Well said—just in case anyone international is interested, they do ship internationally via regular post.

I know that you can find similar gear prices at REI in the states and a similar range of brands—but MEC is still our favourite, because their house brand gear is AMAZING, designed in Canada made under audited factory conditions internationally, and with the environment in mind. It's always good quality and top value, from bikes to vegan friendly sleeping bags!

Absolutely. Bullies need our help and care as well. Thanks for the reminder, I really hope that didn't get lost in my post. Thanks Libneas.
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Melanie, I really appreciate your comment. You're right, bullying has to stop, and parents are a huge part of making that happen. The thing that gets me most about bullying is how silly but serious it is—I mean, we can't stop global warming or feed the world just by caring, but bullying? I honestly believe we can end bullying if we care enough.
My recent post The Spiral Diner — Dallas and Fort Worth, TX — Review

Thanks for sharing Meagan. It really is hard. For myself, I figure living well is the best (and only) revenge. I know my big sister fought like a lioness to protect me when she could, and I'm sure you were a source of strength for your baby bro.
My recent post The Spiral Diner — Dallas and Fort Worth, TX — Review

Thank you for your comment Shelley! Honestly, a few of my friends with children are now finding their kids going through similar situations. I can't believe how often we're still told by teachers and school authorities that "kids will be kids," and just need to "stand up for themselves." It's both more, and less complicated than that.
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Hi Debbie,

Thanks for your comment!

We use all semolina flour—while it's true that recipes with lower gluten all-purpose flour are easier to extrude, we find that the flavour and texture really suffer. Durum semolina is high in fibre and protein, so there's not a tonne of benefit to mixing things up.

We don't use the recipe that came with the machine, if I recall, it left out the single-most important step. Which is actually something you have to NOT do when you make pasta, which is use the dough you've prepared right away.

Instead, after you make you dough, seal it in an airtight container, cover it with a damp towel, or wrap it in saran-wrap, for at least one half hour to allow the gluten in the dough to relax, and for the flavour of the flour to develop.

Our pasta recipe is simplicity itself:

2 eggs per 2 persons, plus approximately
220 g or 1/2 pound of the freshest durum semolina we can find. (~1.25 cups)

Turn the flour out onto a pastry board, or into a large mixing bowl. Toss in the egg and knead until it comes together.

The mixture ought to be quite dry, so you need to knead for a while for it to come together. What you're looking for is a fairly stiff dough. It won't stick to your hands. And it won't be as hard as set cement. But, when you take a piece and squish it between your fingers, it ought to split or crumble a little. If your dough is too wet, round pastas will collapse during the cooking process.

The ratio above should produce something close to perfect—depending on your local humidity and the size of your eggs; it's more likely to be too wet than not, so add flour until you get to the right consistency. If it's too dry to work with, don't be bashful about adding a little extra water.

Once it's kneaded, and again, this part is pretty important: let it rest!
At least half an hour. Definitely covered!

After your pasta is extruded, let it dry to leather hardness before boiling it—if you like your pasta quite al dente, then let it get a little extra dry before boiling it. Most fresh pasta cooks between 4-6 minutes. And of course, salt the water—because there is no salt in the dough.

This is obviously a skeleton of a recipe, but it's the basis for all pasta. Here are a few variations and caveats:

If you're going to be cooking the pasta from fresh, rather than drying it for later use, adding a smidgen of olive oil (perhaps a teaspoon for a double portion), will impart a smoothness and some olive flavour to your final product. We love to toss in a little fruttato when the mood strikes.

We're vegan, so when we make "egg" pasta, we use Orgran or Energie egg replacer. We find these prepared products work better than ground flax seed, our usual binding agent, or other home-made alternatives.

To make egg free pasta, we start off with about 120ml of water instead of the egg. All the other steps are the same. Making egg free pasta is where some people pull out the all purpose flour—because of it's finer grind, it helps things stick together. But, you can also just be a little more careful about making sure your dough is properly hydrated—that is, knead until you've got all the flour properly wetted, and then leave it for a while.

I always do this by hand. Making pasta is sort of an automatic pasta after all these years—but it also comes together quickly in a food processor or stand mixer. A piece of advice: if you use a food processor, double your resting time, because of the high speeds involved the dough becomes very stiff.

Now that I think about it, I remember a cool tutorial on FX Cuisine where he used a stand mixer and an automated extruder . . . From the pictures he's using a dryer dough than is necessary . . .
http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?Display=59
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I really like these—but do any of them top our own (old) studio? I dream of a space filled with tables, light, good tunes, and not a lot of clutter! We should do a post on our old studio, no?
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No doubt! I remember way back in the day when I gave my brother half a year's allowance—$20 at a dollar a week—to buy a GameBoy when they were first released! He had what I thought was the coolest job in the world, working at Chuck E Cheese's, and was nice enough to give me a 50% share or a %10 investment. I played Tetris until my eyes bled.

The Vita is just as much fun—ashamed to admit I'm bleary eyed this morning from too many games.
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Just watch out with the fitness gear gifts eh? It's dangerous territory unless she's asked for it—but you can't go wrong with a punching bag! Right? Great post, thanks for the present ideas.

Seriously one of our surprise favourite stops on our USA road trip. I loved Philadelphia for it's sense of history, and especially for it's cool independent arts and music scene. It was so much cooler than I imagined, can't wait to go back. Tickets on the Amtrak to/fr New York and Washington are super cheap if you just want to make a short stop out of it.

Be sure to check out not only Independence square, but also the exhibits in the visitors centre and the George Washington House ruins. The exhibits talk about Washington's slaves, and African American history.