When my husband and I first got married, we found out how much we disagreed about food.

We were both fresh out of college and in the earliest years of our 20s, which meant we both knew everything all the time. And we both knew we were absolutely correct in our preferences, to the point that they became fact.

I thought bell peppers were gross. He thought they were delicious. Rather than just accepting that our tongues might process this vegetable differently, we argued about it. And sure, those kinds of back and forth arguments can be light and fun at times. Or, you enter the Thunderdome and fight to the death about something that shouldn’t have ever mattered.

One of the food preferences that became food fact, at least on Hunter’s side, was that any food that didn’t have protein in it was not a meal. It was a snack. Period, end of story. Even if what he was looking at was a bowl of delicious pasta with homemade vodka sauce, he’d ask why it didn’t have any meat in it.

While now I can see that his Preference (with a capital P) was to have chicken with his pasta to stay full for longer, newlywed Abigail got upset because she’d taken time to make a meal for the person she loved, only for it to get rejected out of hand because she didn’t also make chicken.

Sorry. I’ll stop talking in the third person. It’s getting weird.

Anyway, the argument of whether every meal needs meat just kept coming up, and I eventually was tired of having it, so I stopped cooking dinners that didn’t include it. Which is expensive, but also exhausting sometimes. Meat lovers, hear me out for a second.

Cooking raw meat takes at least 20 minutes. I don’t care what kind of meat you’re making. Chicken, beef, pork – all of it takes at LEAST 20 minutes of sauteeing or other cooking methodologies to be safe to eat. Often, if you’re doing it right, it takes longer.

But a baked potato sitting in my pantry? Stick that thing with a fork and microwave it for eight minutes, and you’ve got a hot and ready meal. Bump it up by a minute or two and you can make al dente pasta. Another few minutes and the rice cooker is already done.

Now, you can’t just eat carbohydrates either. It’s all about balance. But if that balance can come without me having to brown ground beef for the hundredth time, I’m taking that option.

That’s why this week, when I came across this “Marry Me Chickpea” recipe online, my interest was piqued. The sauce includes sundried tomatoes, basil, spinach, coconut milk – which is always a winning combination in my house.

But I didn’t know how everything was going to go over with Hunter, since he had been so adamantly pro-meat for those long and sometimes trying months. So, I just didn’t tell him I was going to make it. I went to the grocery store, got all of my ingredients and started cooking without him ever asking any questions about what I was making.

When I put the bowl in front of him, I honestly didn’t know what he would think. I was sort of expecting a groan of some kind. But apparently, three years of marriage changes a person. Because he just tucked right in, eating the chickpea concoction with naan I bought at the store.

And he loved it. Genuinely. He just kept saying over and over again how much he liked the flavors, and how I should definitely make it again. He offered a few thoughts on texture things – simmering the chickpeas a bit longer next time, which I agreed with.

But just like that, we agreed. No argument. No preferences, except sitting next to each other while we each ate our bowl of Marry Me Chickpeas. They really lived up to the name.

Marry Me Chickpeas

(Adapted from Tasting to Thrive)

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, sliced

1 can (400 milliliters) full fat coconut milk

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup baby spinach

1/4 cup fresh basil, julienned

4 pieces naan, to serve

Directions

• Heat olive oil in large pan over medium heat, then saute onion until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add your garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and saute for another 1-2 minutes.

• Add your chickpeas, sundried tomatoes, coconut milk, tomato paste, salt and pepper to the pan and bring the mixture to a low simmer. Once it’s simmering, reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.

• Add the basil and spinach and stir in until wilted. Serve with naan or another grain of your choice. Enjoy!