Cooking

Its a good thing I like to cook.  Here, I spend a good part of my day either thinking about what I am going to make or actually cutting, slicing, peeling, mixing, rolling, and cooking.  Here, it takes more time to cook and that is something I was not expecting when we moved.
Here we are very limited with ingredients to what is in season.  However, there are always tomatoes, onions, green pepper (bell), carrots, cabbage, and (irish) potatoes.  Those never fail me.  So I have learned to get creative!  I have also started to just make things that I wish I could go to the store and buy. I want to share the recipes with you of two things that I am really loving to make right now.

One thing that I like to make and Colin LOVES to eat are flour tortillas.

3 cups flour
1 cup warm water (makes the dough soft)
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon salt
Mix, and you may need to add a touch of flour so the dough is not sticky
Pull off small bits and roll out (the first 20 times I made these, we ate tortillas that were all sorts of shapes.  Don't fret, it gets easier each time you roll one out.  Just keep your surface dry and well floured so the dough doesn't stick.)
Cook on a dry skillet over medium heat til they puff up, flip and then remove.
The cooking should only take about a minute total.
I have found that if you want to make these for breakfast, you can make the dough the night before and put it in an airtight container.  The dough will be so easy to roll out and very soft the next day.

 The other really fun thing that I have started to make from scratch are noodles!  I really had no idea just how simple it could be.  My friend Rachel and I made these with the ladies in the village and there is no reason why you can't as well!  My mom had asked how to make them, so here it is.

1 egg
1/2 of an egg shell of water (I know, weird measurement)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Enough flour to form a stiff dough
Mix
Roll out and let set for about 15 minutes or so on each side.  This helps it to dry out a little.
Flour and fold til at least twice.  (The flour will help when you need to pull the noodles apart)

I think it is wise to pull them apart just so when you put them in the water they don't stick.

These noodles were going into a soup so I cut them into small pieces.  You can leave them as long as you like. 

And then into the soup pot they went!  Along with the old faithfuls, tomatoes, carrots, green peppers, onions, and tomatoes!
They don't take near as long to cook, so just a few minutes in a boil and they are done.
Perfection!

     So...dear readers, are you ready for this!?
I want to challenge y'all this week.  If time allows of course, to try and cook most of your meals from scratch.  Or at least a part of them.  Try and use lots of veggies. Try and make your own tortillas or noodles. (If you make noodles, please oh please someone eat it with some pesto for me!)
If you do, let me know so I can vicariously enjoy some pesto.  And if you find a fun new way to use these items, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!  I am always looking for new things to cook with the same ingredients.