Home-made Pasta, Easy as you like!

Seek It Out have kindly invited me to share more of my favourite recipes with you all so here I am again, writing from the Western Cape of South Africa with my latest craze: Home-made pasta.

My other half kindly bought me a pasta machine for Christmas last year, something I've wanted to try out for the longest time.

I spent some time looking up recipes and how to make but was totally put off by the time and difficulty in making the dough by hand. It wasn't until a good friend suggested that I use a food processor to mix the dough, that I really saw the potential fun in making my own because, lets face it... spending ages kneading dough wears down your enthusiasm a bit!

So here's my quick fix pasta dough recipe: (Makes enough for 2 but very easy to double up)

1 Cup Plain Flour
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Salt
Black pepper
A dash of Olive Oil
and don't forget your apron!!

Put everything into your food processor and whizz up until it's thoroughly combined.











Turn out onto a floured board and knead until you have a smooth dough, this shouldn't take long. The dough should be soft and pliable but not sticky. Just flour your hands and keep kneading until the texture is good.

Then you can run the dough int a few batches through your pasta machine if you have one, or alternatively roll out by hand. Either way is fine but do make sure you make nice thin sheets because the pasta does puff up on cooking.

I like to use a cookie cutter to make rounds which I fill with whatever happens to be in the fridge. You can really get creative here - I like to use leftover roasted sweet potato and butternut which I blend or mash and season. If you don't have a pasta machine, it is difficult and time consuming to make spaghetti  but this ravioli is really special and is really quite easy.


You can also freeze any spare ravioli on a tray then once they are solid you can turn them out into a tupperware ready to pop into boiling water for five minutes next time you need a quick meal.
I recommend making a smallish batch the first time you try so you're not daunted by making masses of pasta.





Try it out for yourself before making for a whole dinner party!
Enjoy playing with this wonderfully creative meal - top with pesto, avocado, olives, home-made sauce or whatever you can dream up!

SIO Tips no. 44: Sewing Machine Tips 3.

Needles, it is vital that you get the correct needle size for the job. Fine needles used on denim will snap; often inside the machine, so you risk damaging your machine or hurting yourself as you try to extract the broken needle from the work or machine. Needles specific to your machine and your work are very important and will mean you get great results from a sewing machine that will last you years.


SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time.

SIO Tips no. 43: Sewing Machine Tips 2.

Cheap cotton is just that, cheap! and so those lumps and bumps, however fine, have to work their way through your machine and can damage the machine over time. The cotton often snaps during work. Buy good quality thread and treat your machine with the respect it deserves. Use the right thread for the job, ask your haberdasher which is right for the fabric if unsure.

 SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time.

SIO Tips no. 42: Sewing Machine Tips 1.

When using a sewing machine ensure you follow the instructions to the letter on how to thread. A badly threaded machine, if it works, will strain the workings and damage the machine long term plus probably stitch your work with poor tension.


SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time.

Tricks for later

Seasons pass so fast and often we want to create something for a special occasion but we have nothing to go on. So why not start a seasons photo library. 
Every couple of weeks simply take a snap or two of things like a newly opened flower or snowy view, things that are special to that time of year. 
Download the photo's on to the computer give each a meaningful name starting with the date so you can sort should you wish. Then when in the snowy depths of winter you decide you want to make something to give later in the year, you can seasonalise it by referring to your photo record. 

You could even make your own wonderful cards from your pictures.

Easy to do, takes very little time and will hold 1000 memories.

SIO Tips no. 41

To get crayon off the wall, use standard toothpaste on a toothbrush and brush it. Check your wall surface is fast before trying this.                              
A damp lint free cloth, dipped in baking soda. Rub to get off. Like always check your surface for fastness first. Try in a hidden spot.

SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time.

Best In Show - Part Two

Hi Janie here again with another guest blog - thanks SIO for letting me revisit you. Business advice from someone who knows. 35 years of helping and running businesses means I've seen most mistakes and learnt so much.

Tips 6-10

They say first impressions count and they do, but also the last memory can be the one that sticks.

How many times have you been served in a shop or at a fair by someone who made you feel you were a burden to them, waited an internity while being ignored or listening to staffs idle gossip, or left feeling as though they were rushing you out?

Simple rules go a long way when serving a customer, be it business to business or business to consumer.


6. Unless a vital emergency never chat to a colleague while leaving a customer waiting.

7. If you use a queue system ensure it is plain and the ticket machine is placed in the most logical situation. Understand that sometime folks will not get the system, encourage them to get in line but do not make them feel embarrassed.

8. What view does your client get when coming into your shop? is it welcoming? is the entrance obvious? the direction they should take and where do they queue? A few polite notices go a very long way to making consumers feel happy.

9. When out in your normal daily life evaluate buying situations which make you feel uncomfortable, unwanted or under valued. What was it that made you feel that way, capture the thought and keep it, ensure your business does not replicate that issue.

10. Always ensure you say thank you and good bye even if you're already on to the next customer, the last impression is as important as the first.

Common sense is all it takes, when did you last look at your business through your clients eyes, it might be worth doing. 

SEEK IT OUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time
© babimu - Fotolia.com

SIO Tips no. 40

To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling!




SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time.

Best in Show - Part One

Hi Janie here again with another guest blog - thanks SIO for letting me revisit you. Business advice from someone who knows.  35 years of helping and running businesses means I've seen most mistakes and learnt so much.

Tips 1 -  5

They say first impressions count and they do, but also the last memory can be the one that sticks.

How many times have you been served in a shop or at a fair by someone who made you feel you were a burden to them,  waited an eternity while being ignored or listening to staffs idle gossip, or left feeling as though they were rushing you out?

Simple rules go a long way when serving a customer, be it business to business or business to consumer.


1. If busy make eye contact with the waiting client within 30 seconds or less. Note the order of the waiting clients to ensure you serve in turn.

2. Listen to what your are being asked, do not assume.

3. Manage expectations, if you do not know when something is back in stock be honest, offer to take a phone number and call them on arrival of the stock or suggest a realistic alternative. Never suggest something totally different, it insults the person.

4. Smile, it is free and makes people feel welcome and valued.

5. Manners, try saying please and thank you!

Common sense is all it takes, when did you last look at your business through your clients eyes, it might be worth doing. 

SEEK IT OUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time
© babimu - Fotolia.com

SIO Tips no. 39

Candle Wax removal - Many table cloths or carpets have been subject to a spill of candle wax but what do you do.

1. Work out what the fabric that has the wax on is, important as you're going to use heat and sometimes that might not be possible or you can only use a very low heat.
2. Scrape off as much as you can with a blunt knife, taking care not to damage the fabric.
3. Now using blotting paper (preferably) but failing that thicker unpatterned kitchen paper lay this on the area and then use a warm/hot iron on the paper.  This melts the wax and the wax will soak into the paper.  Change the paper often and do not leave the heat on for any time. Take your time, too much heat may damage the fabric below.

This should remove most of the wax from the clothes or carpet. However if the item is of valuable or on a high profile spot, then a specialist cleaner should be found.

Spring now you see it, now you don't.

Spring; has it sprung or not? The weather might have the birds confused and the snowdrops unsure whether to open or not but the lambs are arriving regardless. A tough year for farmers in the UK with damp unusable fields and huge feed bills.
Little lambs do not fare well in the cold rain, they are tough but rain is an enemy so many will have to stay in doors or close to the farm where space allows. 
Also this year there is a terrible disease hitting unborn lambs, and many will sadly be still born. Those out will have to try to keep warm, mum often making a soft warm bed as youngsters climb up and sit on her. 
The higher the farm land the later the lambs, those in the mountains often waiting til April to lamb and better weather. 
So, when you see a field of new born lambs be grateful, as this year it's not going to be a sight as common as normal.

SIO Tips no. 38

A stitch in time saves nine! The old ones are the best, well, so the comedians say.
Some of the simple pieces of advice from the past are some of the best. 

 Sewing: When making up a project it is quicker to pin and check, then even baste (long simple stitches - removed after seams sewn) your work so you can really see if you have it made up correctly before you finally machine stitch.  Unpicking fine machine stitching is soul destroying - avoid at all costs.

10 Tips for Best Practice on your Facebook page: Part 2

The next 5 tips in Catherine from Red Kite Communications sneak preview of her upcoming e-Book Facebook course, which will be launching in April 2013.  If you haven’t seen the first 5 best practice tips for Facebook, make sure to catch up on them too!

10 Tips for Best Practice on your Facebook page: Part 2

So, in the first 5 tips you learned to post no more than 3 statuses a day, to always respond and stay in the conversation, not to swear, not to do competitions, and to make sure you remove ugly links.  Here are the final 5 best practice tips to have you Facebooking like a pro!

6 Do not link your tweets to your Facebook page

Every message you put out on any social utility should be crafted. In other words, a message crafted for Twitter will not be the same as a message crafted for Facebook.

Twitter uses mechanisms such as @ and # as part of its user repertoire, which are meaningless on Facebook. So your tweet in reply to a potential customer on Twitter might read like this:

'Aw, thanks @Cupcake @ZooTooSocial! Yes, new #eco #fairtrade #sustainable banana yarn fibre avble now! #FF to U 2 and thx for the RT!'

Not pretty!

Also - if you are using Twitter well, you will be tweeting far too often in the day to link to Facebook because of Rule 1 – no more than 3 statuses a day.

7 But do ‘amplify’ your Facebook statuses on Twitter.

Each time you post a status on Facebook, craft a tweet to link to it.  Make sure your abridged version of the status fits into the 180 characters, and include a shortened link (sign up at https://bitly.com/ for a great way to make shortened links which you can also track.). 

Where to find the link?  Under each status you post on Facebook, you will see a date, or a day of the week.  Click on that – your post will be opened in its own web page – now copy the URL at the top of your browser, and use that link in your tweet.

8 Address complaints or negative remarks immediately, and publicly

Address complaints or grumbles right there in the thread – you may find you have turned the customer round by the end of the thread, which is a fantastic visual representation of real-world customer service.

Just dive right in, express horror that they’re unhappy and ask if you can deal with them via their email/messagebox/phone to put the matter right.

If someone posts something offensive that makes you uncomfortable, you may have to delete it. If you think they’re a genuine fan, perhaps Message them with a nicely crafted reply:

“Just wanted to say sorry I had to remove your comment – it had the f-word in and we delete those! But I totally agreed with your point, their cotton thread does snap often – we prefer Guterman, how about you?”

Need help? If you get one of these comments, and you don’t know how to proceed – come Like and then message me at www.facebook.com/redkitecommunications.com or @redkitesocial me in a tweet and I’ll help you frame the perfect response. 

9  Do your (not you’re) best to get spelling right! 

Please don’t wait a year to start your Facebook strategy because you’re worried about their or they’re or there, it’s or its.  We can’t all be good at everything, and your grammar is not what you’re selling. 

But, if you think this is a weakness of yours, you need to address it - come and learn the basics at my blog post on getting spellings and grammar right.

You’d be surprised how common these errors are - and if your fans are like me, they will wince when they spot them in your status just as others might at a swear word! 

If you are dyslexic or you just know it’s never going to be your strength, have a spellcheck person to help you – your husband, sister, best friend, mum. Plan and craft your messages, maybe 10 at a time – and send them to your proof-reading pal. It’s a faff, but you simply cannot look professional if your writing is riddled with errors!

10  Promote your Facebook page!

Go and check all your online ‘rooms’ – have you added your Facebook page link in the following:

a) On your blog? Add as a widget/plugin

b) Your website?

c) Your email signature?  Try www.wisestamp.com for a free signature setup.

And don’t stop there – what about a sticker for your car?  Is it on the footer of your invoices and proposals?  Business cards?  Flyers?  Compliment slips?  Stickers you add to your parcels? On a card you hand out at fairs? 

Promote your Facebook page everywhere you can.

And come and tell me about it!  Red Kite’s Facebook page is www.redkitecommunications.com/facebook.  Come and say hi – I’d love to meet you, take a look at your Facebook page, and help you with any worries you have.

* * *

Next up Catherine will be bringing you some good housekeeping practices to help you get a ‘vanity URL’ for your Facebook page, set up your About page and make a beautiful cover photo, amongst other hints and tips. 

See you then!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/redkitecommunications
Twitter: www.twitter.com/redkitesocial
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/redkitesocial
Website: www.redkitecommunications.com

SIO Tips no. 37

When ironing fabric which has been printed onto, always iron from the back or even better with a clean tea towel between the back of the fabric and the iron so not to smudge the ink.

10 Tips for Best Practice on your Facebook page: Part 1

We’re very excited to have a sneak preview of Red Kite Communications’ upcoming e-Book Facebook course, which will be launching in April 2013.  Our guest blogger, Catherine, has dug out some excerpts from her course – which goes on to give you loads more advice on how to get the best out of your Facebook page.  And she’s promised us a discount especially for you guys when it goes on sale.

10 Tips for Best Practice on your Facebook page: Part 1

Before you even start worrying about what to post, and how to create engaging content for your audience, you need to learn a few simple, but important rules – these will set you up with best practice techniques so you look professional before you’ve even posted a thing.  Get these right and you’re well on your way to a good-looking Facebook page.

1 Maximum 3 statuses a day

Research shows that too many status updates will irritate the people whose feeds you appear in. 

When should you post, then? Research shows between 1-4pm.  How about one early, after 9am, for Facebook users who wake up and check their feed, or do so on arriving at work, or having got the kids off to school.  Then one between 1-4pm.  And if you really need to, one at 5ish, or an evening one at 9pm for sofa-slugs.  But make that a fun one!

2 Always Respond

Try and ‘like’ at least one comment from each individual (don’t ‘like’ every single one or that looks a bit automated.) - you don’t need to respond to every single point, but stay in the conversation or those fans may not bother responding to you next time. 

Get to know them...social media is for being sociable, for engaging, for sharing, for chatting, for getting in on the conversation. 

3 No Swearing

I decided on a strict no swearing policy for Red Kite, and I adhere to it for my clients – do find your natural ‘voice’ but steer clear of swearing  I explore all the issues in a blog post on minding your language, so I’d love to know your thoughts over there.

But the key thing is this - your Facebook page should always be a reflection of your professional values. 

4 No competitions directly on Facebook

Seriously?!  Seriously. Facebook are pretty strict about you using your Facebook page to do promotions for your company.  Ultimately, if they think you are not abiding by their terms and conditions they can terminate your page.  The chances of that happening are slim – but why risk it?

Don’t worry – you can still talk about your competitions and promotions on Facebook – but host them and get people to enter elsewhere - your blog is the perfect place. 

You can read the full Ts & Cs here: Facebook Promotions Guidelines

5 Remove the link from your text before you post your status.

When you add a link to your Status box, and press return, Facebook will generate an image from that link for you to edit before you post.  Write your accompanying status if you want to add something, but delete the messy URL before you post. 

It doesn’t look good, so get rid of it!

Stay tuned for the next 5 tips next week, and why not come and tell me your Facebook page, at my Facebook page? I look forward to meeting you there

Facebook: www.facebook.com/redkitecommunications
Twitter: www.twitter.com/redkitesocial
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/redkitesocial
Website: www.redkitecommunications.com