2014 Menu #13 Cheese Tortellini in Tomato Sauce

[dagi]

The plan for the last weekend was simple: board the train to Wrocław, sample the snacks and sides from this MRE (thanks again Delicious! doing meatless Fridays for whatever reason limits choices so you were a real save!) on the go and then enjoy the main after booking into the hostel.
The Storm Xavier that swept through the country the night before that made it much more fun.

October 6th, 5.22am - boarding the southbound train. Hoping for an empty compartment but no such luck (hence my lap being the biggest available space and shaky/blurry photos. Sorry ^^). In my bag the MRE, water bottle and freshly filled vacuum bottle (with the prices they charge for a hot drink aboard the train, that's a must ) I must say the contents look good and I'm glad it's PB and not cheese spread.

October 6th, about 9am - time for a small breakfast: the first strike energy bar and some grape flavoured beverage. The bar was positively yumm - the rice crisps gave it some texture, the fruitty body was nice and chewy. Distinct cinnamon flavour, though I can't say I tasted much of the apple in the general fruityness.
I must admit, I'm not a fan of artificial grape flavour. The smell of it... I mean, come on - it even looks like Smurphs' pee! Thankfully, it tasted way nicer than it smelled. Was actually quite close to the regular grape drink I know.

So far the ride was going as planned. Then we hit Poznań and stayed there. And stayed some more. And stayed...
Let's drop the date cause we actually did make it on the same day but around noon, when were supposed to be on the last leg of the ride, we were still staying in the damn Poznań. People in my compartment were getting restless and scrounging whatever edibles they still had left while I happily pulled out the crackers and PB, plus some fresh hot(tish) coffee~~ I mean, with the crackers still fresh and crumbly, and the peanut butter smooth, how could one mind the rapidly growing delay? Life was simply good!

3 pm. We're slowly rolling ahead but they make us wait on every stop and between those too. People are actually going into the restaurant car (did I mention the ridiculous prices there?), coming back with a sweet roll or such. This was when the MRE truly saved the day for me!
I grabbed the FRH and started it off in the hall - it seemed to work but apparently not enough to properly heat the pasta through (or liquify the sauce). Still, even lukewarm it was a pleasant and filling dish. I could definitely distinguish the graininess of ricotta and sharper hints of some mature cheese. Only complaint - it seemed rather dry, not sure if from age (ye, I know, it's still rather fresh) or from too little heat applied. If given a chance, I'd definitely try this one again, heated up properly.

[dagi]

The dessert: M&Ms, only 2 years out of date. Would I notice that without checking the date? I don't think so ^^ Crunchy, chocolatey, yummy. And since they were distributing water bottles, I promptly added beverage base lemonade into mine. I did not expect the result - citrusy and refreshing, not overly sweet, all in all - a very satisfying drink. Mixed up beautifully too, just a few stray bits on the bottom.

I was stuffed full with the pasta (what can I say, I don't get much tummy space ^^) so the mixed fruit in syrup waited for the next day. The fruit bits and pieces still their shape and texture enough to be identifiable, I could easily pick out the peach, pear, pineapple and small cherry bits. Grape though, that gave me a pause - cause, you know, de-skinned grape is a bit unusual. The syrup was definitely on the sugary side and I could do without pear but it was a good portion of fruit, and yummy too.

All in all, we arrived to Wrocław with 4.5h delay, after almost 12h ride. But the MRE definitely made it much more enjoyable.
And I must say, this is a menu I would definitely get again, no reservations. Really solid mix for me!

[LaSwede]

Thanks for the review and story dagi! MRE's can be a lifesaver in some situations

[SentientTootsieRoll]

I respect the idea of having a meatless day of the week. In fact, I'd encourage just about anyone to do it. I'm glad you enjoyed this meal. I'm okay with it myself despite inadvertently purchasing a more than desirable amount of them. Recently I visited an area surplus store and found a near brand new case of TOTMs and one of the meal options happened to be Cheese Tortellini and it was really tasty! It had lots of sauce and you could really tell the difference between it and a version of it that's a few years old. It's also possible that they might have changed the recipe, but it was still the best Cheese Tortellini MRE I've had!

[parafireboy]

Thanks for sharing your review! They can be great for meals on the go, just like in your situation!