It is roughly defined as a strip of dough, made from a starch, like wheat or rice, then dried or cooked in boiling water: the humble noodle.
These strips of dough can be wide, fat, thin, round, square or triangular. If your taste palette was defined by the dining rules of Eleanor Roosevelt and similar doyens of domesticity, the only known noodle was the spaghetti noodle. It was eaten with fork and spoon. Twirl the noodle onto the fork using the spoon to shape the mass into a bite-sized ball. Place it in your mouth and chew, then swallow.
Polite society has silly rules.
One does not slurp noodles. Ramen noodles and their eating methods have emerged as a luscious alternative to the pompous, staid and supposedly polite consumption of spaghetti. Simple, quick, and perfect for starving students, hungry athletes and the desk diners of this world, these noodles are served in a cup. With soup or broth they fill, satisfy and energize.
The County needs a potato noodle.
People recognize noodles. Potato farmers need an additional revenue stream. This area of the state of Maine, the United States of America and our friends in western New Brunswick would benefit. The food development labs at our local processing companies are ready.
Let’s make oodles of noodles and show off our spud power. The new noodle would cook fast and be delicious, and could be very flexible in the range of cuisines it could support.
Now such a delight would need a name, a catchy one that would inspire the background dwellers of every workplace to dream of heroics greater than a can of spinach.
A good name might be Canoodle: Canadian-American noodles. Just think of the memorability of advertisements: “Have you Canoodled today?” “Canoodling noodles, a dinner delight.” Or, “Lights out for boring meals. Say hello to the Canoodling noodle!”
This could be spud stringing at its finest. It is called using your noodle.
Orpheus Allison is a photojournalist living in The County who graduated from UMPI and earned a master of liberal arts degree from the University of North Carolina. He began his journalism career at WAGM television, later working in many different areas of the US. After 20 years of television he changed careers and taught in China and Korea.
