I've been in the throes of a huge internal struggle since Tuesday, when Josh was here. It all started when he asked an innocent enough question: "Why aren't you guys doing any social networking?"Well, the truth of the matter is, neither Ian nor I have ever really seen the point. At least initially. But lately we've been hearing about people's aunts (like Eric's, who recently called him Schmoopy Woopy right there on his wall) and grandparents having accounts. Okay. No offense to grandparents, but I'm an Echo Boomer. We're the kids who are almost too young to remember Pong, for goodness' sake. I need to set an example! Follow the crowd! "Friend" people who I last saw in kindergarten or who I'd never have the guts to actually speak to in person!
So with heart pounding (really!), I decided to join. But I'm going to use this opportunity to do a social experiment, which will thusly reduce the guilt I'm suffering from caving in. Instead of actively seeking out people, I've set up a profile and will wait and see what happens. That way, the next time someone asks, I can simply say, "Yeah, I have an account, but I don't really use it." But if an old friend gets in touch, I won't complain! It's the perfect compromise. I'm riding on the edge of the bandwagon. Whew. It's not so bad.
Don't hold your breath, though...you're never going to find me on Twitter. Vive la resistance!
Start kneading the dough with both hands, using your palms. Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up any leftover crusty bits; discard. Lightly flour the board and continue kneading for 3 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Continue to knead for another 3 minutes, remembering to dust your board when necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Note: Do not skip the kneading or resting portion of this recipe. They are essential for a light pasta.
Assemble the ingredients for the sauce (we used a combination of red onion, jalapeno peppers, garlic, lemon, butter, and Parmesan cheese found in Molto Italiano).
Bring six quarts of water to a boil and add 2 Tbl. salt. Drop pasta into boiling water and cook until tender yet al dente. Drain pasta well and toss into pan with sauce mixture. Serve immediately in warm bowl, making extra cheese available on the side.
Eat. It's delicious, and not terribly difficult. The entire process took only two hours and isn't extremely labor-intensive, so you can even do other things, say, laundry, in the meantime. Plus, I was able to portion out several days' worth of lunches. You'd never imagine the peppers, lemon, and cheese would complement one another, but they absolutely do. We'll definitely make this again.
