Lemon basil pasta with fresh sauce

Note: The color on the picture didn't turn out quite right and I don't have my super photo editing software anymore. It's not really pink and orange, the pasta is lighter brown like whole wheat, and the sauce is made of tomatoes - not pumpkin! :D

Mmmmmm! Perfect al dente pasta with the depth of whole wheat, savory herby basil and a little touch of lemony zing, with light, fresh tomato sauce over the top. I served it with some simple baked chicken breast and green beans from the freezer. The pasta is a little time consuming to make, but oh so worth it!

I have a little old Imperia manual pasta machine, very similar to the V177 AL DENTE Pasta Machine which I use to make pasta much better than packaged whole wheat noodles!

Fresh Lemon Basil Pasta

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unbleached flour (plus more for dusting as needed)

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp lemon zest

2 tbsp dried basil (may use 3 tbsp fresh instead)

pinch salt

3 eggs

1 tbsp olive oil

water as needed (about 1/8 cup)

Combine flours in a large bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor or strong mixer (I use my KitchenAid usually, but it's broken at the moment so I used my food processor for this batch).

In a small bowl, beat together eggs, lemon juice, zest, basil, salt and oil. Make a well in the center of flour, add egg mixture. Beat in flour from edges. As it gets thicker you'll probably have to use your hands unless you're using a KitchenAid mixer.

Knead until you have a smooth, solid dough. If it's too sticky, add more flour. If it's crumbly, add water. I needed about 1/8 cup water for this batch.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let it rest 20 minutes. This is a good time to make the sauce! Also a good time to prep side dishes and put your big pot of water on to boil.

When time is up, begin to run the dough through the pasta machine. Read the manual that came with your machine. I divide the dough into handful size balls so it's easier to work with. Run it through on the widest setting, fold it in half and dust with flour, repeat until smooth, then decrease the setting and repeat until you have a solid, thin sheet from the thinnest setting.

I have a pasta rack, but you can use towels dusted with flour to lay the sheets of pasta on as you work. Working as quickly as you can, roll out each ball one by one until they're all ready and drying. Starting with the first one you made, run it through the cutting side of the pasta machine. Mine has a narrow one (I call it spaghetti but it's not) and a thicker side (I think that's fettuccini?) I used the thicker side this time. Place cut pasta on flour dusted towels or a pasta rack until all are ready to go.

When all your pasta is cut and the water is at a rolling boil, salt the water then add all the pasta. Stir to make sure it doesn't all stick together or to the bottom of the pot. Put the lid on to help it quickly return to a boil, then remove the lid. The pasta will float when it's done, it really doesn't take long at all! Drain and return to hot pot until you serve. Don't make it wait too long!

This makes a lot of pasta! If you're going to go through the trouble, may as well make enough for yummy leftovers or a fancy dinner for about 8!

Fresh Tomato Sauce

4 large tomatoes, diced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

oregano, parsley and basil, to taste

dash salt, to taste

Heat oil in a medium pot over medium. When hot, add onions and saute until they start to turn transparent. Add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer until tender and thickened as much as you'd like.

The chicken I made is really easy too! I just took boneless skinless chicken breast halves (frozen Kirkland ones), put them in a foil lined pan and baked about 45 minutes by package directions at 375. I sprinkled them with salt, pepper and paprika before baking, then after removing from the oven I let them sit in the pan about 15 minutes. Sliced across the grain, each chicken breast half makes 2 servings.