Mac and Cheese Ramen Noodles

Ramen noodles. The college student's treat. The staple of the thrifty. The ultimate convenience food.
So here's another ramen noodle recipe: Mac & cheese. Here's what I do: I put my ramen noodles into a bowl; add about 5 ounces of water (just a little more than a half cup); cook in the microwave (on high) for 2-1/2 minutes; place a slice of american cheese on top of the noodles; cook for another 20 sec. The result: nice hot ramen and cheese. For a variation, you could add half the package of beef flavor noodles to the water before you cook the noodles. This gives a cheese steak sort of flavor to the mix. OK, I might be exaggerating a little. But it is good.

Staking Tomatoes

Following in the tradition of my father and grandfather, I grow a garden every summer. It is not as large as what my they have had, but it serves us with fresh veggies every year. One thing that is a must is tomatoes. Now if you talk to die-hard gardeners, there are a number of ways to keep the tomatoes off the ground. At first, I used a wooden stake, and tied the tomatoes up to it every time it grew a foot or so. I use old rags, reusing cast-offs so as to be environmentally sensitive. But, I found this was a lot of work and still produces a waste stream each year. Tomato cages, those wire structures, are usually not tall enough. Most tomatoes will grow at least twice as tall as most cages. What to do...
So I looked at the tomato plant again. Quick lesson in tomatoes: there are two basic forms of tomato plant - determinate and indeterminate. determinate plants grow slowly and stay small an more bush-like. THese are often used in containers and are sometimes called patio varieties. Indeterminate tomatoes are, let's face it, vines. Now, I thought, what do you usually do with vines? You put them on a fence. So that's what I did.
I put up a fence using metal posts and wire mesh - usually with an opening of about 2 by 3 or 2 by 4 inches . As the plants grow, I snake them through to the other side of the fence, about every 8-12 inches or so. I use no consumables, and there is plenty of room to spread out the side shoots. Problem solved.
How do you stake your tomatoes?

Ramen Noodle Remix

So here's an inexpensive idea for a light lunch: I take Ramen noodles, pour a little more than half a can (11.5 oz can) of V-8 Juice over it, and cook. I don't add water. The noodles are made with just the juice: the watery part of the juice hydrates the noodles, and the tomatoey part is left behind as a sauce. Try it! It's an easy way to get noodles with tomato sauce. I use V-8, but you could also use tomao juice.

Twinkies Roasted Over a Campfire

OK. A post about ideas on an idea blog is not very fresh. So here's a real idea.

A couple of years ago, I discovered that Twinkies* roasted over a campfire are really, really good! You just put them on a stick like you would a hotdog or marshmallow and roast until brown (not burned). The outside is crunchy and sweet - the sugar caramelizes, and the creme filling melts and oozes into the cake. If you have a sweet tooth, give this a try.

* Hostess Twinkie is a Trademark of Interstate Bakeries Corporation