Love is Dinner for Two, Part 4

This is part 4 of a short series of entries using food to document my most significant romantic relationships to date. Start from the beginning here.

Boyfriend 3, Mister M. Bauer:

2004-2006. Mr. Bauer was always full of good intention. That was what I admired most about him- his sincerity, his honesty, and his patience. For someone so talented, this boy didn't have a drop of ego or pretention. In some ways, you could even say he was a simple man. Sometimes he even referred to himself as "Old Man Bauer." Was it the multiple pairs of velcro shoes? Was it the obsession with second-hand goods? Maybe it was the way everything he owned slowly found its way into the backseat and trunk of his car. Whatever it was, my memories with him are all positive. They are full of cheap, tasty meals, after dinner walks in our Little Ethiopia neighborhood, driving around LA, and bringing an unreasonably bulky, old boombox with us on many a car rides so he could record and interview our conversations.

There are two Mr. Bauer meals that stand out the most to me. This first was this: It was his turn to make dinner for the short-lived but incredibly exciting "Food Cult" dinner parties I started to have, and his theme was off-the-wall. I had made an African-themed meal, Melissa had made French. And what did Mr. Bauer make? A meal of stuffed things. There was a salad of tomato stuffed with chickpeas, onions, peppers, and basil; appetizers of potato stuffed with potato, avocoado, and sour cream, and chinese dumplings stuffed with veggies; an entree of eggplant stuffed with stuffing, and so on... That's a lot of stuff.

The other meal that I thought exemplified Mr. Bauer was his homemade vegetarian meatballs. These meatballs, however, were totally unconventional. Mr. Bauer used every single item in our fridge to construct these growingly massive balls. This included condiments such as dijon mustard and veganaise, to tofu, cottage cheese, and veggies. Yes, cottage cheese! I watched in horror as he made the meatballls, trying with all my might to keep "Kitchen Ellen" under control and exhibit Ellen Ellen, the Ellen that he liked having around and that didn't became a scary witch when it came time to turn on the stove. I had to learn to keep my mouth shut and trust him, as to not inhibit his own creativity. Even though the ride was rough, in the end the meatballs were edible, even tasty, and we can still be friends.

THIS IS egg scramble with collard greens, pine nuts, garlic, and shaved parmesan cheese; homemade whole wheat blueberry, banana, walnut muffin; sliced fuji apple. Breakfast for Mr. Bauer one December morning.