[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: [pct-l] Corn pasta

What a great post!  You actually did the experiment, reported back with
enough detail for others to understand, and provided suggestions for
improvement.  

A few comments and questions:

What altitude were you at for the experimental meal? And what was Ray's
recommended cooking time? These could be related.

Ray may have used less water due to having a small pot (weight
consideration) or little water (filtering time/energy consideration) -
though, for myself, if I'm boiling the water on the trail (and it's not too
full of yucky-looking stuff), I don't filter).

Spicy sauces are part of my religion, too.  :)

Karen

>After all the bad mouth about corn pasta, I had to try some.  Here is a
>long analysis.
>
>Background:  I am a restaurant critic and a passing amateur cook.  I sure
>do like to eat and am willing to write about it.  I write a restaurant
>newsletter.
>
>My religion:  I like tasty food, spicy is better.  I don't like pasta,
>eggplant or tripe if they have no sauce on them.  They have some texture
>(except the eggplant) but little flavor, I don't like boring food.
>
>What I did:   Bought a pound of corn spaghetti, cooked 1/4 #, ate same.  
>
>How it came out:  The Jardine recipe is short on water.  For 4 oz.
>spaghetti he says 9 oz. water, I used 14 oz. and it was just about perfect.
>  Cooked correctly, all the water is absorbed and the pasta is tender but
>firm.   The time is also way off.  Boil for 5-10 minutes, stirring twice,
>THEN let it sit for another 5-10 minutes.  NOTE:  Cooked correctly, my
>pasta was gluey and clumpy.  This refers to how it LOOKED, not the texture
>or mouth-feel or flavor.  
>
>The cooked result was mega-bland, just like any other pasta or eggplant or
>tripe would be.  I couldn't have eaten it that way, TOO BORING.  I then
>tried it with some chipotles and tomato sauce and with some Thai red curry
>sauce.   OUTSTANDING.  As with any other food of this type, the sauce is
>everything.  It was great eats.  So for all those folks who left some in
>bear boxes, the problem wasn't in the pasta, it was in the sauce.
>
>What to do:  Try sauces from the market.  I went down to the local super
>tonight and found close to fifty sauces (dry packets).  Ignore the cooking
>directions, stir the powder in with the pasta before letting the pasta sit.
> Make some great homemade sauce and dry it.  Adventure time!
>
>Please go buy some pasta and tell me if you like it as well as I did.  And
>use some great sauce with it!    
>--
>Dave Gomberg	gomberg@wcf.com
>FormMaestro  <http://www.wcf.com>
>Stop SPAM!  <http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~cbrown/BL/>
>Join CAUCE  <http://www.cauce.org>

Karen Elder
bluesky@Rt66.com
P.O. Box 20093
Albuquerque, New Mexico
87154 USA

* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List | For info http://www.hack.net/lists *

==============================================================================