In sickness and in health

Well, this week our meal plan has gone all to heck because the husband and I were both super sick for a few days and eating nothing but broth.

Today we were back to health and I tried to make the barley salad I'd planned for earlier in the week, but I made the mistake of asking the husband how he preferred it.  Essentially, the husband has a hard time imagining what new food combinations or preparations will be like, the same way I have a hard time looking at a piece of furniture and estimating whether it'll fit in a room. So, I tried to describe a barley salad, you know, like a pasta salad with barley instead of noodles. It'll have bits of fresh veggies, nuts and a zesty vinaigrette.  yummer!  But, he wasn't really imagining it, and so I asked if he'd rather have it hot instead, so it would be more familiar, like a rice dish I occasionally make.  And then he could wrap his mind around it.  Tadaa!

Tadaaa... it wasn't very good.  It would have been better with raw veggies, not cooked, and served cold with a really really peppy dressing, instead of warm with a drizzle of balsamic.  It was blah.  It was kind of texturally questionable, what with the squishy cooked veggies and all.  It did not get better with cheese sprinkled on it.  It was generally not good.  Sigh.

So, next time I need to just follow-through with my plan, because 99% of the time the husband loves what I make even if he can't imagine it beforehand.