Man Cannot Live By Bread Alone

This post was supposed to have appeared on Monday but, in its infinite wisdom, Blogspot chose not to display it. Therefore you get a fun little Thursday evening post. You're welcome.

While I was playing lots of video games on sabbatical I had to find a suitable yet quick meal to prepare for myself and Future Mrs. Attack Resistance. Her mother had recently purchased a box of Thai Kitchen Original Pad Thai Stir-Fry Rice Noodles With Sauce. It should be noted that ordinarily we avoid these boxed meals and instead opt for food that is as unprocessed as possible, but this was there and I hadn't been to the store in a while so I opted for the easy way out. Was it good? Was it bad? Did we violate anyone's closely held personal values? Read on to find out!

First of all it was neither good nor bad. It was, very simply put, mediocre. The noodles were what you would expect from a packaged box of rice noodles, but the seasoning packet held some okay flavor (despite having 3 days worth of salt). I threw in some fake chicken, being as how the lady is a vegetarian and a few of those really thin pea things you find in the produce section (snap peas?). After the requisite boil time I drained the noodles, rinsed the noodles and repeated as necessary (Note to Self: that's only for shampoo). I tossed the peas and chicken in with the noodles and spice packet and served it on a plate with a drizzle of the included sauce.

The meal was okay, overall. The (faux) chicken actually paired well with prepackaged rice noodles, the snap peas gave it a somewhat Asian flair if you only count Asian food that is cooked in a mall food court. As we stood up from the table we both said, "That wasn't bad. It wasn't great, but definitely a good meal for the 10 minutes it took to make." I did some dishes, kissed the lady goodnight and went to bed.

The next day, on a whim, I dug the box out of the recycle bin and read through the ingredients.

Rice Noodles: Rice noodles. Duh.

Spice Pack: salt, garlic, dried ginger, natural flavors. Nothing out of the ordinary so far.

Sauce Packet: Soy Sauce, Sugar, Natural Flavors (wait for it...), CONTAINS ANCHOVIES!!!

Uh Oh.

Ever feed a devout vegetarian some meat on accident. Not cool. Not cool at all. The look she gave me peeled paint off of our walls. This will shock some of you that have been in my home because you know that our walls are panelled.

The end result is that while the food was okay for the 10 minute investment I put into it I should have read the ingredient list BEFORE I violated one of the principles of Future Mrs. Attack Resistance's life. Oops. The moral of this story is that lies of omission can actually be helpful. Remember that fellas. I'll never steer you wrong.