Thursday, March 8, 2012

How Do I measure Success???

When my rabidly carnivorous husband actually comes up-stairs to complement me on a meal that contains almost no meat.

As I've chronicled here before, my husband and I had a clash of cultures when we first got together.   My Italian family ate very little meat, and when we did meat was almost a side dish.   Meatless meals were common, and it wasn't unusual for us to go for a week without meat on the table.

My husband, however, grew up in a family were meat was always center stage.   Roasts were common as were steaks, burgers and hot dogs.

Wanting to please my husband, I for years cooked pretty much only meat-centered meals.  If I made anything like spaghetti with meat-balls or sausage, I upped the quantities of meat just to make him happy.

When I came to realize that pleasing his palate was not only bad for my waist-line but his heart, I made a determined effort to reduce the meat in all our meals, and go meatless several days a weak.

This transition was not easy.   Let me tell you I had a lot of knock down, drag out battles with my better half over the reduction or elimination of meat from our meals.

But guess what?   He got used to it.   He now generally complains when a meal has little or no meat, but he eats it without a fight.

Now, years ago, if I was making a dish for the two of us and using Italian sausage it wasn't unusual for me to use 1 1/2 pounds of meat.

Yesterday, I was scrounging around the kitchen for something to throw together for dinner.  Out of the fridge came some left-over rice, peeled baby carrots, peeled garlic and leftover Tuscan Bean soup with Kale.   I also pulled a can of tomatoes out of the cupboard.

I looked in the freezer and found four sausages---less than 3/4 pound in a zip-loc bag.   I almost used all four links, when it hit me to just use two and save the two for another "almost meatless meal."

Everything got thrown together into a pot and simmered with a bit of Romano cheese for a risotto-like stew.  

My husband got home late, but dinner was waiting for him on the stove.  

I thought he'd complain because of the paucity of meat.

Instead, he came upstairs to specifically tell me he thought dinner was delicious.

Battle won.

6 comments:

  1. Excellent post! I have a kitchen/culture war. Husband's idea of a healthy meal is rice,bread and LOTS of meat. He is finally coming around to view salad as a meal and not as an appetizer. Wohoo! One battle down, gazillion more to go.

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