Noodles at Noon

Who knew that noodles would be such a hit!  My Mother in law has been encouraging me to try making gluten free noodles and I’ve been dragging my feet for months. I don’t have any special gadgets and it seemed like it was bound to be far too much work especially when one has Tinkyada noodles .  She insisted that hand made noodles are worth it and really no trouble at all.  Yeah right, thought I, NO trouble you say.  I know trouble, that’s for sure, he naps at noon and makes three messes in time for me to clean up one, this morning he had lipstick drawn on his cheeks and was spooning coffee (Hot-ot) out of my mug in the short time it takes me to change the Pee Wee.  If it really is no trouble at all than I can handle that!

Speaking of that nap at noon I’d better get this thing published and pick up the other 2 messes I didn’t get to yet!

Goof’s Noodles at Noon:

Do I really have to go there? (Shopping List):

1. corn starch
2. rice flour (I used sweet rice)
3. eggs
4. cooking oil
5. xanthan gum
6. salt
7. boiling water (to cook the noodles)

Not bad eh?  You probably already have all that!

If I can do it you can do it. (Recipe):

• 1 Cup corn starch
• 1 Cup rice flour (reserve approx 1/2 for rolling out the noodles)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 4 medium eggs
• 1 Tablespoon cooking oil

Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil.

Combine the dry ingredients (keep out some of the rice flour). In a separate bowl lightly beat the eggs (oops, watch the shells) and add the oil. Now if you want to get fancy and really make them by hand (the “right” way ) pour the flour mixture onto a mound on a clean surface and make a well in the top, then pour small amounts of the egg mixture into the well and start pinching this together with your fingertips as you continue to add more egg mixture until it is all combined. 

OR… you can do what isn’t fancy but still works.  What I did (after trying the ”right” method) is:

Pour the egg mixture into the first bowl and stir with a wooden spoon just until combined.  I heavily dusted my counter and hands with approx. 1/2 cup rice flour then dumped out the dough (which should be quite thick and dense like a pastry but still slightly sticky at this point).  Pat out the dough (mixing in some of the additional flour) and roll it out as thin as possible!  While you are patting and rolling, continue to add flour as needed, the dough can be quite dry but it is easier to add once you are rolling out dough than trying to mix it in at first. 

Using a pizza cutter cut strips approximately 1/4 in thick.  Then with a pancake flipper take them up off the counter and into boiling water.

This time my first try ended up not right, they were still too sticky and would not come off the counter…

I noticed that leaving them rolled out for a 5-10  minutes seemed to allow the dough to settle and I was able to roll them thinner which was just right… Notice there is a lot of flour clinging to the noodles, that’s fine.

Next simply drop them into boiling water and stand there, the noodles will be done in 3-5 min (depending on how thick yours are).  Take one out and test it.  To achieve al’ dente you will not need to cook as long as you would if they were dry.

You can also dry these by leaving them out overnight.  They will curl a little.

Gotta run the Bubba’s got Super Glue!

Check back soon and we will use these noodles in Chicken Noodle Soup for a Crowd Recipe

This has been another recipe for the “What’s for Dinner Wednesday Blog Carnival” hosted by The Gluten Free Homemaker.

What about Organics and Natural Products?

What is “all natural” anyway and what should I be spending our money on these days?