Love, Cooking and of Course, EATING!

When I first met my husband there were several things I liked about him immediately.  He wasn't afraid to talk politics, we shared similar views on many things and when we didn't there was plenty of food for thought.  At the time we were living in Washington, D.C. and Reagan was in office, so we complained to each other, shaking our head about the state of things.  Another thing I liked about him was his Dutch-ness.  He is from The Netherlands and if you've never been there you are missing out on a treat. It is truly charming, the green flat landscape dotted with windmills and farms, the little cafes and restaurants and winding streets in the cities, the old and young people zipping around on bikes, the row houses along canals.  The Dutch have a sense of self righteousness. They are proud of the bravery of Anne Frank and the Dutch who helped in resisting the Germans, and also of their social system that protects people from dying on the street.  The Dutch people have a good sense of humor but also can lack in tact in my opinion, which can be charming and aggravating at the same time, my husband is no exception here.  On one of our first dates every time I tried to make a point and my now husband didn't get he'd ask "And so what?"  At first I felt like smacking him but as the evening and the wine flowed on I was glad to have someone be honest about not understand what I was trying to say.  

The thing I found most charming about my husband when we first met was not his accent or his politics, it was that he loved to cook.  After returning from teaching in Africa to D.C. that same year, and then earning a whopping $10,000 a year working at a city Catholic school I was eating a hell of a lot of mac and cheese, cheap and filling.  Fine dining wasn't in the picture at that time. To be invited to his house and served an amazing dinner, oohlaalaa. I would be treated to delicacies of fine seafood or meat in delicious sauces and wines and fresh strawberries with whipped cream not out of a cool whip container, I was in heaven.  

The ritual of cooking and then slowly enjoying a fantastic dinner with good conversation has continued to be a part of our lives even with 5 kids.  In a time when so much of our life together is full of stress, decision making and the same issues all families must deal with, it is a luxury and a pleasure still to sit down and enjoy a well made meal, and of course look across the table at my sweet husband.  I can't say I often experience "The Joy of Cooking" but there is something heartening about cooking on a cold rainy Saturday, like today, and watching the ones you love eating and chatting together around the dining room table, enjoying the warmth and love of one another's company.