A Belated Birthday Dinner

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m not much of a birthday person.  Take this year for example.  I came home from work, poured myself a big bowl of cereal and blueberries, and watched my Wednesday night TV lineup.  To some that may sound boring or lame, but for me it was perfect, especially after a long day at work. 

I thought that was going to be it until Vishnu came home with chocolate covered strawberries and a balloon!

Vishnu brought home what he thought was a birthday balloon.  After giving him a huge hug, I asked him to hold on to it so I could take a picture.  And then I started laughing.  He told me he picked this particular balloon because it looked more elegant than the others, not realizing this was an anniversary balloon and not a birthday one…oops!  So cute!  It’s the thought that counts. 

And that wasn’t the only gift I got this year.  On Tuesday night, Vishnu came home with a bag full of groceries so that he could make me dinner. 

And of course there’s a funny story to go along with this meal. 

So on Monday night, we looked at the burger recipe he picked out so that I could “advise” on what ingredients he needed to buy.  After reading “carefully,” we talked about how it looked like a pretty involved recipe.  I told Vishnu to have no fear because I would be his sous chef.

I called on my way home from work on Tuesday to see if he needed any help grocery shopping.  He told me that he was stuck in a ton of traffic and hadn’t even made it to the store yet.  This was at 5:00.  I got home at 5:30 (no Vishnu to be found) and went to the gym for a quick workout.  Vishnu got home at 6:30, and we started cooking at 6:45. 

I helped by chopping the onion while Vishnu shredded the carrots.  Things were good.  Then we realized that the lentils needed to be cooked (a 25 minute process).  About 10 minutes later, we realized that the recipe called for cooked barley.  And guess what…our barley was uncooked.  After looking up how to cook barley (a 35 minute process), we were back on track.  By this time it was around 7:15. 

Eventually, the burger mixture was ready to be divided and cooked on the grill pan – or so we thought.  The recipe called for refrigerating the mixture for at least an hour before cooking.  Totally missed the boat on this step.  It was 7:50.

Now you know why I said we read the recipe “carefully.”  Apparently, the inability to read and really process recipes is something Vishnu and I share in common. 

Anyway, instead of refrigerating and waiting an hour like we were supposed to, we stuck the bowl in the freezer and waited 20 minutes for the mixture to firm up. 

In the meantime, Vishnu made some fresh fruit salsa to go on top of our burgers.  Luckily, that part of the process was fine. 

Finally, after a fun couple of hours in the kitchen (trust me…we laughed a lot), we sat down to eat.

It was around 8:40.  But let me tell you…every last minute was worth it because these burgers were tasty!  And super filling too.  However, the salsa definitely stole the show – a balanced combination of sweet juicy fruit and spicy chili.  I think Vishnu should forgo medical school to be my full-time salsa maker.  I’m only half kidding!

While this meal took longer then either one of us expected, we still had a blast together in the kitchen.  And once again, I was reminded of why I love my husband so much…even though cooking intimidates him, he sucked it up, took the lead, and made a delicious meal.  All for me! 

And now he wants us to cook a new meal together once a week.  He sure knows the way to my heart.  Only this time, we’ll be sure to read and reread the recipe a few times before even stepping into the kitchen!