Macaroni & Cheese & Peas and Jeff

Before I became infatuated with Martha Stewart and before I even knew the difference between tuna and tuna salad, I refused to spend money on food. The more I spent on food, the less I had to spend on clothes, music and beer. So I stuck with a very simple routine at the grocery. I bought milk, butter, generic boxed macaroni & cheese and frozen peas.

I worked at the bookstore down the street from my apartment and this meal was easily prepared during my lunch hour. I made the macaroni and cheese almost like the instructions on the box except I added frozen peas to the boiling water and I didn't add the butter until the very end. I liked to taste the butter and it seemed a lot easier if it had melted over the top. One remarkable characteristic of this kind of food is that I could leave any leftovers in the pot, uncovered, in the fridge and just reheat and get the same consistency for dinner.

One day, Jeff came over before we were going out and he said he was hungry. The only thing in the kitchen that was mine and not my roommate's was macaroni & cheese. I offered to cook that for him and when I was at the boiling point, I asked if it was okay if I added peas. He looked at me in shock. I did add the peas and Jeff seemed to like it. But I would never hear the end of it.

If Jeff called me and I was cooking, he would ask, "OH, Mac and Cheese and Peas?" Everytime. He still talks about it and it's going on 15 years. I actually have not made Macaroni & Cheese and Peas in awhile. I'm not sure why, but I do have this crazy habit of always keeping a family size bag of frozen peas in the freezer. Peas are so easily added to everything. This, too leaves myself open for ridicule. Everyone seems to notice that I add peas. It's a very versatile vegetable and if anything, it adds color to an otherwise boring dish.