The Empire.....

I've been having fun these last few days making pasta with the little one. She really enjoyed using the pasta machine to create her very own Tagliatelli which she then had with some cheesy sauce. A couple of days before we'd make the dough together which really couldn't be simpler and the finished product is head and shoulders above anything that you can find dried in a supermarket.....regardless of what Jamie Oliver says!

The basic dough is 1 egg for every 100gm of strong "00" flour and a small dash of olive oil. That's it. Just mix the whole lot together and give it a good knead until it has a nice smooth feel to it then wrap it in clingfilm (stops the surface from drying out) for at least 30 mins to prove and your ready to go. Any left over can be frozen and used at a later date.

This "fresh" pasta only takes about 2 minutes to cook in boiling water and it's sooooo much tastier and has a much better texture than it's dried counterpart. Get yourselves a pasta machine and try it out, you'll never look back.

Moving on from that......

I've made the first step into my online career in buying my first .com domain name.

I've also identified the first market that I want to dabble in and the the domain name matches that, in fact I couldn't believe it was available! I don't want to divulge too much at this stage because there are many things I need to do before it's up and running and I'm really just learning it.

There is of course some expense involved in setting these things up which instantly makes you think it's some kind of dodgy fraud but I'm happy with the research I've done and only time will tell.

*** Those looking for a quick return should realise that it's going to take time before you see some fruits of your labour ***

I'm really just trying it out for fun and if I make back what I've already invested (A whole £37, probably rising to about £45 when it's running) then I'll be chuffed to bits but with the right guidance and a bit of patience case studies have proven that you can make a very good living out of it when done correctly while at the same time achieving that ultimate goal of working just 4 hours a week.

Going in with the mindset that your going to be making thousands a day and living on a yacht within 2 months is not the idea. This is about making the most of the time you have while still making a income....is it possible?...we shall see. If it is rest assured I will let you all know and then you can go and find out for yourselves. Of course that'll be via one of my websites that'll net me some commission :-)

It's about investing in yourself I think and to some extents it's gambling on your own enthusiasm but as with any form of gambling the trick is to only play with what you are prepared to lose and with the mentoring I'm getting you really can start with minimal money and put in minimal time....it'll just take longer to achieve your set and most importantly your achievable goals.

Lets face it it's highly unlikely that I'll become an internet behemoth like Amazon. I'd be happy to have a small copse rather than a complete rainforest.

For instance I have decided that I will set aside 5 hours a week and £100 a month giving this a go and essentially what that means for me is spending 1 hour less an evening on Football Manager or GT5 for 5 nights of a week and less time in the pub wasting money on beer for which I know there is no chance of a making a penny on......Hardly a sacrifice I think you'll agree.

Anyhoo I hope to be dabbling in the online world very soon which should be fun.

Baloo...knee...

In a bit of pain this morning. Had a bit of sporting injury yesterday evening which has given me a knee the size of a balloon and a limp like somebody doing a slapstick parody of a German WWII officer.

I'm pretty sure the injury wouldn't have been sustained if -

A) I decided not to bother trying to stop the boundary as it was always going to go over.
B) Did a dive along the ground rather than trying to stop it with my foot.
C) Had any fitness level to remark upon.
D) Was actually any good at Cricket.

I'm think that "D" is the correct assumption.

Anyway I'm not going to dwell on it. I think for me the cricket season is over and should our plans go ahead that I doubt I'll have any time at all to participate next season on a regular basis so perhaps I bit the game adieu.

In other news I've been thinking about good lunchtime pub food that we can put on the menu baring in mind that it must be easy to prepare, it must keep well and freeze well.

I'm certainly thinking that fresh, home-made pasta should be on the menu.

There really is nothing better than home-made pasta, for me the dried kind doesn't give it that authentic taste, certainly the cheaper ones.

My advice to anybody thinking about buying anything that has "Easy Cook" written anywhere on the packaging is to stop immediately and run over to the Fish counter, ask for an extremely large and wet Haddock and proceed to slap yourself around the face with it. Then put the packet back on the shelf, stand back and remain calm..............Finally go for the best quality brand.

But why do that? Fresh pasta is so easy to make and it keeps in well in the freezer too. Just portion the pasta dough up, wrap it up in cling film and chuck it into the freezer. all you need do then is a day before use just get it out to defrost and then your ready to use it again.

A good sturdy pasta machine will serve you a long time and with it you can make the best pasta you'll ever eat. Ravioli, Taglatelli, Spaghetti, Linguini, Lasagne etc etc.

Another thing to consider is cooking time. Dried pasta can take around 12 minutes to cook whereas fresh pasta only a couple of minutes in boiling water.

You can find hundreds of recipes for pasta dough on the internet however the first one I tried was a Jamie Oliver recipe and it was so easy and the pasta was just devine.

So come on guys and gals give it a go.