In the middle of a movie, I decided that I wanted a snack. Rather than turn to greasy popcorn, I opted to make something a little healthier. I had some leftover bowtie noodles from kasha varnishkas that I made a few weeks earlier. Something about bowtie noodles just makes me feel so silly eating them. I guess that lends a sort of imaginary lightness to this pasta snack food. After boiling the noodles, I mixed in the tiniest pat of butter, just to keep them from sticking together too much. I found a suitable bowl, and in the center placed a small dish which I filled with soba sauce. (When in doubt, soba sauce is probably your best bet. The sweetness pairs with almost everything. If you’ve ever seen people beg for tempura sauce at restaurants, then you know what I’m talking about.) Keeping the sauce dish in the bowl removes the chance of making a mess while dipping. This is especially important when practicing the fine art of dining on your couch.
The noodles didn’t take that long to cook, and the soba sauce is just store-bought. The combination of the room temperature sauce with the warm noodles was very satisfying.
My sacred task completed, I returned to watch the remainder of my movie.
To quote the slogan of a highly successful creative venture, “We do what we must because we can.” The name of the soup sounds more like the title of a beer from the good people at Magic Hat Brewing Company, but the taste is more like a very fishy vegetable soup. Once again, necessity is the mother of deliciousness.
I have a confession to make: I am obsessed with stuffing foods into other foods. My favorite tool for creative cooking has become my flavor injector (more on that some other time). This sandwich was an easy and fun little lunch. The filling is spinach, scallion, cucumber skin, and black pepper. After making that part, I took a roll and proceeded to gut it with a grapefruit spoon.
Tasty, and convenient to eat in the car, which was my next stop. Where a normal sandwich might come apart, the Pipe Bomb stays together. I was trying to keep it vegetarian, but I can see the addition of grilled chicken being a great idea.
One of the things I like to do in the kitchen is test new food ideas. Though it had never occurred to me before to describe my forays in detail, the internet has created an environment where the rule of the land is “The world revolves around you.” That’s me! So here’s a classic soup cobbled together one night. The essential elements are the despair and loneliness felt after returning home to your one-bedroom apartment after a 14 hour day at school and finding nobody there but yourself.



