A PENNE FROM GRANDPA

Come travel back in time with Old Mother Frugal to the 20^th Century as we depart the time tunnel at Station 1964.  

Back when Old Mother Frugal was…well, not old.  Not a Mother but definitely frugal.  There was no money except for any spare change Old Grandfather Frugal would allocate to three kids. He and Grandma had lived through and came out the other side of The Great Depression.

Station 1964 takes us to Mulberry Street in New York City. An area of the city affectionately known as “Little Italy”.

Back when there was a flat, not an apartment.

Back when there was a telephone, not a landline.

Back when the clothes dryer was a rope and a pulley strung outside the kitchen window into an alley connecting to another tenant's kitchen window.

Back when the icebox was replaced with a refrigerator and an electrical cord to keep food cold.

Back when the brown radio was always “on” and there was no television for kids to watch.  You watched your grandparents live in a few hundred square feet of space.

Back when pasta was called macaroni.  It was sold at the Italian store below the apartment and you selected your variety of macaroni from a glass canister.

“Witcha shapa do you want” bellowed Old Mother Frugal’s grandmother.  The store sold all sizes and varieties and she expected three kids to come to a mutual decision.  Bless her heart.

Ravioli wasn’t sold in the glass containers. Silver Star ravioli was only sold in boxes, stored in the freezer of the Italian store.

During some visits, we were given a directive of “no raviol today, only macaron”.  Ravioli mustn’t have been in her budget. She also never pronounced the sound of “ee”. It was always silent when she spoke in English.

The selected macaroni was then wrapped in white, waxed paper and given to customers who then took it and placed it in their shopping bags made of twine. Back upstairs to the kitchen in the apartment where it was prepared for dinner.

Now it’s the 21^st Century. 

It’s taken over 50 years but Old Mother Frugal has scooped into pounds of semolina and all-purpose flour for a MYO ravioli experiment.  Any time pasta doesn’t fall apart in a pot of boiling water is a successful experiment.  Bravo!

So here it is, recipe for pasta…what you do with it, let your imagination run wild. 

This is what you need for each one serving of pasta.  

If you are making two servings, use 2 eggs, 1 cup of flour, so on and so on. 

Double or triple as needed.

·         1 large egg

·         3 ounces (about 1/2 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour ( I used half semolina/half AP flour)

·         1 teaspoon olive oil

·         1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

It has been Old Mother Frugal’s experience that pasta can feed an army.  If you make ‘one serving’ expect to feed “two people”. 

And as my Grandma used to say… “Mangia”.

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: Ravioli can be made without fancy or special pasta making equipment. If you have a rolling pin, you can make pasta. Ravioli can be made in advance and frozen by placing them in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Flash freeze and when frozen, transfer to a Ziploc bag to store and cook at a later time.