Tinkering doesn\’t have to involve hammer and chisel, and it doesn\’t require a tool shed. Day before yesterday I got to tinkering again — in the kitchen.

I had piled up some dozen boxes of various brands of mac n cheese. I need to start using it up, and that\’s rather a predicament. I\’m working at limiting carb intake to 150-200 grams per day; and macaroni is high-carb! I don\’t want to throw away all that mac n cheese. Is there a way around it?

Most definitely, yes! I\’ll refer to the salvage store again. Some months ago, I was shopping there and found a 14.75 oz can of wild-caught salmon; and for less than $3.00!

I got the idea for this new dish from a book of mine. It suggested stretching boxed mac n cheese by adding a can of drained tuna, and a half-cup of peas. I\’ve done that often enough, and the results are quite good.

Why not use salmon, since I had it on hand? I used the entire can; drained and flaked. The instructions on the box of macaroni said, use 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine; I used one tablespoon of olive oil. And 1/4 cup plain yogurt instead of 3 tablespoons of milk.

Today I had fresh rosemary. It seems to be the go-to garnish for grilled salmon; and I assure you, dried rosemary from the spice rack can\’t compare to its fresh counterpart! I also finally used the last of some scallion tops.

Simply prepare the mac n cheese per directions on the box; and mix in the rest of the stuff. Yield: ~4 1/4 cups. Per 1/4 cup: 129 calories/13 grams carbs.

Oh, by the way, if I may say so myself: SamMac, as I call it, is really macaroni!