Road Pasta

Before I set out on one of the first journeys in my VW bus at the age of 19, my mother and grandmother (who were always so supportive of my crazy endeavours) put together a box of supplies for me to take along. The box contained mostly dry goods many of which were cans of tomato soup and boxes of macaroni and cheese.

The macaroni and cheese stayed in the box for a good while because it was rare that I had the recommended milk and butter to make it with. However, one afternoon I tried a little cooking experiment and it turned out a lot better than I thought it would.

In a pot I boiled the pasta as usual until cooked.

Then I drained the water and dumped a full can of tomato soup onto the pasta and cooked until hot.

Then I added the cheese packet and continued to cook until some of the moisture left the soup and it began to thicken.

There you have it. A little something I began to call "road pasta". It's cheap and simple plus requires no refrigeration. There are many variations to the basic preparation. Being a little more health conscious now I make it with Annie's Organic Mac and Cheese and a good all-natural tomato soup. You could use pasta sauce instead of tomato soup. Different things can be added like hot dogs, veggies, the days catch etc.

It's a little something that reminds me that sometimes the simplest meal can taste amazing when it's eaten in the freedom of the great wide open.