Make paper dolls and pasta; give your cats a little shock

By MARTHA STEWART
Special to The State

QUESTION: I have two cats who love to play on our dining-room table. I have tried everything to keep them off. Do you have any suggestions?

ANSWER: If there's a piece of furniture we'd rather not see our pets on, they will invariably make it their favorite place. While you could keep a close eye on your pets and correct the behavior each time it occurs, that approach requires a good deal of vigilance.

Pet expert Marc Morrone has a simpler trick to help break your pet of the habit: Use a Scat Mat, which is available in many pet stores and from http://www.contech-inc.com/. Scat Mats are small plastic mats that come in shapes such as strips for windowsills, semicircles for garbage cans, and rectangles for areas like your table or a couch. The mats contain a small electrical grid. When your pet steps on one of the mats, it delivers an unpleasant but perfectly safe static-electricity-like effect, and the pet moves right off.

Each time your cats jump on the table, they will most likely do it from the same position and aim for the same spot, so you can simply leave the mat at a fixed point. After your pets have a few run-ins with the mat, they will develop an aversion to the table. After a while, you'll be able to leave the mat unplugged (the association with it will still modify your pets' behavior). Eventually, you'll be able to remove it altogether.

QUESTION: How do you make a chain of paper dolls?

ANSWER: With nothing more than scissors, paper and a little imagination, you can make intricate paper dolls to use as decorations for events such as a bridal shower or birthday party. And, of course, making more basic paper dolls is an ideal project for children.

Start by choosing a design for a figure; it can be detailed or simple, drawn freehand or traced from a picture. Trace it onto a piece of heavy paper to use as a template, and cut it out.

Cut a long strip of paper. (Wrapping paper is great to use because of its length and the pretty patterns it comes in.) Accordion-fold it into layers, making sure that each panel is just wide enough to accommodate your design. Trace the template onto the topmost panel of your "accordion," making sure that the right and left sides of the design - such as the figure's hands - touch the right and left sides of the panel.

Staple the paper layers together outside the figure's outline so the paper won't slip around. Cut out the figure through all the layers, being sure not to cut through the points on either side where the figures are joined together. Unfold the paper.

QUESTION: What is the best way to dry and store fresh pasta, and how long will it keep?

ANSWER: The dried pasta we buy in grocery stores has ease and convenience going for it, but it can't quite capture the subtle flavor of homemade pasta. Many people see making fresh pasta as a daunting task, but it's far simpler than it appears -- and the taste is more than worth the effort.

To store homemade pasta, you'll need to let it dry thoroughly: After the pasta is cut, hang the strands over a pasta-drying rack, a clean laundry rack or the back of a chair covered with a kitchen towel. Or curl a few strands at a time into loose nests. Allow the pasta to dry for several hours until all the moisture is gone. If you package the pasta while still moist, it will mildew and become inedible.

Once the pasta has dried, place it into a box, tin or large jar and keep it in a dry cupboard for up to three weeks.

For those who haven't made fresh pasta, here's the basic recipe.

For 1 pound of pasta, you'll need 2 cups of flour (plus a little extra for the work surface to keep the dough from sticking) and four large eggs. Mound the flour directly on your work surface and make a well in the center. Crack the eggs into the well and beat them with a fork. After they're smooth, continue beating, but start to work the flour into the eggs. When the flour is completely incorporated, use your hands to knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic.

Cover the dough with an overturned bowl or plastic wrap, and let it rest for about 90 minutes. Divide the dough into quarters and roll out each piece with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface (or use a pasta machine) until it's nearly translucent. Use a sharp knife (or the machine) to cut the dough into strips, then dry as described above, or cook.

Remember that homemade pasta, dried or not, should be cooked for much less time than commercially prepared brands. Start testing the pasta after just a minute or two in the boiling water to see if it's al dente.