Plain ol' tuna fish, but better

A (mostly) typical American lunch, yet somehow better because of colorful containers. It's like magic!

Also, Sal's class has begun the candies section again, so I have a small container of sweet treats: mango gelees, chocolate caramels, and dried cherry-pistachio nougat. I LOVE HAVING A CHEF FOR A HUSBAND.

clockwise from right:

• a strawberry cut in slices to make it fit and a supremed orange, which is basically cutting away all the pith and membrane and everything, so all you have is the juicy citrus goodness -- Sal  does this for me from time to time when I ask very, very nicely
• two halves of a tuna sandwich (tuna, mayo, sweet relish on 9-grain bread), with red leaf lettuce for the sandwich, two celery sticks to fill the gap between and little carrot shapes for garnish (the cut off ends of the carrots from the other container)
• the ultimate Broke Food*, macaroni and tomato juice...yes, you read that right
• rainbow carrot sticks and dark chocolate covered raisins in the small container
• chocolate Pocky and my salt container (originally stowed in the silverware section), and ice cold water in the drink bottle

*Broke Food is the cheapest possible meal you can make, usually with a minimum of (extremely cheap) ingredients. Ramen and macaroni cheese are the most common, of course, but I'm sure we all have Broke Foods from our college days or whatever.

But it's also one of my comfort foods (hence its appearance in this lunch), probably because it requires no effort whatsoever and is always yummy. I know it sounds gross and doesn't look appetizing, but I promise you it is.

What you'll need:

• macaroni -- salad macaroni (shown) is preferable, with small shell macaroni being a good second choice; elbow macaroni is also acceptable, though not my preference
• tomato juice
• small bit of butter
• salt

Boil the pasta, drain, then dump back in the pot. Stir in some butter. Pour in tomato juice and heat just long enough to bring the whole thing back up to a nice, hot temp. Add salt to taste.

The tomato sauce consistency changes once it's been heated and cooled and reheated, but it's still good as leftovers (and can be rejuvenated with more tomato juice, if you'd like). It can also be added to a soup or stew if you're trying to get rid of the leftovers, or made into goulash by adding hamburger and onion.