What's For Dinner...

Food Lovin' Tree Huggers
A Special Edition of What's For Dinner...



I was very smitten with Evan from the moment he promised to take me on a camping trip. Never in my life had a man (er...um...even a boy) been "man" enough to ask me on a proper "sweep you off your feet" kind of date. The idea of a camping trip with an intriguingly polite, kind, and not to mention downright beautiful specimen was enough to send my heart to the races but what made me fall in love with him was when he kept his promise and drove me 6.5 hours down the Redwood Highway to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

This camping trip was the product of a late night conversation that took us from sunset to dawn on a warm summer evening. Evan became noticeably upset when I admitted to him that I had never seen a single Star Wars film. Despite his fondness for Lucas' original (I repeat, ORIGINAL) trilogy Evan's dismay stemmed from the fact that I had no acquaintance with redwood trees, even those featured in the forest moon of Endor in Return of the Jedi.

On route to Humboldt County we stopped at Evan's parents' cabin for a few nights located in Camp Sherman. It was our first night at this cabin that Evan cooked for me for the first time. It was obvious he had spent time planning it out: he set the table with rustic dishware, filled our wine glasses to the brim, made sure there was a fork, a knife, and a spoon resting on cloth napkins to go with the food...and the food...well...let's just say it wasn't the highlight of the meal. You see, we had what one (one being Evan) could call vegetable stir fry. The vegetables were less than cooked, the sauce watered down and soupy, and I'm not sure there was even rice to soak up the mess. In all fairness he could have served me a pine cone on a frisbee and I would have been no less head over heels for the man who sat across from me. In addition it was not as if I had volunteered to cook for him and even if I had I am assured I would have done no better at the time.

You see while it took no time for either of us to develop our taste for good food, it took a much longer time before Evan and I honed the craft to actually produce it ourselves. In fact, it is not a stretch to say that there were many meals spent together in gastronomic silence, our bellies full but no doubt still hungry. I can think of plenty of meals where I wouldn't hesitate to prepare a salad by first opening up a can of syrupy mandarin oranges and dumping them (literally) in to a bowl and putting nondescript greens on top.

Fortunately we've taken the last seven years together and created a food revolution for the purpose of delighting eachother's tastebuds. We have learned the difference between the appropriate time to celebrate the wonderments of fruit cocktail in a can (your friend's 1950's Housewife Party, complete with cocktail wieners and deviled eggs) and an appropriate salad topper (kadota figs, roasted golden beets, or Gabriel Coulet Roquefort) which is the very reason why I felt compelled to write a special addition of What's For Dinner.

Last night I was treated to one of the most outstanding meals I've ever had stateside or otherwise. I am happy to say that after seven years together I am not only loving this man more than ever after seven years, that I have more than ten trips to the redwoods under my belt, but I am eating a hell of a lot better too...

Mixed Green Salad
local organic greens, fig, baked goat cheese, and roasted hazelnuts and a balsamic reduction

E's Whim Pizza
olive oil & garlic, Cypress Grove's Purple Haze, a chevre produced in Northern California flavored with wild fennel pollen and lavender, caramelized red onion, garden zucchini, and roasted garlic and onion jam

Grilled Sweet Corn
the quintessential ode to summer served how you like it: lime & chili, mayonnaise and cayenne, parmigiano reggiano butter, or just straight up with a lil' s&p