Make two meals out of one package but eat both of them yourself. This is written for those who live alone. You know those cheap noodle soup packages? The ones where you have to boil two cups of water? (I always put in an extra fourth of a cup because when the water finally comes to a boil, some of the two cups are gone!)
After the water comes to a boil, I open the package, being careful not to spill the little extra crumbs of noodles. I pick up the wad of noodle that looks like someone’s 1920’s permanent wave. You know, wavy and curly at the same time. And stiff, too. That is when I crack the wad into several pieces before I toss them into the pot. I do this now because I found out how loooonnnnnng the noodles are if I don’t and then they are too hard to eat so looooonnnngggg without smearing my chin and chest.
I rinse out my soup cup, the one my dear mother gave me for my birthday. The last thing I drank from it was hot cocoa with little marshmallows floating on top and getting all gooey from being microwaved. I also take out a nice medium-sized skillet and give it a little spray of non-stick stuff. (There are several choices in the grocery store.) I turn on the heat under the skillet, just medium high. In the meantime, I am timing the cooking noodles. Three minutes the directions say, but I never trust that. I test them.
I put my four-cup Pyrex pitcher into the sink and place a strainer on top of it so I can drain the noodles for making the second meal. (Read my first sentence again if you forgot. OK?) This way, I can catch the hot water that looks a little oily on top now. Even though I try not to eat too much fat, this amount looks fine to me. I lift off the strainer and dump the noodles into the skillet and spread them out. (If you want to be luxurious, you could melt a tablespoon of salted butter in the skillet first.)
I stir the contents of the flavor package into the Pyrexed hot water, stir it well, and pour it into my soup cup. This I sip in between making the second meal out of the noodles which are by now sizzling and getting crunchy. (This is also written for those frustrated people who go to Chinese restaurants to order pan fried noodles but still just get slippery spaghetti noodles masquerading as Chinese and fried.)
Now I take down the container of brown sugar which I keep on top of my refrigerator. (I like to keep it handy, if only to glance at it lovingly at times when I am trying to stay away from sweets.) I sprinkle lots of brown sugar all over the top of the noodles and let it melt down among the crevices of the crispy, crunchy noodles. (Sorry I have to say noodles so many times. What other word is there besides pasta?)
Next, I chop some walnuts, raw ones. You do not want to have more walnuts than noodles, so go easy there! Before I add the walnuts I use a spatula to turn over the noodles and hit them hard with the front edge of the spatula so as to break the noodles up into even shorter strands. When the walnuts hit the hot, sugary noodles, I stir things around some more and turn down the heat. That way I can go watch TV and finish sipping on my soup. No vegetables in there. Just hot liquid that feels so good going down. So, in about two or three more minutes I finish the soup and go see how the noodles are doing. I turn them over and my mouth waters. Sometimes I add just a little more sugar. The walnuts keep ending up around the edge of the pasta, so I keep tossing them back into the middle of the pan.
Aahhh. The dinner plate (even if it is lunch time) is cold. Yes, I do run the sink water until it gets hot, hot. Then, because I start feeling guilty about wasting water, I lower the stream to this side of a trickle. That is the best way to heat up my large dinner plate. It sits under the hot shower there until I am ready to dry it and serve myself the second and most delectable meal, which cost me hardly any money and becomes a combination of meal and dessert. I confess that I sometimes pick up the crispy chunks with my fingers and use a fork only now and then.
So, dear reader, even if you do not live alone, you can still make these two meals for your guest but just double it up. Use two packages. Crunch, crunch! I eat mine slowly, enjoying every bit. I know you will, too. And don’t keep this recipe to yourself. Share it. Share it and have soup parties and noodle parties. Yum!
