Pasta is EVEN EASIER because the dough isn't as heavy, initially, but it's very, very, elastic, so it IS tough to get good noodles/what have you without a machine -- the kind you clamp to the table and turn with a hand-crank. *cough* And it's REALLY COOL because you start with this crater of flour and crack an egg into it right there on the board.

I made cookies from scratch for a party once. The friend I was going with stood on the other side of the kitchen barrier (it was a tiny kitchen) saying things like, "Those granule-things really turn into COOKIES?" and "Why do you put salt in something sweet?" - the answer to that one gave her the answer to why her grandmother insisted she salt pasta water, which she'd been doing for years on granny's say-so without ever understanding.

We're definitely losing cooking skills at an alarming rate.