool Accessories

Although pasta makers like the Phillips HR2357/05 come fully loaded with a mixer and an extruder to make things kindergarten easy for you, some of them like KitchenAid require you to purchase a separate stand mixer and 3 different head attachments for tagliatelle, flat -sheet pasta and linguine. However, you can avoid all this hustle by getting the KitchenAid KPEXTA extruder attachment that has 6 pasta shaping discs (plates) to help you expand the creativity on your pasta creations.

You have a choice of up to 8 pasta shaping discs (dies) for different pastas with the Phillips and the Magic Mill DeLonghi pasta makers. The Magic Mill DeLonghi pasta shaping dies give you options for linguine, ravioli, lasagna, spaghetti, tagliatelle, fettuccine, biscuit, and macaroni. The Phillips pasta maker gives you options like spaghetti, angel hair, tagliatelle, pappardelle, lasagna, and penne. It also has a small drawer where you can store all your shaping discs.

The Marcato Atlas Wellness pasta machine on the other hand is bought separately from the 2 -speed motor.

This makes it easy to replace the electric part only if it breaks down. You can also continue using the pasta machine manually as you wait for your replacement motor to be delivered! This is more of a “hybrid” pasta maker since it can deliver the best of both worlds. More accessories include cleaning brushes, measuring cups, pasta cutters, and ravioli stamps.

#4: Faster Preparation

As mentioned earlier, rolling pasta dough is not a walk in the park! You have to go a few rounds with a rolling pin to get the precise pasta thickness you’re going and this is not even guaranteed. Plus, it takes a century to cut the pasta to precision especially if you’re making a big family -size batch at once; or different batches of differently shaped pasta. Automatic electric pasta makers take a lot of the pasta making process off your hands leaving you with more time to concentrate on the sauce or soup. You can use most of these automatic pasta makers to prepare your pasta from start to finish by simply pressing a few buttons. Better yet, you can prepare a complete pasta dish from scratch in less than an hour if you know what you’re doing. For instance, the Imperial pasta maker can make up to 12 different types of pasta from a pound and a half of dough in 10 minutes.

#5: Extra Useful Features

Some pasta makers can do more than just make pasta. For instance, the Ronco Popeil P400 and the USEFUL pasta makers can be used to makes delicious sausages to go with your fresh pasta or for any other meal. As briefly pointed out earlier, the Magic Mill DeLonghi also helps you produce nicely shaped biscuits. The Imperial pasta machine mentioned above can also do pretzels, cookies, bread sticks and bagels.

Summary of Electric Pasta Makers Benefits

  • *Consistent results
  • *Easy to use
  • *A wide variety of pasta options and shapes
  • *Fast pasta preparation which saves you time
  • *Versatility
  • *Relatively cheap

Conclusion

To conclude this topic on electric pasta makers, it is safe to say that electric pasta machines are the perfect investment for people who want to enjoy fresh pasta rather than buy pasta stuffed full of preservatives from the store. Another thing that makes electric pasta makers such amazing gadgets is the fact that you can practically prepare any type of pasta you can think of depending on the features or functionalities or accessories available with your electric pasta maker of choice. This basically means you can mix it up or match it up whichever way you want. By this I mean you can have one “mix -crate” plate of pasta with all sorts of differently shaped pasta and in varied lengths too. The possibilities and combinations are only limited by your own creativity. These wonderful appliances make everything look and feel quite easy. Pasta experts (and sometimes keen beginners) making their own pasta from home can use these brilliant machines to make fresh pasta dishes in less than an hour. Most of these pasta makers are driven by 200 watt motors, which means they can produce batches of pasta faster than the average person doing everything by hand. Electric pasta makers are reliable and consistent when it comes to mixing dough, rolling it or cutting it to desired shapes and sizes. Get yourself a pasta maker today and change your pasta eating experience forever!

Pasta Maker Features What To Look For

Making pasta is a precise art. Well, it’s one of those culinary skills that many people want to practice from the comfort of their home kitchens or wish they could; but never really get the opportunity to because:

(1) they might not know how to go about it,

(2) they may not have the right tools for it…. in this case, a pasta maker, and lastly,

(3) they may not have the time. Continue reading

10 Best Italian Pasta Recipes

When preparing pasta, it is only ideal that you maintain the Italian style. In this article, we have compiled 10 of the best and complete Italian pasta recipes, from, of course, Italy. Included as well are major techniques you should know in order to prepare a delicious meal. In case you aren’t privy with the trick to preparing authentic spaghetti carbonara, read on and you might become an expert today! Continue reading

Thai Spicy Pork Salad (Laab Moo) Recipe

Laab moo, or spicy pork salad, is a spicy issan favourite. Popular all over Thailand, it is usually eaten with sticky rice or other issan favourites such as som tam.

Although called a salad, there isn’t much “green” stuff in it. In this recipe I have used minced pork, but you could use minced chicken or beef.

This recipe is supposed to be spicy, so don’t be shy with the chillies!

Thai Spicy Pork Salad (Laab Moo) Ingredients

Thai Spicy Pork Salad (Laab Moo) Ingredients

  • Serves 2
  • 300g minced pork
  • 1 handful of mint leaves
  • 1/8 cup of roasted rice
  • 1 Thai parsley
  • 1 spring onion
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1 tablespoon of crushed dried chilli
  • 2 tablespoons of lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
  • 4 red chillies
  • 1 teaspoon of stock granules

Thai Spicy Pork Salad (Laab Moo) Cooking Instructions

Step 1: Heat a pan, and pour in the rice. Keep stirring the rice around the pan until it takes on a light brown colour

Step 2: Slice the spring onion and red onion

Step 3: Remove the chilli storks, and make a vertical incision in each chilli

Step 4: Crush the roasted rice – if you have a mortar and pestle, perfect! If not, a hammer will do the job

Step 5: Sieve the rice so that only the finest granules make it into the dish

Step 6: Heat a pan, and pour in the minced pork. Stir thoroughly until the pork has cooked, but be sure not to over cook it. It should have a white-grey colour. When it’s nearly cooked, add the stock granules.

Step 7: Pour the cooked pork into a bowel, and add the chillies, red onions, spring onions, mint, and parsley. Mix Throroughly

Step 8: Now add the crushed roasted rice, crushed chillies, lime juice, and fish sauce, and mix together. It’s ready to serve

Thai Som Tam (Spicy Papaya Salad) Recipe

Som Tam is a spicy Thai salad made from papaya. The papaya should be unripened and white inside. The dish combines 4 tastes – spice from the chillie, sweetness from the sugar, salt from the fish sauce, and sour from the lime.

This spicy papaya salad is a great snack, or side dish. Again its very healthy and meat free. Its usual in thailand for the customer to choose and add the ingredients themselves to suit their tastes, so why not play around the type and quantity of ingredients listed below until you find your ideal combination.

This dish is very quick to prepare, although it can be tricky finding the raw papaya.

Thai Som Tam (Spicy Papaya Salad) Ingredients

Thai Som Tam (Spicy Papaya Salad) Ingredients

  • Serves 2
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 red chillies
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of crushed peanut
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of lemon OR lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
  • 1 chopped tomato
  • 1/4 cup chopped green beans
  • 5 bird eye chillies
  • 1/2 green papaya

Thai Som Tam (Spicy Papaya Salad) Cooking Instructions

Step 1: Peel the skin off the papaya, then wash thoroughly. Now grate the papaya

Step 2: Chop the tomatoes and garlic, and add to a large bowl (or mortar and pestle if you have one) Then slice the chillies length ways to open them up. Add to the bowl

Step 3: Slice and crush the green beans and add to the bowl

Step 4: Now add the shredded papaya, fish sauce, crushed peanuts, lemon juice and sugar. Mix everything together thoroughly

Step 5: If you dont have a mortar and pestle, use a spoon to mix everything, and make sure you crush the chillis to get the spice released. Do the same with all the ingredients.

Step 6: Once everything has been thoroughly mixed, you can serve and eat.

Thai Som Tam (Spicy Papaya Salad) Cooking Instructions

Thai Som Tam (Spicy Papaya Salad) Cooking Instructions

Thai Som Tam (Spicy Papaya Salad) Cooking Instructions

Thai Chilli Paste Stir Fry – With Seafood

Thai chilli paste stir fry with seafood mix is a very hot and spicy dish. The lime leaves and lemon juice work together to give it a distinctly sour tang. In this recipe we have used a seafood mix, but you can also use pork, chicken, beef, or tofu.

Best served with Thai jasmine rice, this is a great recipe for those who like spicy stir fries with sharp flavours.

As with most Thai recipes, the ingredients below can be adjusted depending on your tastes – particularly when it comes to the amount of chillies added.

Thai Chilli Paste Stir Fry With Seafood Ingredients

  • Serves 2
  • 200g pack of seafood mix
  • 2 young egg plant bulbs
  • 8 bird eye chillies (less if you are spice sensitive!)
  • 1/2 cup of chopped green string beans
  • 1/2 green pepper
  • 1/2 red pepper
  • 1/2 cup of baby egg plant bulbs
  • Small handful of lime leaves
  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons of chilli paste
  • 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
  • 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice

Thai Chilli Paste Stir Fry With Seafood Cooking Instructions

Step 1: Cut the green string beans. Tear the storks off the baby egg plant and young egg plant, and was them thoroughly.

Step 2: Chop the young egg plant into quarters. Slice the peppers.

Step 3: Remove the chilli storks, and cut them open as shown in video. Wash the peppers.

Step 4: Put 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil into a wok or pan, and set your cooker to a high heat. When the wok is hot, put in 2 tablespoons of chilli paste. Mix the vegetable oil and chilli paste together. When the paste is sizzling, put in the seafood mix and stir contents together.

Step 5: Once the seafood mix has been coated with the chilli paste, pour in the chopped peppers, chopped young egg plant, chopped green string beans, baby eggplant, whole chillies, and lime leaves. Mix everything in the pan together, keep stirring thoroughly. Once mixed, lower the heat.

Step 6: Use a fish slice to squash the chillies in the pan to really release their spicy flavour into the pan.

Step 7: Now add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, and 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice. Keep stirring. By now the ingredients should have been cooking for about 5 – 10 minutes on a high heat, and a further 5 minutes on a lower heat. Once everything is cooked, serve, ideally with Thai jasmine rice.

Thai Egg Plant

Thai Egg Plant

Seafood Mix

Seafood Mix

Thai Chilli Stir Fry With Seafood Chopped Ingredients

Thai Chilli Stir Fry With Seafood In PanThai Chilli Stir Fry With Seafood

Thai Basil And Chilli Stir Fry With Beef Recipe

This spicy stir fry recipe is common throughout Thailand. Bulked with rice and topped with a fried egg, it is a delicious tasting, cheap, easy to prepare and filling meal.

Spicy and meaty, pretty much every visitor to Thailand is sure to have tried and enjoyed this recipe.

Usually served with minced pork, however I have used minced beef. You can also use minced chicken. The egg is optional, but I find it goes well with the dish as a whole.

Thai Basil And Chilli Stir Fry With Beef Ingredients

  • Serves 2
  • 250g minced beef
  • 1/2 red pepper
  • 5 bird eye chillis
  • 1/2 cup of thai holy basil leaves
  • 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
  • string green beans
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • Optional: 2 fried eggs

Thai Basil And Chilli Stir Fry With Beef Cooking Instructions

  • Step 1: Peel and finely chop the garlic
  • Step 2: Thinly slice the chillies, ensuring you remove the green stork beforehand
  • Step 3: Slice the peppers, removing any seeds
  • Step 4: Thinly slice the green beans
  • Step 5: Heat a pan or wok on a high heat, and then add the vegetable oil
  • Step 6: Add the garlic, stir in with the oil, then add the chillies and mix together for 1 minute
  • Step 7: Add the minced beef, and cook for a couple of minutes until brown
  • Step 8: When the mince has browned, add the peppers and green beans. Keep stirring
  • Step 9: Add the oyster sauce, stir for 1 minute, then add the basil. Let everything simmer for 2 minutes longer, stirring often. Then serve with rice and a fried egg

Thai Holy Basil

 

Peel and finely chop the garlic

 

Thinly slice the chillies, ensuring you remove the green stork beforehand

 

Serve with rice and a fried egg

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