Love is Dinner for Two, Part 2

This is part 2 of a short series of entries using food to document my most significant romantic relationships to date. Start from the beginning here.

Boyfriend 2, Mister S. Tam:
2001-2002. My first "real" boyfriend. The first boyfriend I daydreamed about marrying and growing old with.

Mr. Tam was a huge geek. He was a science geek, a music geek, and a roller hockey geek. A talented geek at that, he had the kind of personality to get really really into something. I guess when you pursue a PhD, that kind of quality is necessary. My friends still describe him as the boyfriend that was "so in love" with me. This was all very heavy for a 20 year-old like myself. It's not that I didn't reciprocate his feelings, or feel flattered by his sweet attention, I mean I did move to Berkeley to be with him, but that was the year I became vegetarian and was intent on keeping things light and open. I might have even used that exact word, "open," to describe where I wanted our relationship to head. I was taking Cal's infamous Female Sexuality class at the time and all of a sudden feeling very suffocated by this heterosexual, monogamous relationship. Did I mention I was only 20 years old? He argued against it, considered it, resisted it, and finally, for his own good, we both rejected it. No open relationship for us. But before all of this happened, he made me two dishes I will always remember: Linguini Clam Pasta made from canned clams, bell peppers, garlic, basil, and tomatoes, and a 2000 calorie cheesecake his father used to make, a recipe that calls for something like four boxes of Philadelphia cream cheese. My mom and I froze the majority of the cheesecake, which would probably still be sitting in our freezer had we not moved houses in 2003.

So nothing between Mr. Tam and I could ever be light, open, or forever, and therefore I entered my last term at UCLA as a single serving.

(to be continued)

THIS IS broccoli stem salad in sesame oil and soy sauce dressing with quinoa and black sesame seeds, pan-fried cajun-spiced mahi mahi fish and roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes. From February, a perfect lunch for one.