Kid and Student-Friendly Homemade Pesto and Pasta Recipe

My students recently made homemade pasta to go with pesto from basil they grew in their garden. I have never made pesto before because the basil is so expensive, but by growing our own herbs we made enough for the whole class to enjoy.

The pasta recipe is easy:

Make a mound of 3/4 C flour on the countertop. Sprinkle with salt. Make a crater in the mound.

Crack an egg in the crater. (Or, for a vegan option, use tomato paste)

Knead the dough until smooth, shiny, and elastic. This takes a long time; about 10 minutes.

I told my students this recipe was easy enough but still gross and sticky enough to share with kids they babysit. Just make sure they are old enough to know not to lick their fingers!

Roll the pasta through a machine. In a classroom setting, when multiple machines are needed; or at home, when you don't have one, you can get by with a rolling pin and pizza cutter. Your pasta will just need longer to cook because it will be thicker.

While the pasta is drying, head out to pick your basil. You will need one packed cup. Here's the simple recipe that we prepared in a simple food chopper:

Boil the pasta in salted water for~5 minutes or until al dente. Drain and toss with the pesto.
Remember to save some basil for the garnish!

What is Gluten Anyway?

I had a good laugh watching this clip from Jimmy Kimmel. Although avoiding gluten can be live-changing for some people, the wheat protein is overwhelmingly painted as a nutritional bad-guy.

To prove that people are buying into the hype, the show asked people if they followed a gluten-free diet and then what it was. Their answers were quite funny, and none of them defined gluten as the protein in wheat that gives bread its stretch and seitan its texture.

It comes along with the usual crass of late-night television which is too bad: It has the potential for a great anticipatory set. :)