If you've been keeping up on my blog you have seen that there has been a lot of Pasta making going on lately.  Once you get the hang of the basic recipe and technique there is quite a lot of variation that you can add.  The best part is that this also Supports a zero waste goal in the kitchen by throwing away less scraps.  Those scraps SHOULD be going into the compost bin but other than compost there are other ways to use what would otherwise be tossed.

I like to freeze trimmed veggies which when there is enough veggie scraps I'll make a pot of stock and then freeze them in smaller batches for use in other recipes.

When making pasta you can also find interesting ways to add some color and replicate some of the fancy pastas being sold for a lot of money just because they have some flavor and color to them.  Having a juicer makes this a breeze.  Today we made some Beet Fettuccine using the part between the greens and beets.  (Save those beet greens by the way!  They are delicious!).  Putting these through the juicer gives you some amazing red color to add into your next batch of Pasta.

For a nice green color, I used a bit of Spinach and the rooty ends of asparagus.  Again, toss them into a juicer and you will end up with a great green to add into your pasta batch.  This will slightly change the consistency of your pasta  so you may need to balance it with a bit more flour than usual.  All you need is about 2 TBSP of juice for either of these.  I did not get around to a nice carrot juice orange pasta but that is next for sure!