A Local/Real Food Anniversary

Last week marked our fourth wedding anniversary. In the past we’ve dined out at unhealthy chain restaurants and eaten desserts that leave us feeling ill. This year my husband surprised me by taking the day off and going on a bit of a treasure hunt. It made for a lovely real food celebration.

As he headed out the door that morning, (in his work clothes with his work badge), he peeked through the window screen and disclosed his secret: “I left you a note.” Upon reading it I found out that I needed to prepare our boys, diaper bags, baby carrier and water because we were going pea picking.

He knows me well.

He returned home a couple of hours later and we headed off to pick some English shelling peas. An hour in the hot sun yielded us 1/2 bushel full of peas for only $8.

When we got back in the car he told me to open the glove box. I found a second note reminiscing about our second year of marriage and a little slip of paper inside with a chipotle logo, a picnic basket and a map to an old park we used to visit. I love that we can get meat at chipotle and not worry that it came from a factory farm.I had the carnitas burrito bowl, hold the rice, guacamole and lettuce on top.

By the time we had hiked into the park a bit to find “our spot”, got everyone fed, and cleaned the guacamole off of our toddler’s shoes everyone was ready for a nap. We headed home.

After naps we watched a big thunderstorm roll in and knock the power out. The little folks were clambering for dinner, but hubby and I were still pretty full from lunch. So we took the boys to a local health food store that has a big salad bar.

On the way there he again said “open up the glove box” where I found a fourth note reminiscing about our fourth year of marriage and offering up my favorite treat: ice cream! Instead of stopping at the local chain store we opted to wait until we got to the health food store so I could try out some delicious coconut bliss. I chose the dark chocolate flavor, of course. Next time I will have to try either the cappuccino flavor or chocolate hazelnut fudge. This stuff is so rich and dreamy and a lot lower in sugar than most commercial ice creams. The ingredients are outstanding.

Anyway… after dinner and ice cream we headed home and put the boys to bed. He handed me one last note looking forward to the coming year with one more treat to end the day: dark chocolate! We ate it the next night while shelling peas.

He knows me well.