Or, An Ode to Bacon
Unlike most people, DH grew up with a short order cook that went by the name of "mom". Mom would serve three different meals for the three different kids so that they would not ever feel they were penalized by the divorce. (Alas, she did not consider the perspective of the "future wife" in her training.) I grew up in a different world, one where no orders were taken and no complaints were accepted. A world where a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was always on offer if I did not like what was being served, and I was required to eat a small portion of everything.
There have been many frustrations trying to persuade DH not to eat out or order take out every night, such as the time required to grocery shop/cook/cleanup (way too much according to him), the need to stick to a general menu based on the purchased groceries rather than go rogue when inspiration suddenly strikes at dinnertime with that dish (ingredients likely not being in the house, etc.). One singularly annoying issue is the complaints about wasted food when one cooks (leading to a perceived cost in his mind that eating in is just as expensive as ordering takeout) coupled with a refusal to eat any of the leftovers. He did not have the joy of "smorgasbord night" wherein one seeks to elbow out one's siblings for the tastiest of the leftovers. (In fact, I'm not clear he ever ate this thing called "leftovers" before meeting me.)
To date, the only solution has been to 1) cook the perfect amount of each food so there are no leftovers (and I am not perfect...leading to him rummaging for more food in the snacks), and 2) to develop a few meals where he will consent to bring leftovers in to work because he likes the item so much (e.g. a tomato kielbasa salad - where he actually fights me for leftovers, or chili).
I am excited to announce that I have a new weapon in my arsenal: Bacon.
Yes, this magical food will apparently transform leftovers and bits of lonely food in the fridge into a tasty dish he will consent to eat!
Our CSA starts today. I've been working crazy hours and have not had time to cook the meals I had in mind this week (e.g. remember to defrost the chicken, so we could grill it and have over a cseaser salad, making bread for BLTA sandwiches, etc.) to use up the veggies before we start getting the summer bounty. Instead we ate frozen pizza. I resurfaced last night, thought about the food to use up and proposed a salad. This was met by a complete lack of enthusiasm until I suggested adding bacon...and put on double what I might think necessary (along with half an overripe avocado, the apple, half a pepper, bag of carrots, arugula, romaine lettuce...). After scarfing it down, he voluntarily admitted it wasn't a bad idea and was tasty. Success! Thank you, Bacon.
(I see bacon sprinkled on many random leftovers in my future...)
