N had two little guests over today. They're all four years old, and they've known each other since they were babies. They didn't see much of each other this summer, so it was fun to eavesdrop on their play together--all the negotiations, compromises, and questions that are exchanged. It's amazing to me that (most of the time) they're able to work out their disagreements without my saying a word.

That kind of harmony tends to wear off as lunchtime approaches, but I had a (nutty) idea for heading it off at the pass. A couple of weeks ago, I was quite surprised at how easy, and tasty, homemade whole wheat pasta turned out to be. Not to mention, fun to make.

I have no plans for making pasta for family dinners on a regular basis, and if I (ever) have a supper party for friends, they won't have to worry that this pasta will show up on the menu. But lunch for small children? Right up my alley. Especially if the kids do most of the pasta making.
If you feel like playing along at home, you'll need:
- 1 cup of flour per child (I used whole wheat flour, but you can use regular unbleached white flour)
- 1/8 teaspoon (a dash) of salt per child
- 1 to 4 tablespoons of water per child (the exact amount varies each time you make the dough)
(Just one kid's batch of dough made enough for four small children--E ate some after school--so if you don't plan on cooking it all at once and saving the leftovers, or freezing uncooked pasta for boiling later, you can just make one batch and let the kids take turns mixing, kneading, and shaping the pasta.)

Place the flour in a bowl in front of each child. Help the kids measure and sprinkle the salt into the flour. Let them stir the flour and salt together. (It helps if the bowl is a bit deep, so the flour can't escape.)

Help each child crack their egg into the flour. Next, ask them to stir their eggs into the flour. You want the mixture at this point to be a bit lumpy.

Then, add a tablespoon of water to each bowl. Let the kids work the water and egg into the flour at this point with their hands. Show them how to press the dough down so that the flour gets absorbed into the dough. Continue to add water, a tablespoon (or less) at a time. Make sure the liquid is worked into the dough before adding more. If you add too much water, it will be too stiff to roll easily. Stop adding water as soon as the dough comes together well.

When the dough is smooth, turn it out onto a floured surface. Roll out the dough--four-year-olds can handle a big rolling pin, if you show them how. Now here's the important part: stop rolling and wait a minute or two--or more--if the dough bounces back and resists rolling.

When you've rolled as much as you can, help each child lift their flattened dough up, flour the surface a little more, and flip the dough over. Tell the kids to take a short break. I had the kids all go and wash their hands at this point, and then asked them to help me get out a large pot and fill it with water for cooking the noodles. (I started heating it up, too, so that we didn't have to wait for the water to boil.)
When five to ten minutes have passed, have the kids continue to roll their dough out. When you think the dough is thin enough, they can use a dull butter knife to cut the dough into strips (as narrow, or as wide, as you like). Or, if you have tiny cookie cutters or a thimble, you can press out pasta shapes. You can stop right here and move on to cooking the noodles, if you want.
We used our wavy veggie tool (a favorite kid kitchen item) to cut the noodles into small rectangles. Then we twisted each rectangle to form a bow-tie.

Once you have enough for the kids to eat, and the water is at a rolling boil, throw the pasta noodles into the pot. Usually, fresh pasta takes only about five minutes to cook, but whole wheat pasta can take twice as long (even fresh), especially if the pasta is kid-made and on the thicker side. You will want to take a piece out and check for doneness before serving. Our pasta took about 15 to 20 minutes to cook; our noodles were pretty thick.

The kids ate their homemade bow-tie pasta noodles with butter and a little salt. I'll admit I could hardly believe that they gobbled them up and asked for seconds. Yes, it probably helped that they were pretty hungry.
Again, this recipe makes a lot of pasta, more than enough for three adults, so if you'd rather not waste it, just use one egg, one cup of flour, etc., and let the kids share making the noodles together.
*Most pasta recipes require raw eggs, and this one is no different. Larger grocery store chains carry eggs that are pasteurized in the shell, in case you feel strongly about that sort of thing. Salmonella poisoning from eggs, while rare in the U.S., is no joke for adults, and downright dangerous for kids. If you choose to use regular eggs, like I did, you want to make sure the kids involved can be trusted to follow directions and not put their hands, or anything else, in their mouths for a decent period of time.