noodle time

I had such big plans when we came here. Finally, a lot of us would be in one place, with no other pressing obligations. What better time to teach some people how to make Gram's noodles? So I packed the stand mixer, and the rolling pin, and the noodle rack, and the noodle cutter ... and the universe laughed at me. Because of course it was right when we were getting ready to start making noodles that we realized that Dollywood closed in three hours, so if a group was going to go, they had to get going. And of course it turned out that another group was still out hiking up the side of a mountain, and another group was still out hiking up the side of a completely different mountain. Of course.

But we still had to eat, and we had all the ingredients, so I set to work making noodles. And then I realized that the crank for the noodle cutter was missing, presumed back in Indiana. Whooooops. Luckily, Laura found a screwdriver in her car and MacGuyvered that sucker right up. So those of us who weren't out having a blast at Dollywood (Liam rode ALL the roller coasters several times and couldn't stop talking about it, and Henry had a great time doing some kind of lumberjack lift ride with his Great-Uncle Kent) or communing with nature banded together for some turbo noodle assembly. Elly was my assistant, and she helped me mix up, roll out, and prepare the dough, which we then passed off to Mike, Laura, and Brady for cutting and hanging. (The screwdriver crank method, while effective, was kind of hard on the hands so they had to switch off.) And in less than an hour, we had noodles! Amazing how something that takes me a full afternoon at home only took minutes when I had people working with me to help.

And just as we got the chicken cooked and the noodles in the broth, all the groups came filing in. My brother made mashed potatoes, and Bethany made some chicken breasts and stuffed mushrooms appetizers. I think there were plans for a salad, but you know how that goes. Max shuffled in, exhausted from his hike, but then heard how much fun we had at the aquarium that morning and was very jealous. Luckily, Dylan and Cole also really wanted to go, so the three of them used up our remaining passes after dinner and had a blast.

So in the end, nobody learned how to make noodles, but everybody got to eat them, so I suppose it all worked out. I'm still planning a noodle clinic at my house sometime soon, though!

P.S. Check out Henry and Kent having fun at Dollywood!