Noodles

 

Life moves too fast.... 

Can you even believe it's November 6th already?  

As a child, 48 days until Christmas seemed like an eternity... 

As adults we are panicking...  

So much to do, plan, buy, cook between now and then... 

The lists keep building in my brain...  

Order Christmas cards... 

Comparison shop for a turkey... 

Rake the yard...  

Reserve Santa Speaking online...  

Decide how to decorate the Thanksgiving table...  

Plan employee Christmas party...  

yadda yadda yadda...  

Through the eyes of a little one, the season is magical...

It's our challenge to keep the magic alive in our eyes, too... 

When I was small, I remember a particular November day...  

There was a chill in the air...

in fact there were constant flurries swirling about 

as I watched my mother make pie dough from scratch... 

Back then, there wasn't ready-made pie dough....  

She would let me help her roll the dough

and then her expert hands would deftly lift it over 

and into the glass pie dish...  

She would slice off the scraps 

and pinch the decorative border around the pie crust...  

I was in charge of rolling out the scraps of crust 

into a small circle....  

I smeared soft butter all over the crust, 

sprinkled sugar and cinnamon over it

and rolled the whole thing up like a burrito... 

Mom then cut inch wide slices and baked them for me... 

With a full glass of cold milk, it was heaven...  

That same day, she made her grandmother's fresh noodles.  

They were meant to thicken chicken soup...

As she cut the noodle dough into long, thin strips, 

I would sneak a few... 

They were doughy and a little tasteless, 

but their freshness was addicting...  

I took for granted how special it was that my mom 

cooked such wondrous things for us...  

But I do remember the joy of being at her side, 

getting some extra attention 

as she cooked and baked...  

So, this weekend, I tried to slow down, 

enjoy this short time while the kids are still young...  

Jack had a sleepover at a friend's house on Friday, 

so Kate and I had a "spa night" together...

First we watched "The Santa Clause 2" on Netflix, 

popcorn and all... 

 Next she had a bath 

and I made her a luxurious pumpkin mask for her face...  

That lasted about five minutes when she called from the tub, 

"Mom, this mask is starting to bug me..."  

Next was a mani pedi from me

before an extra book at bedtime... 

She fell asleep with a smile...  

Saturday, we drove to the 'burbs to visit my parents 

and my brother, who was in town with his family...  

We don't get to see them very often

and the cousins were eager to see each other....

They ran and played in the cool fall air 

until long after dark...  

As the kids were cremating their marshmallows in the bonfire, 

I felt the joy of the moment...  

Happy kids, enjoying each other... 

So today, in anticipation of having friends 

and their kids join us for dinner, 

I decided to bake my fave Tuscan bread

and make chicken noodle soup from scratch...  

Click here for the broth recipe...  

My great-grandmother was an excellent cook...  

She even had her own restaurant for a while...  

She lived with my grandparents and mother when Mom was little, 

and I know she spent many hours teaching my mom to cook...  

Kate helped me with the noodles today...  

Hopefully she and Jack will pick up some cooking skills...

If not, I hope they will remember the warm moments in the kitchen...

Mamaw's Noodles

Note: I cut the strips, flat, with a pizza cutter.  The method on the card works well, too.
Use LOTS of flour so the noodle don't stick.
Do not handle the dough too much or it will be tough and rubbery.
This recipe makes a lot of noodles.  Freeze half of them in a  resealable bag for a quick go to with chicken soup or beef stew...