Do-Lit-Yourself: Fresh Pasta from In Grace’s Kitchen by Vince Agro

Do-Lit-Yourself is a column for book lovers with a crafty streak. This pinteresting monthly is penned by LPG Education and Engagement manager Lauren Perruzza.Vince Agro’s new memoir-cum-cookbook, In Grace’s Kitchen (Wolsak & Wynn), details the life in Hamilton, Ontario’s ‘colonia’: a neighbourhood small in geographical size but huge in Italian-Canadian culture and tradition. Much more than a series of (totally delicious) recipes, In Grace’s Kitchen recounts the daily life of author Agro’s mother, Grace Agro, and their family – the Church they attend, the places they shop.What becomes incredibly clear through this celebration of family, friends, and food is that you can follow cooking instructions to the letter, but it’s the hospitality and love that you show the people you cook for that matters most. With an open-door and -arms attitude, Grace believed that tutto il mondo e un picolo piese (“the whole world is just a small town”), and every townsperson is welcome at the table.Today on DLY, we share Grace’s recipe for simple pasta dough: a base for both your favourite kind of noodle, and great times ahead with friends and family ahead as well.Pasta Dough (page 75, In Grace’s Kitchen)Reprinted with permission from Wolsak & Wynn.Ingredients

• 2 cups white flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons water

Cooking Time15 minutes to mix, more to shape and cook.Instructions

Place flour in large bowl and form a well in the middle. Add eggs, oil, and water. Mix with fork until dough is formed.

Put mixture onto a floured board or counter and knead until firm.Use pasta knife or pasta machine to shape noodles as desired.

To cook pasta, drop fresh noodles into boiling salted water. Remove when still al dente for that authentic Italian taste.[Note from ALU: You can also make this ahead of time before cooking. To freeze pasta, shape individual servings of noodles into “bird’s nests” Freeze on a baking sheet, then, when frozen, transfer to a freezer bag]Inspired? The team at J.H. Gordon Books is going through the recipes in the book one at a time, Julie & Julia-style. Now that’s a project we can get behind.