Goods, bads, thick, and thin, pizza has been a constant, I’ll love pizza forever.
I mean, what is there to write about pizza? It’s delicious? Everyone loves it? (Unless you’re nuts). It’s the best thing in the world? Everyone knows that. But I guess it made sense why Alex would wonder why I’ve never done a post abut pizza. I mean, pizza is my most favorite meal (EVER)— and it’s been a huge part of our relationship (and my life) since day one. I ate it 9 times a week in college (sorry body, I ate like crap, but thank you good genes!) and could still eat it every day now (as healthy as I would like to be, pizza will always be number one in my heart).  But the thing is… I don’t have a recipe for it. And unlike toast, I never get very creative with my pizza. I like it the same way every time: red sauce, lots of garlic, cheese (or fake cheese— which I think I’m giving up soon, but thats a different story) basil,  and sometimes fresh arugula (if we have it, then why not?). So unless I’m showing off the same pizza every time, or maybe if I stick M in a chef coat with a ball of pizza dough (I should probably do this, she would really love it), what’s there to post about that someone wants to see or doesn’t already know? It’s pizza, and even though its nothing new, it’s amore.
I could tell you that many of my better memories with Alex have revolved around pizza. Everything from hilarious nights with one AM conversations about how pizza is democratic (drawings included), to weekly at-home date nights (once upon a time, pre-kiddo and pre 14 hour work schedules), to birthday breakfasts, to sweet gestures of boxed pizza waiting in the car after my delayed cross country flight from hell, to falling in love. Pizza was there.
I realized I haven’t talked a lot about Alex and I prior this whole having a kid thing. I think the only photo I’ve posted has been here, of us on halloween 2008, not dating and not even considering dating– though it doesn’t look like it). I don’t talk much of the past at all, I guess. Though, I probably should if I want to remember it all, considering it’s probably the only way I will. My memory? What memory? Well, where was I? I felt comfortable with Alex the moment I met him. He’s told me the first night we met was at a friends house. He stopped by and I was there, sitting on the couch, playing nintendo. I don’t remember this.  He says the next time we met, we were at a concert, but honestly that night was so full of friends and new people, I don’t remember him being there at all. I moved to Miami a few months after that, with three roommates, one dog, and two cats. He stopped by a few times. He was nice, polite, and I liked his hair. I remember telling my mom about him. Not that I was interested, because I didn’t think I was, but I remember telling her how I met a new friend, and he was so nice, and would make some lucky lady very happy one day (yes, I actually told her this– a few times). I remember him peeking over my shoulder in the kitchen when I was making a quick red sauce and I was embarrassed— I didn’t know his love for food, and he didn’t know mine, but I knew I didn’t want him to see that embarrassing (to me) sauce. He remembers the first time I came over, it was at the beginning of us getting to know each other. A few of us walked in, I took off my shoes, plopped myself down, and made myself comfortable, even though I had never been there before.
Sitting on the couch, looking back, and laughing at the old days with Laura (my still best friend, and my roommate at the time) she has said to me “yeah, I never noticed it at the time, but you talked about him a lot and always said really nice things about him every time he was mentioned.” And I did.  Looking back, I liked him a lot, I just wasn’t fully aware. It was a different kind of connection and comfort I felt with him, that I’ve never had with anyone else. This relationship–a friendship continued, with me completely unaware of anything beyond that. One day, I asked if I could come by. He offered to make dinner. Whether it was my idea or his, I don’t remember, but pizza came up as an option. We went to whole foods to buy ingredients. He suggested red wine (a tempranillo) with our meal. That night he made me pizza, and I decided I would love him forever.

30 Comments

  1. This is so great. Something so simple as pizza that brings you so many connections from the past, present, and future! I love that food was a huge bonding thing for you guys, haha! Love to hear stories like this! 🙂

    Glad all is well and dandy now that you two officially tied the knot. 😉

    xo- Alisha

  2. We make homemade pizza almost every Friday night. My partner has a dough recipe down pat that we both love. We decided to get some delivery a few weeks back, since we were in the middle of messy home renos…Anywho, ordered the pizza and scarfed it down and we've now become pizza snobs. I only like the homemade stuff, and I only want my boyfriend to make it for me.

    Having food traditions make everything wonderful, don't they?

  3. This is so sweet <3

    On another note — I guess it's a good thing, but I hate fake cheese SO MUCH. Well, there are a few artisinal nut milk cheeses that I adore, but they are spread-on-crackers type cheeses, not put on pizza type cheeses, and they are so expensive I can't buy them so essentially: I hate fake cheese 😉 I would love to see a post about fake cheese!

    • I only moderately like follow your heart. I only really buy it for pizza and SOMETIMES, but not usually— a grilled cheese. I go weeks without it though.

  4. This is such a sweet post! But can't I just say, that I am one of the crazy people who doesn't like pizza. Please don't judge us weird ones! It just means there's more to go around for you!

  5. This is such a sweet post!! Huge pizza lover over here, and my favourite type is pizza is the same as yours! I just need to make more of my own.

  6. I could seriously eat pizza everyday too and yours looks so so so good. Makes me want to have pizza tonight.

    Do you have a recipe for the dough ??

    • I usually just google and use the simplest recipe I can find. Alex— he has methods and recipes up the wahoo—- I don't mess with that stuff.

  7. Love that story of you and your guy 🙂 Very sweet.
    And hey, I love pizza too, and I love reading and seeing pictures about people eating it, and making it!
    I've only tried to make pizza once myself, but I had gotten a Pillsbury Pizza Dough, and it ended up tasting not like pizza, but like those Pillsbury rolls with sauce and cheese on it.
    I'd love to try again, but I'm always concerned about the dough. That's the most important part, and it's hard to choose good dough. I could make it myself, but since I've never made anything from scratch before, that may be a disaster waiting to happen!

    • oh no! Just try it. I'm no dough expert and I've been able to make it. Or you can pick up dough at grocery stores a lot. You just have to ask them to pull it from the back!

  8. Pizza and love – gotta love it! 🙂
    I could eat pizza every day, but we have never actually made it at home. I should probably get on that.

    • DO it. You can even buy dough at the grocer usually. I've done that when Alex isn't around and I'm not feeling adventurous with dough.

  9. great post. i always wonder if you are vegan or not. and if so does your girl eat normal or also vegan ???

  10. I love pizza too! My son could live off of pizza if given the chance. What kind of fake cheese do you use? I've been looking for a good vegan cheese to do up pizza (and other dishes) with, but I haven't had any luck. If you were to give it up, would you use real cheese? Sometimes we have to break down and do this (every once in a while) because our grocery options are extremely limited(no vegan anything) where we live. I had been ordering my vegan things online, but this got expensive.

    • I use follow your heart mozzarella. I wouldn't use really cheese. I'd use nut cheese on occasion, but thats it. My local grocery store started carrying daiya, so I'll use it in a pinch, otherwise I've stocked up on follow your heart during whole foods trips.

  11. What a great post- my husband loves pizza also an easy way to his heart:) Loved your story of Alex, falling in love (though complicated at times) is really the most simple of decisions, after reading so much of your story is great to see you guys make it through!

  12. What a lovely post. You have a gift with words as well as with food I think. Have a great rest-of-the-week.

  13. love this. so sweet! i love it when love stories involve food. when my husband and i were newly dating i made him pizza one night… it was horrible.. the sauce i made was too spicy, and the oven both under and over cooked the crust. i promised him that night i would never make him pizza ever again.

    • those nights are hard. You prepare a meal that you really want to impress with and it all just sort of flops. We still have those nights— even now, 5 years later. floppy meals.