This post originally appeared in my newsletter, The Sophisticate.

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Something to Try

Few things are as satisfying as working hard to create a laborious homemade meal from scratch and having it turn out to be delicious and worth all the effort. Handmade pasta is certainly that – it’s time-intensive and some might even say tedious. But if you enjoy a challenge or are looking for a new hobby, I encourage you to give it a try. 

There are countless resources to teach you how and tools to expedite the process, but I’m going to share three of the most simple, straightforward methods so you can get started even if you don’t have experience or special pasta equipment. 

My favorite homemade pasta resource is Emilie from Burnt Butter Table. She’s from New Zealand, not Italy, but I actually think this can make for a helpful teacher for those of us without Italian culinary tradition in our blood. I’m sharing her recipes for orecchiette, gnocchi sardi, and pici. Check out her website for sauce ideas to pair with your homemade pasta!

Note: you will need a kitchen scale to successfully make these recipes, but it’s worth the purchase if you don’t already have one!

Orecchiette 

Orecchiette means “little ears”, and you can see why from the picture above. The shape catches onto sauces of all kinds and is easy to hand roll once you get the hang of it. This one is perfect to make on a girls’ night or when cooking with family because each person only needs a knife to participate. 

You’ll need:

• Semola flour (super fine semolina flour)
• Water
• A kitchen scale
• A flat knife
• A cutting board
• A sheet pan

Full recipe can be found here. 

Gnocchi Sardi

Not to be confused with potato gnocchi, gnocchi sardi is made from a semola flour and water dough just like the orecchiette. The little pieces of dough are rolled against a gnocchi board or a box grater if you don’t have one to create a ribbed texture on the chewy bites of pasta. Pretty much any sauce will work with this shape!

You’ll need:

• Semola flour (super fine semolina flour)
• Water
• A kitchen scale
• A bench scraper
• A box grater (or a gnocchi board if you’re feeling fancy)
• A sheet pan

Full recipe can be found here. 

Pici

Pici is a rustic Tuscan pasta that has a chewy texture unlike any other. It’s made with just flour, water and olive oil, no eggs. It looks like thick spaghetti and can be served with lots of different sauces, especially cacio e pepe. Each strand is rolled by hand, but it’s a satisfying process and totally worth the effort. 

You’ll need:

• Tipo 00 or all purpose flour
• Water
• Olive oil
• Coarse semolina for rolling (not semola flour)
• A kitchen scale
• A rolling pin
• A cutting board
• A sheet pan

Full recipe can be found here.

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Something to Know

If you’re looking to add more ritual to your daily life, tea is the perfect way to do this. It’s always been associated with tradition and beauty from the pretty porcelain cups to the little treats it’s typically served with. 

My recent favorite is hibiscus tea, which is not so much a tea as an infusion, but I like to treat it as though I’m have a traditional tea time. I started drinking hibiscus tea regularly during postpartum as it’s thought to support healthy blood pressure (I had some complications towards the end of my pregnancy). 

What started as a health decision has turned into one of my favorite daily habits, especially when I started to see some of the beauty benefits! Truly, within a week or so of drinking it regularly I noticed clearer, glowier, more healthy-looking skin.

Hibiscus tea has a bright, tart, fruity flavor. I typically drink it hot but it’s also delicious over ice. I’m sharing a few of the purported benefits of drinking it regularly, but please note that this is not medical advice and you should always consult your doctor before starting a new habit that may impact your health. 

Benefits of Hibiscus Tea

• Contains high levels of antioxidants, including vitamin C and anthocyanins
• May help lower blood pressure, which is crucial for reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke
• Some studies suggest that hibiscus can help improve cholesterol profiles
• The anti-inflammatory properties may help alleviate conditions related to inflammation
• The vitamin C content can help boost the immune system
• The antioxidants help combat free radicals, which can cause skin damage and accelerate aging
• Vitamin C is essential for collagen synthesis, which helps maintain skin elasticity and firmness

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Three Good Things

First and foremost, The Sophisticate is not in the business of trying to sell you things you don’t want or need. This section is meant to share three things that have improved my life, and a little bit about why you might like them too. 

These will occasionally contain affiliate links. If you click one and ultimately decide to make a purchase, I may earn a small commission of roughly 5-10%. If you want to shop using my links, great! Easy for you, teeny tiny paycheck for me. 

However, it’s very important to me that you trust that I’m not just pushing links to make money, so if you’d rather purchase outside of my affiliate link, I completely get it! To do so, just be sure to shop from an incognito browser and type the product name into search rather than copy and paste my link. 

That said, I hope you’ll find that some of these recommendations may be the solution to a problem you’ve been having, or are simply a fun little luxury to add to your daily life.

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Recipe of the Day

If you want to be known for your baking skills, I suggest adding a good pastry cream to your repertoire. It’s rich, creamy, and versatile and it will take your baking from average to incredible. Use it as a filling for choux pastry to make cream puffs or eclairs, in a tart shell topped with fresh berries, or as a filling between cake layers or inside of cupcakes. Once you master this recipe, there are endless ways to use it to add richness and fresh vanilla to your baked goods. I find the recipe from Preppy Kitchen to be most fail-proof!

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Tasteful Living, As Told by You

One of the things that inspired me to create The Sophisticate was reading what other women online had to say about taste, style, and living well. This section is dedicated to tips and advice submitted by you, The Sophisticate subscribers! 

Send us a message on Instagram @sophisticate.newsletter to share your favorite little luxuries, healthy habits, or other tasteful tips with us and we may include you in a future newsletter.

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