How we met: Rachel's version.

I met Mike nine months ago, and I have gained 20 pounds since we met! I know everyone tells me that when you fall in love, you gain weight.  The good news is that Mike has also gained weight since we met so I am not alone in the 'welcome to my life; I love you; let's eat' adventure.
I consider myself blessed that my mother cooked for my family. She taught me how to make some dishes that now, no offense Mom, I make better than her.  I took all of the things she taught me after I moved out and became quite the cook in the kitchen. My mother also taught me a lot about men.  Her philosophy was similar to all southern women, 'a way to a man's heart is through his stomach.' I always laughed at the idea that my food would keep a man coming back for more, until it happened to me.
Mike and I met late last summer over a couple of glasses of wine.  We talked about wine and food and he talked up his cooking abilities and insisted that he cook for me as soon as possible.  Instead, he came over to my place that same weekend and I attempted to impress him with made from scratch salsa and guacamole since we decided a snack would be nice.  Needless to say, he wasn't that impressed.  A few more weeks into the relationship and it was time for Mike to cook for me.  I was a little hesitant at first since he decided that his 'impress me dish' was going to be lamb.  Up until that night, I haven't been in the position to taste lamb.  I called my brother the chef, David, and asked him what to expect.  He told me something about how the taste of the meat would be amplified by the seasonings that he hoped Mike would use. 
I distinctively remember the aroma in his house when I walked in the door so rich and so perfect;  a smell that in that moment, I decided I wanted in my kitchen.  One look at the perfectly plated lamb on top of a mountain of creamy mashed potatoes, smothered with a rich brown gravy and that was it. I hadn't even tasted the dish and my heart was already beating in my stomach. I knew that if I tasted this perfect meal, I wouldn't be able to turn back to my so called life before Mike.  I stuck my fork into the tender meat, swirled it around the soft mash and gravy and inserted it into my salivating mouth. (I am drooling while writing about it. LOL) It was the most heavenly dish I have ever tasted. PERFECTION! That was it for me, If I would have screamed "I LOVE YOU" in that moment, like my stomach wanted me too, every woman knows that would be the end of the story. Instead I ate each and every bite with a few soft moans. I was hooked and asked Mike what he would be making next week.