Introducing...My Adventures in the Land of Newlywed

Just a few things by way of introduction:


First, Danny and I are by no means cliche newlyweds. (It should be noted however, that I have yet to know any truly cliche newlyweds so they could be a figment of my imagination.) What I mean by that is: 1) we were long distance for 3 of the 4 years we dated before we got engaged; 2) Danny is a med student in rotations and I am working in a tiny (me + 2 other attorneys) trial firm which means that neither of our schedules really falls in line with normal working hours; 3) we've been together so long that we're not often gushy with each other, which is a symptom I have observed of other newlyweds. Of course we love each other and tell each other that but we're not all over each other in public or calling each other constant pet names or completely losing ourselves in the early days of marriage. I sometimes think that's a good thing and other times I'm a little jealous of some of our more affectionate fellow newlyweds. We are ourselves for better or worse and we love each other for it but it also means we challenge each other almost daily. :)


So after that introduction which I assure you is probably the most serious thing I'll ever post, I'll share one of my newlywed adventures.


As a lover of cooking and trying to satisfy my husband's high expectations for Italian food, I was making spaghetti and meatballs, everything from scratch. I studied numerous recipes for sauce and meatballs, combining several to try and incorporate all of the things Danny has told me he likes about "good" spaghetti and meatballs. 


So I'm hard at work at the stove, painstakingly nurturing the beginnings of my sauce, tasting and seasoning, browning the meatballs and starting the pasta, feeling like a blonde Giada and I ask Danny to open a can of crushed tomatoes so I don't have to leave the stove.


Disclaimer: Danny is seriously the smartest person I know and I'm not just saying that because he married me. :) However, in the kitchen, especially when I'm mid-recipe, he rushes things and is definitely impatient, which causes him to do things below his intelligence level. This is probably my fault because I expect him to be able to do kitchen tasks I do naturally even though I rarely allow him in the kitchen. I should also note that we have a new can opener, a new fancy one from Williams-Sonoma (thank you wedding gift card) that doesn't work the same way as a traditional one. 


So first, as I'm spoon deep in 3 pots/pans, Danny attempts to open the can with the new opener for all of 3 seconds and starts panicking. "This opener sucks, it doesn't work, blah blah blah." So I reluctantly leave my pots and show him how to get started with the new opener, then go back to my sauce. This opener is great because it creates a rounded edge around the can and the lid so you can't get cut. However, it doesn't look like a normal opened can and you kind of have to feel for the lid to take it off. And here comes panic #2: "It didn't work, there's no lid, I can't get it off, blah blah blah." This panic though also involves spastic pulling and wiggling of the can which of course results in the lid flying off, causing the lid and the tomatoes stuck to it to splat against the fridge and slide down leaving a tomatoey path in its wake. Awesome. Silver lining: my policy of Danny not cooking was TOTALLY validated. Double silver lining: I got the Danny stamp of approval on the spaghetti. :) Worth the clean up!