Cow Peas?

Tonight's fabulous dinner is focused on curried cow peas, called lobia. Cow peas are, as far as I can tell, a lot like other peas-that-are-more-like-beans, like black-eyed peas, but mine are a little smaller. Of course, it doesn't help that they come from the ghettoest can of food I've ever purchased, some company called Sohna, which I've never heard of and seems to have no information online. Regardless, it's good protein for a single can (52.5g) and is quite well spiced. It's not gourmet (it came from a freakin' can) but it gets the job done.

How come more things don't come curried in cans? It's not much more expensive, and it's super-duper delicious. A can of lentils, whatever, but a can of curried lentils, now we've got something we can work with.

Anyway, I made this with couscous, another life-saver in the office eating department. It cooks in like 2-3 minutes in the microwave, and for once you get the benefit of using the same stuff in your kitchen as in your office. In other words, you don't have to pay quadruple for a single serving that takes a third of the time to cook.

The unfortunate thing about couscous is that it's basically just bread. It's not rice, it's more like pasta, which is a bummer when you want rice. Apparently my logic is, I want rice, couscous is not rice, therefore couscous is not good enough. Still good, though. I really have to figure out how to make rice in my microwave, though, this is an important step in my development as a graduate student.

Anyway, for this dinner I threw in the rest of that veg-all can, which, with its little chunks of potatoes really compliment the rest of the meal nicely. I'd be a little sad if I got this at a restaurant, but it's pretty decent for an office dinner.

Can of Lobia: $1.50
Veg-all remainder: $0.67
Whole wheat couscous: $0.15

Total: $2.32

I think I may soak some chickpeas tonight for use tomorrow. Excitement grips me!

Annie's + Additives

So today I went the less adventurous route, and instead of trying how to make lentils in my microwave, I just made the basic Annie's. Of course, regular old Annie's is fine, but I need to spice to up to make it a miracle.

To get my protein up to "work out all the time" levels, I added my wonderful can of tuna, because I am fancy I added Veg-all canned mixed vegetables, and then because I am smart I added Sriracha. It's perfect for the office-kitchen for a few big reasons. For starters, it goes with pretty much everything. It turns mac and cheese from a boring every-day item to a creamy-spicy bastion of deliciousness. Delicious on beans, too! I haven't put it in a sandwich yet, but you just wait! Anyway, Sriracha is also really cheap and lasts forever. One bottle is a few bucks and you use so little each time, you're likely to lose the bottle before it's empty. You can also dispense with your minifridge, because it's got enough preservatives to survive the nuclear holocaust. Maybe if you eat enough, you will, too!

So let's do the tally.

Annie's Instant Mac: $0.50
Tuna: $0.85
Veg-all (1/3 can): $0.33
Sriracha: $0.01

Total: $1.69

42g Protein, 400 calories. Delicious.

Elbow Macaroni

So, what's the difference between "cooks in 9 minutes" Elbow Macaroni and "cooks in 3 minutes" Annie's instant macaroni? We're about to find out.

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Elbow Macaroni
1/2 Cup Water

So I'm going to put the ingredients in my trusty pyrex bowl and microwave uncovered for 3 minutes and see what happens.

--

OK, as it turns out, "cooks in 9 minutes" Elbow Macaroni is like, mega al dente after 3 minutes in the microwave. Who knew? I think maybe if one pre-soaks the macaroni, or uses less power in the microwave, things will be OK. Because my microwave has no functional display, it makes changing the power difficult. Right now, I'm going to keep adding minutes until the macaroni is soft enough to not make crunching sounds when I eat it. Mmmm.

--

One more minute was enough for there to be no more water, and it is no longer crunchy. Just really, really tough. Next time, I'm going to use 2/3 cup water. Microwave for 2, let sit for 1, and then microwave for 2, and maybe we'll be getting there.

Even so, it's edible, and super cheap!

1/2 cup elbow macaroni: $0.125
(1 can tuna: $0.85)
1 serving pasta sauce/1 serving Parmesan: $0.25

Total cost: $0.375 ($1.225)
Equivalent cost for Annie's: $0.50

So Annie's is slightly more expensive, but really pretty tasty. Mine, well, I think there was more of it because the pasta wasn't so thin that it could cook in 3 minutes, but it was never quite the right pasta feel. Even so, I now have an entire box of pasta with which to experiment, and I'm sure I'll stumble onto something delicious sooner or later.