Ladle Lady

I’ll be the first one to tell you that I am very lucky. When I met Justin, he quickly adopted my vegan diet without me asking him to. This made dating both very easy, but also a little funny as he tried to learn the New York vegan ‘scene’ quickly. We had a few memorable meals at the high and low ends of the spectrum – going from Blossom to Foodswings easily. In between it all, we took turns cooking. I made things like vegan tempeh reubens, while he made macro plates with quinoa and lots of veggies.

Maybe chips and dip don’t count since we were on our honeymoon, but this was a great break!

Two years later, Justin ended his vegan experiment and began to add some fish to his diet. I asked to keep our kitchen vegan (while ignoring the tins of sardines that sit in our pantry) and it’s worked out well for us. I know a lot of people are not so lucky as to be able to keep their household ‘kosher’ in this sense. For me, it makes it that much better because it means that I don’t have to worry that the cast iron skillet is being used for anything that I don’t want – like pork fat!

But this makes date nights a little bit trickier. Where before we’d both want to go to a vegan restaurant (or one that had good options for vegans), now I find myself having to be more flexible. Sometimes it means a lot more salads, or ordering a few side dishes instead of one main course. Of course, in my mind the best date nights don’t even require going out to eat. My favorite evenings are when we come together and cook together – I’m always the designated onion and garlic chopper. Our kitchen may not be the most glamorous, but those meals do bring us together. And Justin still makes those tacos, by popular demand! What are your favorite date nights?