Tuesday, December 15, 2009

In Praise Of The Noodle

My 8th graders were finishing up their final assessments on the health and nutrition unit we've been working on. It was grueling because we've only been covering this material for two months. I did the assessments with them as a group and made accommodations for their various reading and writing issues. Frankly, I can't believe I had the nerve to subject them to such horrors. One of the things they needed to do was come up with a five day meal plan including healthy foods in every menu.

In the course of any nutrition unit, the subject of Ramen Noodles is going to come up. How could it not? What discussion about the importance of good food choices isn't going to include the famous noodle? Ramen Noodles are the perfect food. They are noodly and, as such, fit into the food pyramid. I'm not exactly sure where the seasoning packet falls on the spectrum so I just left that out of the lesson plan.

I was craving Ramen Noodles tonight. Why? I guess that's just one of those mysteries we'll never solve. The label on my seasoning packed said, "chicken" so I think I can now safely say that those brown crystals are a protein. My students will be thrilled to have that piece of information.

I'll probably leave out the stories from my college days where a hot pot full of steaming noodles was the perfect cure after a night of...um...studying.

I guess my obsession with getting me some .25 cent noodles was what put me off the knitting. I put the fingerless mitts I need to have for Saturday in my bag so I could work on them during the day today. But I forgot all about them until I reached into my purse for my debit card at the noodle store. Then I remembered, but it was too late because I had to go home and cook Ramen Noodles. It is complicated getting the water/noodle/seasoning ratio just right and you can't be fiddling with needles.

Next you have to eat the noodles. Then you have to savor the aftertaste. And you can't forget the part where you need to scrape out the pot because noodle scum turns to cement after thirty seconds. Ramen Noodles make for a busy evening.

Perhaps I'll have some time later tonight to do a little knitting. At the moment, I'm still digesting the lump of noodle sitting in my gut and that's making things difficult. The mitts are still in my purse and that's waaaay over in the other room. I can't quite get there until the noodle situation resolves itself. Soon, though. Any minute. I can feel it. The burning urge to get up and go retrieve that knitting is almost upon me!

Or maybe that's a nugget of unmixed seasoning dissolving into my stomach lining...

SA


11 comments:

sheep#100 said...

I can't remember the last time I had a brick of ramen noodles. No, really, I can't. Probably not ever since I discovered that Oodles of Noodles are ostensibly packed 2 servings per package and about 200 calories and 8 grams of fat per serving... Sad, really.

livnletlrn said...

Best use of Ramen noodles evah:

http://www.recipezaar.com/Napa-Cabbage-Salad-With-a-Crunch-242043

My entire family loves this.

Karen said...

Ramen is a treat for my kids. They love it but the sodium level scares me so they only have it rarely.

Jeanne said...

Love Ramen. Especially Creamy Chicken Flavor.

Anonymous said...

We too are big fans of the ramen noodles, even though their nutritional content consists entirely of highly refined carb and a whole lot of sodium. Tasty, though...

Kath said...

There's a product at the store here that is a kind of Ramen but it comes with it's own cooking container, a sort of rectangular plastic bowl and you can microwave the whole thing. I love it more than is reasonable.

Anonymous said...

I've never liked Ramen noodles; I've tried, but just can't do it. I feel like there's something wrong with me.

Beth said...

One of the most important things I learned in college was to not leave a hot pot of Ramen noodles sit for a few days. Weird things grow on them. And then when your alarm goes off in the morning and you think you're being attacked and you stumble out of bed and land on the pot...well, it's not pretty.

Donna Lee said...

I lump them in the same catagory as boxed mac and cheese. Very tasty but horrible for you. I love ramen noodles but try not to keep them in the house-they're too easy to fall back on when I don't feel like cooking (and that happens way too often)

Cursing Mama said...

We sometimes call Gameboy "Midnight Ramen" not hard to figure out where that name comes from. I've climbed the Ramen snob ladder and now prefer a version that is more expensive, comes in its own paper bowl and has 3 packets of stuff to dump in.

April said...

I *love* Ramen noodles. I buy the gourmet kind though that cost $1.00 a package. The brand name is Ichiban but I call them Ichibum because I am 12.