For my birthday in Buenos Aires this year, I decided to have a
pasta making party. Who knew making ravioli from scratch
could teach me so much about life.
Here are the 10 lessons I learned from ravioli ...
1. Pour flour on bench and crack eggs
Lesson: When beginning a new project it can
seem like a sloppy mess and it is easy to get bogged down. At this
point it is best not to focus on the mountain of work ahead, just
the potential staring back at you.
2. Knead eggs into flour
Lesson: Dive in, pop the gooey egg yolks and
get your new project off the ground with egg-crushing elbow grease.
The more effort you put in now, the less lumpy bits you will have
to swallow in the future.
3. Knead dough into shape
Lesson: You are going to face some sticky
situations along the way but don't stop now. It might be messy,
strenuous work but when you start to see your effort take shape ...
it's a kinda magic. (Sing it Freddie!)
4. Leave it to rest for an hour in the
fridge
Lesson: Take time to chill out, sit back
and reflect on what you have created and where to roll from
here.
5. Cut dough into portions
Lesson: Now it is time to micro-manage
and break up the ongoing tasks into bite-sized portions to avoid
spaghetti brain burn-out.
6. Feed through pasta machine, making it thinner each
time
Lesson: Refine, refine, refine your
project until it is the perfect shape and consistency for your
needs.
7. Drop filling in and put a lid on it
Lesson: The framework is ready, now it is
time to add the meat to the bones of your project. Not too little,
not too much, just right.
8. Flour the pasta so it doesn't stick
Lesson: Things will go wrong but if you
plan for hiccups and obstacles you won't find yourself trying to
painstakingly peel your project apart down the track.
9. Cook it
Lesson: Preparation and planning takes up
a whopping eight tenths of the process but with everything in
place, putting your plan on the boil is as easy as lighting a
match.
10. Share it
Lesson: Now it all comes down to that
first bite. But chances are, if you followed steps 1-10 and hecho
con amor (made it with love) it will be a delicious success. Either
that or your friends are too polite to tell you otherwise!
If not, crack a few more eggs and get back into another floury
dust storm, learning from your past mistakes.
Buen provecho, bon apetit, 2,4,6,8, dig in don't wait...
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