Egg pasta with buffalo sausage and roasted vegetables. Candied oranges.

For the next few days we are doing a ten for $10 series. 10 recipes, service for 6 for $10. Also please check out how you can submit a guest post and be entered to win $20 of stuff from Oklahoma Food Coop (out of staters welcome too) in our submissions section! [Update: This contest has ended. Our winner choose to buy some great yarn from the Oklahoma Food Coop producer Shepherd's cross].

What could be more Oklahoman than a recipe featuring wavin’ wheat and buffalo summer sausage?

Egg pasta

 Every week when I get my package from my good friend it feels like I am opening a present from her family to mine. I know these chickens- my children go and feed them bugs out of their hands. These chickens are pretty pampered pompous bug-eatin', weed scratchin', farm trottin' helpers on my friend's farm. Each of these free-range eggs is an orb of goodness. The shells are so thick in a diverse palate of lovely pastels and the yolks a whole spectrum of bejewled oranges. All unique in size and some even slightly lopsized. Everyone competes to see who gets the green egg (it is really pale green) from the Easter egger ameraucana chickens (also, really it's name). After I wash them I love to hold them in my hand and run my fingers over their smoothness and marvel at their perfection, every time. They are also wonderfully inexpensive and great in oh so many things.        

Recently we decided to make our own pasta! This project is a delightful mess. We modified the recipe from the River Cottage Family Cookbook and had to add a substantial amount of water.

Pasta for 6:

• 3 1/4 c. all purpose flour $2.25
• 6 eggs $1.25
• water: enough to make it damp but not sticky.

Total: $3.50

One of my favorite things about making this recipe is the way that my three year old, who is very sensitive to being messy, has taken to the job of cracking the eggs. He's awesome at it and rarely drops shells in. That is food therapy. So great!

We used a pizza cutter to cut half of our dough into strips and then used a cutter that was (ahem!) from the bottom of the playdough toys to make the rest into tiny bite-sized stars. This pasta can be cooked immediately or stored in fridge for several days.

Here is what we topped the pasta with:

• 4 oz Buffalo summer sausage $3.67 (from Oklahoma Food Coop)
• 1 medium zucchini $0.38
• 1 medium squash $0.38
• 4 Tbsp olive oil $0.15
• black pepper
• 2Tbsp Fresh basil (free from my garden) $0.15
• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary (free from my garden) $0.15

Total: $4.88

Roast the zucchini, squash and olive oil in 3 Tbsp of olive oil in 375 degree oven for 20 min. At the same time it is cooking saute the summer sausage and spices. Set aside. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook pasta for 3-4 minutes. Mix all to serve.


Candied orange peels (prepare in advance)

Just one mom.

• Peels from 1.5 lbs of oranges (Not local) $0.16 (Since we are just using the peels I'm figuring the oranges can be used for something else and am using only twenty five percent of cost. These are not local but I got them from a great bulk distributor Azure standard who use alternative fueled vehicles and are working hard to make their company zero waste.)

• 0.75 cups of sugar $1.20
• Juice from 2 oranges $0.66 cents

Total: $1.88
Unlike most candied fruits that will put you in a diabetic coma, this one is just sweet enough.

Use the freshest most ripe organic oranges. Blanch the peels three times and drain water. This helps them not be bitter.
Cook in  the syrup on simmer for about 30 min. Watch closely because at the end the sugar can burn quickly. (Ask me how I know this...) Remove pieces and let dry on a rack for about 5 hours.

Menu total: $10.40
$1.73/ person!