What’s a guy got to do to get a pizza around here?

Welcome to the first sporadic guest blog from the husband. I’m not a vegetarian, and even after years of marriage, I’m still intimidated by many of the bizarre and protuberant plants that muscled their way into our refrigerator and forced my beer to migrate to the basement.

My mother worked in a factory when she cooked for our family in the 1960s. This was in Pennsylvania, where we were surrounded by farms and fruit stands, but all our meals came from cans. As a kid, I identified with the Leave it to Beaver episode in which June and Ward demanded that The Beaver eat Brussels sprouts. He balked, and hid them in his shirt pocket instead.

My childhood had an unlimited supply of Coke, and weekly deliveries of potato chips and pretzels from the Charles Chips delivery van. If you think I’m exaggerating, Google “Charles Chips Home Delivery.” Ah, those were the days.

When I first dated Joy, she lived in exotic Montreal and served me dinners of “Roasted Root Vegetables” on cold snowy nights. More turnips, dear? Yes, please! (Secretly, I contemplated employing Beaver’s shirt pocket tactic.)

Lucky for us, Joy also drank beer– mostly when watching hockey games. And even though she didn’t eat junk food, I noticed that she didn’t judge me if I did. Although she didn’t eat meat, she never objected when I did.

Through the years, I’ve learned to tame the food cravings. My brain whispers to me that I’m quite fond of sugar, salt, carbohydrates, and cheese. I still succumb to temptation, and also pay the piper on the bathroom scales. But as the quality of my diet increases, I see more room for a middle ground.

But Joy’s blog comes from years of taking the nutritional high road. I’m amazed at the variety of vegetarian recipes that she has tackled, and I’ve learned that they’re based on some basic kitchen practices. It all seems so simple when you see it on a daily basis, but I also see the work and dedication that goes into this lifestyle.

I still have my own cupboard filled with carbs and sweets and pizza delivery menus. They’re my “break glass in case of emergency” menus. I find, however, that I use them less and less these days , because I’m finally starting to put the Brussels sprouts in my mouth instead of my pocket.