Cooking with Noodles
It’s never too early to start learning the basics of cooking with fresh, healthy ingredients! Plus,
an afternoon of cooking can be a great way to spend a day— especially if it ends with a tasty
snack. Lead up to dinner of noodles and veggies with this Read-Aloud on the theme of pasta,
and then let kids help prepare the meal!
Books
Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola is a funny, familiar story with
beautiful illustrations. While you’re reading,
 Have the kids blow kisses like Strega Nona
 Encourage the kids to repeat the magic words and predict
what will happen
 Ask if the kids know what “alas” means. What does
“barricade” mean? What does Strega Nona mean when
she says “the punishment must fit the crime”?
 Ask what they would do they had an overflowing magic
pasta pot!
Other great noodle books include:
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The Seven Chinese Sisters by Kathy Tucker
The Story of Noodles by Ying Chang Compestine
More Spaghetti I Say by Rita Golden Gleman
Pasta Factory by Hana Machotka
Siggy’s Spaghetti Works by Peggy Thomson
Everybody Brings Noodles by Norah Dooley
Activities
Arts and Crafts: Noodle Art
Here’s an art project with a twist: a collage made of noodles!
Materials: uncooked dry pasta, food coloring, vinegar, plastic bag, construction paper, glue
Dye uncooked noodles in a variety of shapes (penne, macaroni, farfalle, picollini, rigatoni, etc.)
using this method. Mix food coloring to get different, bright colors. Wait a while for it to dry (only
an hour if you spread it out) and use the time to do another one of our noodle activities or read
another story. When the noodles are dry, make collages, words and pictures on construction
paper by gluing the noodles down.
Sing a song
“On Top of Spaghetti” is a favorite about noodles. Here are the lyrics:
On top of spaghetti (on top of spaghetti)
All covered with cheese (all covered with cheese)
I lost my poor meatball (I lost my poor meatball)
When somebody sneezed (when somebody sneezed)
It rolled off the table (it rolled off the table)
And onto the floor (and onto the floor)
And then my poor meatball (and then my poor meatball)
Rolled out of the door (rolled out of the door)
It rolled in the garden (it rolled in the garden)
And under a bush (and under a bush)
And then my poor meatball (and then my poor meatball)
Was nothing but mush (was nothing but mush)
Oh, the mush was as tasty (oh, the mush was as tasty)
As tasty could be (as tasty could be)
And early next summer (and early next summer)
It grew into a tree (it grew into a tree)
The tree was all covered (the tree was all covered)
With beautiful moss (with beautiful moss)
It grew lovely meatballs (it grew lovely meatballs)
And tomato sauce (and tomato sauce)
So if you eat spaghetti (so if you eat spaghetti)
All covered with cheese (all covered with cheese)
Hold on to your meatball (hold on to your meatball)
And don't ever sneeze (and don't ever sneeze)
And don't ever sneeze
If you need help with the melody, here’s a link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zDrt5Ga26w&feature=related
Make noodle -- and eat them!
Recipe from the Essex Culinary Resort and Spa
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 large eggs
3 large yolks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1. Mound the 2 cups of the flour in a large bowl and blend in the salt. Create a well in the
center, pushing the flour out to the side to make a 1-inch ring. Make sure that the well is
wide enough to hold all the eggs without spilling.
2. Crack eggs and yolks and olive oil into a separate small bowl and use a fork to break up
the eggs.
3. Pour the egg yolks, eggs and oil into the well. Begin turning the eggs in a circular
motion, keeping them within the well and not allowing them to spill over the sides. Keep
moving the eggs while slowly incorporating the flour. The mixture will thicken and
eventually get too tight to keep turning with your fingers.
4. When the dough begins thickening and starts lifting itself from the bowl, begin
incorporating the remaining flour by lifting the flour up and over the dough that's
beginning to form and pushing it into the dough. Bring the dough together with the palms
of your hands and form it into a ball.
5. Knead the dough for 15 minutes by pressing it, bit by bit, in a forward motion with the
heels of your hands rather than folding it over on itself as you would with a bread dough.
6. The dough is ready when you can pull your finger through it and the dough wants to
snap back into place; you cannot knead this dough too much. Wrap the dough in plastic
wrap to ensure that it does not dry out. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes and up
to 1 hour before rolling it through a pasta machine. If you don’t have a pasta machine,
you can roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is no more than 1/8th inch thick
and then cut it into noodle-width strips with a knife or pizza cutter.
7. Place the noodles in a large pot of salted boiling water and cook 2 to 3 minutes for
spaghetti- width, a little longer for linguine-width noodles. Taste to ensure the noodles
are cooked to your liking. Drain and serve.