Indian Ramen

Ramen is probably the cheapest way to find calories, period. The problem with Ramen is that the local American brands seem to focus on Asian flavors, which frankly, I am really not a fan of. "Mushroom Chicken" flavoring? Yikes. Fortunately, there are alternatives, namely Indian ramen, which comes with these little joyous spice packets that pack a pretty good punch. I haven't tried many flavors, but the Curry Smoodles and Maggi Masala Noodles are both spectacular.

A four-pack of imported Indian noodles will vary in cost at your local import store, at Kashmir in Coolidge Corner, I think it's about $1-$1.50. It's well worth the extra change, as your noodles are spicy and wonderful. My present meal consists of one noodle serving, a can of tuna and half of a can of peas.

The only trick to making ramen in the microwave is to make sure you don't add too much water. I hate when my noodles are too soupy, and am a much bigger fan of just regular old noodles. So I use only about 1/2 cup of water for one noodle block, and that leaves only a little bit of watter at the bottom. Make sure you microwave your ramen and water together, and don't try and boil water in your microwave first. If you put water and nothing else into your microwave, you risk superheating your water, which is really pretty cool, but not the sort of thing you want to get up close and personal with.

Let's round it up!

Noodles: $0.35
Tuna: $0.85
Peas: $0.33

Total: $1.53

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.