Blueberry Pasta... say wha?!?

Last Christmas I received a pasta attachment for my KitchenAid.  I've been making all sorts of pasta egg pasta, beet pasta, spinach pasta, etc.  I wanted to make a pasta that could somehow incorporate Alaska, therefore tundra blueberry pasta.

To get this vibrant purple color you have to use tundra blueberries also called bilberries similar to huckleberries.  Blueberries from the grocery store just won't cut it.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup semolina flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 cup tundra blueberry puree
• 2 tbs. sugar
• 1 tbs. lemon juice
• dash cinnamon

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a your Kitchen aid mixer and finish off with your dough hook or used a food processor to blend all ingredients so that it forms into a solid ball.  
2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface.
3. Roll out dough or wind through your pasta machine.
4. Cut into strips or wind through your pasta machine.
5. Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente…it will only take 3-4 minutes if the pasta is fresh.

You can use your blueberry pasta in just about any recipe that you would use any other type of pasta.

Here I've made a dessert pasta using my blueberry pie filling recipe.

You will need cooked blueberry pasta, topped with blueberry pie filling and almond flavored whipped cream.  I finished it off by sprinkling some ground cinnamon on top.  I will admit texture was a little weird at first because I was expecting pie crust but it was yummilicious.  The kids scarfed it up.
 
For Pie Filling

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tbs. corn starch
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 cup tundra blueberries
• 1/2 teas. ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, mix together the water, cornstarch, and sugar.  Add in blueberries and bring to a boil at medium heat, stirring constantly for about two minutes or until mixture is thick.  Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon.  Pour into a pint size jar and set aside.

For Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbs. sugar
1/2 teas. almond extract

Directions:

Chill a medium mixing bowl and the beaters from your electric mixer.  Combine all the ingredients into your chilled mixing bowl, and use chilled beaters to beat the mixture till soft peaks form.


I had so much fun making this blueberry pasta that I even threw it in with some left over garlic shrimp.  All I did was saute some peeled an deveined shrimp with butter, minced garlic,  Johnny's garlic seasoning, dash of salt, and tossed in the pasta.  The blueberry flavor in the pasta is a bit mild so that this pasta could go with just about any pasta dish.  

Enjoy.

Best Rolls Ever

This is Lynn here.  I just have to tell everyone that I have the BEST sister ever!  Why, might you ask?  Because she and her husband got me my very own Kitchenaid Mixer for Christmas.

I have been falling in love with my mixer and using it non-stop.  Seriously, I've considered knitting it a sweater because I adore it so much.  With my new mixer I have tried out various roll recipes and I just have to share the one that I think is the absolute BEST.  Not only is the recipe easy, but they come out so soft and buttery and they just melt in your mouth.

Ingredients:

• 2 c warm water
• 2/3 c nonfat dry milk powder
• 2 Tbsp dry yeast
• 1/4 c sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 c butter
• 1 egg
• 4 1/2- 5 c all purpose flour

Directions:

1. In a Kitchenaid mixing bowl, stir in warm water and nonfat dry milk powder until it dissolves.
2. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups of flour.
3. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then 2 minutes at medium speed.
4. Add 2 more cups of flour, mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then 2 minutes at medium speed.  (You can switch your attachment to the dough hook at this point for easier mixing.)
5. Add 1/2 cup flour again, mixing on low speed until wet, then 2 minutes at medium speed.  You can add an additional 1/2 c if your dough is still too wet but I usually stop at 4 1/2 cups of flour total.
6. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff.
7. Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl and pour about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil around the sides of the bowl so that the bowl is coated.  
8. Spray some plastic wrap with non-stick coating and place the plastic over the bowl. Allow it to rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in size and rises to the top of the bowl.

     9.  Once the dough has risen, place your dough on a flat floured surface, then divide the dough in half.

     10.  Roll out 1/2 the dough into a circle.

     11.  Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 16 even slices.

     12.  Begin to roll the slice of dough in, starting from the wide end and tuck the small point underneath.  

     13.  Place rolls on parchment-lined baking sheet.  

   
14.  Repeat steps 10-13 for the 2nd half of the dough and let them rise for 1- 1 1/2 hours, until double in                          size.

     15.  Bake at 375 F for 15-20 minutes or until golden-brown. 

     16.  Brush with melted butter while hot.

And if you're new to making rolls (which I was until just a few months ago) there are some great tips that you can find on my friend, Ali's website HERE.

So get baking to warm up your home and your tummy during this VERY cold winter!

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