The Man Can Cook! (Project 358: Day 66)

The other night Stephen surprised me by announcing that he was going to make dinner. I graciously accepted his offer and eagerly waited to see what he would come up with. He jumped on the internet for a few minutes of recipe research before leaving to pick Evan up from preschool and make a quick stop at the grocery store. When he came home, he whipped up a batch of homemade salsa and served it with chips. Negra Modelas were opened and I thought to myself, I could get used to this, as he danced around the kitchen, food flying, music playing, the words, "I'm tryin' somethin' new, babe. We'll see how it turns out," escaping his mouth between sips of beer.

I admire this confidence he has in the kitchen. When I am trying a dish I've never made before, I am a to-the-letter recipe follower. Once I'm comfortable, I will mix it up, try variations, "wing it," but until I get to that point, it makes me nervous to stray. Not so with Stephen. Once he decided what he wanted to serve, he went online, looked up a few recipes, read them briefly and thought, I've got the general idea, no problem! And I have to give it to him, the meal turned out really well.

He served vegan, beer-battered "fish" tacos in corn tortillas, using tempeh (a fermented soybean cake) as the fish substitute. We topped them with purple cabbage, cilantro, and a spicy sauce Stephen concocted using Vegenaise, ketchup, vinegar, and some spices I don't recall (cayenne, perhaps?). Black beans were served on the side as well as a healthier version of Mexican rice Stephen threw together using a mix of wild, red, and brown rices.

Day 66: Better-Than-Fish Tacos

Stephen, sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve you. Truly, love, you are incredible. And so was dinner.
(What are we having tonight?)