How's That For Ingenuity?

We're starting to finally get some hot weather and when I went outside to water this morning I noticed that most of the spinach looked dangerously close to bolting. So, since I made a commitment to really stay on top of the garden this year and not let any perfectly good food go to waste, I rearranged my day and set about dealing with the spinach.

I decided to turn it into more spinach pasta, rather than just blanching and freezing the stuff. Collin has missed out on the whole spinach harvest, since the spinach was still too small when he left. I thought this way he could enjoy some of it when he gets back (and in a form he appreciates).

So I made a triple batch of pasta--with a pound of spinach in it--about five or six whole plants after they'd been cleaned and de-stemmed. There are still a few little plants left out in the garden but they won't last much longer. Too bad I got such a late start planting it this year, but there'll be a second planting for fall.

Once I got the dough rolled out this time I faced a dilemma--where to hang that much pasta to dry?? It was hard enough rigging up something to hold the single batch I made on Saturday, but a triple batch? Finally, a lightbulb went off. I have a neat little device from back in my weaving and fiber artsy days--an umbrella swift. It's used for holding skeins of yarn when you're winding or unwinding bobbins, etc.

It worked like a charm! You could just stand there and keep spinning it around as the little slats filled up with pasta. Very convenient. So, if you're that one person out there who's making homemade pasta and has an umbrella swift--well, there you go! For the rest of you, I don't have any suggestions. Sorry.