Task 71: Make a lasagne using a pasta machine

Before launching into the nitty gritty of my pasta-making task, I think perhaps I should first set the scene for you. After all, there may well be many people who make fresh pasta dough several times a week without a second thought. So where's the challenge in Task 71?

Over the last five years, my family and I have taken to celebrating Christmas in other countries, usually warmer ones. It's an arrangement that has suited us all perfectly. Just one small fly in the ointment - the need to buy presents that can be fitted into budget airline luggage. I was under the impression that all six family members were pretty adept at doing that. Until Christmas 2022, that is, when Jonathan had the inspired but ultimately flawed idea of giving me a pasta machine. Inspired, because my USP is producing family-size lasagnes. But flawed, because it weighed an absolute ton. After the big reveal on Christmas Day, I reluctantly had to hand back the pasta machine to Jonathan for transport back to the UK, on account of his more generous baggage allowance. It then languished in his garage for many weeks before finally arriving at my house. 'Looking forward to your lasagne with home made pasta Mum' said Jonathan, a greedy gleam in his eye. 'Looking forward to making it' I said gamely, whilst surreptitiously consigning the machine to the dark recesses of a cupboard. 

Fast forward to Christmas Day 2024. The pasta machine had been gathering dust in the cupboard for two years. Not that I hadn't continued to make lasagnes during that time mind you. Just not home-made pasta lasagnes. Then I opened my Christmas present from sharp-thinking Lucy - and what do you know, she'd bought me a voucher for a pasta-making course in Brighton. I was well and truly skewered. 'You've got until next Christmas to produce that lasagne Mum' I was told in no uncertain terms.

In March Lucy and I presented ourselves at Brighton Cookery School, sleeves rolled-up, ready for some pasta action. We were assigned to a work station, which was carefully laid out with knives, rolling pins and ingredients. But where were the pasta machines? 'We don't use them on this beginners' course' said our teacher, Victor, gesturing vaguely towards a shelf where a dozen machines just like mine were stacked up like the leaning tower of Pisa. I can't lie, this news hit us hard. But that aside, we did learn how to make pasta dough from scratch, to cut strips of tagliatelle lovingly by hand and to shape and stuff ravioli. So a very fine start to my pasta-making task.

Then in September, the family headed up to the Isle of Skye for a week's holiday to celebrate my 70th birthday. This gave me the perfect opportunity to get stuck into some serious pasta-making, with no room for avoidance. The pasta machine was lovingly dusted down, shoe-horned into the boot of Jonathan and Liz's SUV and duly made its grand entrance at our Airbnb in the beautiful harbour community of Uig two days later.

The following Monday morning, on the dot of 9.30am, sous chef Michael and I rendezvoused in the sizeable kitchen. The pasta machine was clamped onto the work surface, special pasta flour and eggs were on standby, a pasta recipe was sourced courtesy of Jamie Oliver, and the task began. The initial process of blending flour and eggs into a kneed-able lump was a very messy one. But gradually the dough began to look more like, well, dough. Once our biceps could take it no longer - Jamie Oliver says after a few minutes it's easy to see why your average Italian grandmother has arms like Frank Bruno - we put it into the fridge to rest, after which the serious business of flattening the dough in the pasta machine began. 

We divided the dough into four separate lumps and rolled each lump through the pasta machine no less than 16 to 17 times (yes, you read that right, 16 to 17 times), in accordance with Jamie's instructions, working through each of the settings from widest to narrowest. Not meaning to boast or anything but by the final roll, the pasta strips looked amazing - very smooth, elastic and super silky. We were pretty chuffed I can tell you. Pasta squisita!

Michael cut each of the strips meticulously into evenly-sized lasagne rectangles. Then it was over to me to create bolognese and bechamel sauces ready for the lasagne assembly line. No guesses for what was on the menu for supper that evening. Here's the finished dish, which I'm glad to say was given a large thumbs up by the family. And with Task 71 in the bag, the pasta machine was duly squeezed back into the SUV for transportation back to Sussex. 

I can't believe what a satisfying activity pasta-making turned out to be - and a very sociable one too thanks to top-notch assistant Michael aiding and abetting me at every stage. Ravioli and tagliatelle-making are definitely up my sleeve next. Once the pasta machine is re-rescued from Jonathan's garage that is......

Seven at 70.....

This blog was always intended to be a 12-month account of my quest to complete the Sixtyat60 Challenge. However as the years have passed - and much to my surprise - a steady stream of people have continued to visit my site. From time to time I've felt a wave of guilt about my failure to produce any new posts for potential readers. After all, there's nothing more disappointing than a well out of date blog. During the pandemic a potent mix of fear and boredom did nudge me into posting a one-off super-long account of lockdown life, but that was over five years ago. Finally though, I feel I have a decent reason for reviving the blog. Ten years on from my first Sixtyat60 post, I've just celebrated my 70th birthday. Time to sit at my laptop once again for some gentle blogging action. 

Some updating context first. I have to be honest, it's been a rollercoaster few years. If you've read my sixtyat60 blog in the past, you'll know that my husband Andrew featured heavily in my posts. He supported my Sixtyat60 Challenge with gusto from start to finish and indeed took part in many of the tasks. He celebrated my successes, helped me deal with the setbacks, and read every single post before I published it (a very important ritual even if I didn't always follow through with his feedback!) Not long after I wrapped up the Challenge, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, a tough illness to deal with, but one that he refused to be defined by. He carried on his work as a computer software developer. He continued to play a decent round of golf. And he climbed to the summit of Kilimanjaro with our older son Michael, a lifetime achievement that quite rightly he was very chuffed about. 

Then four years ago Andrew started to show signs of dementia alongside his Parkinson's symptoms and life become an uphill struggle. We decided to relocate from our house in the Wealden countryside to the lovely town of Lewes, where there were shops and services at our fingertips. With the amazing support of family, friends, neighbours and healthcare professionals, we carved out a more relaxed way of life for ourselves. Well I say 'more relaxed', but that didn't stop Andrew walking 5k round the base of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh to raise funds for Alzheimer's Research UK in August 2023. He never stopped loving a challenge and we all loved him for it.

However Andrew's health continued to deteriorate, and very sadly he died in February this year, just two weeks after being moved to a local nursing home for respite care. My family and I were glad for him that he made his exit relatively swiftly with dignity intact. And he definitely knew that he was due to become a grandpa for the first time, even if he didn't live long enough to meet his little granddaughter.

So here I am now, seven months bereaved and four months a new nanna, doing my best to navigate the emotional currents of these two opposing life forces. Since I've just hit 70, I've decided to set myself a very modest list of 7 tasks to complete (you didn't really think I'd take on 70 did you dear reader?) as a means of easing my way forward in life. And it's my plan to write a post for each of the tasks, just as I did ten years ago. 

Here, in no particular order, are the seven tasks:

1.  Make a lasagne from scratch using the untouched pasta machine given to me 3 years ago by younger son Jonathan

2.  Do open-air swimming sessions in Isle of Skye and in my hometown of Lewes

3. Babysit granddaughter Freya for a weekend

4. Locate the house in Hof Bei Salzburg, Austria where I worked as an au pair aged 18

5. Go to the cinema by myself

6. Attend a ballet class for silver swans

7.  Erect a bench on the Ashdown Forest, East Sussex in memory of Andrew.

I already sense a growing sense of purpose as I cast my eye over the list. The blog on Task 1 will follow very soon, promise!