Week 51: PB&J
Except the “J” stands for jalapeno…
Each Sunday, my wife and I prepare, cook and eat a meal together — intentionally. Every Friday, I’ll be sharing our experience here in this space. I want to see the growth that will come in our marriage because of this. I hope you enjoy our story. You can find last week’s post here.
A few weeks ago, my dad and I went to one of our favorite restaurants — just the guys. Sarah wasn’t feeling particularly well, so she didn’t join us. However, this restaurant has one of her favorite meals — a burger with peanut butter and jalapenos. The peanut butter is fine, but I’m not the biggest jalapeno fan. Scratch that…I can’t stand jalapenos. But, you know what they say — happy wife, happy life. So, before we left, I ordered a burger to take home to Sarah.
The sound that came from her mouth when she bit into that burger was so full of joy and satisfaction. It’s kinda hard to explain. It was some mixture of “mmmm” and “ahhh.” Later that week when were deciding what to make on Sunday, the experience was still seared into Sarah’s mind.
“Let’s make our own peanut butter burger!” she said enthusiastically.
Now, I was all for it. But I didn’t want to have to eat jalapenos. My gracious wife obliged. She’s so nice!
So we set about making our burgers. I volunteered to cut the tomato slices, which seemed to surprise my wife. Even in married life, we still surprise each other from time to time. I love that. I hope we both find out new things about each other for the rest of our lives.
Sarah was grilling the burgers on the stove. After a while, they were cooked to juicy perfection and all the condiments were ready (Including bacon, by the way. Just had to throw that in there). Sarah offered one last time for me to try the jalapenos. I declined.
Looking back, I kinda wish I had put the jalapenos on my burger. Cooking With Sarah has always been about trying new things. Sharing adventures with close friends and family. I know I don’t like jalapenos, but — who knows — maybe the combo with the peanut butter would do the trick. I think its okay to sometimes do things that scare you. There’s nothing wrong with stepping outside your comfort zone. So, next time we make these, I’ll try it with jalapenos. There, it’s in writing. You all can call me on it, now.
As we chomped away at our burgers, I surmised that this might just be our best meal yet. We both laughed. I have a tendancy to be hyperbolic. But when you combine great food with great company, it’s easy to get swept up.
The burgers were thick and juicy, and all the toppings made them hard to fit in your mouth! But they tasted so good. And the peanut butter was the perfect exclamation point. I think I started making the same “mmmm” “ahhhh” sound that Sarah had made earlier.
I love that my wife encourages me to try new things and expand my horizons. In this case, she probably didn’t even know she had done that. But the fact that she dove right in and ate the burger with the jalapenos makes me want to try it next time. I think that’s how it should be. Each of us encouraging the other.
So now, let me encourage you. Go out and try new things this week. Share them with people who are important to you. Even if it makes you a little nervous. I learned my lesson this week — every once in a while, it’s okay to try the jalapenos.
