Food is Husband'S First and True Love

Luciano Pavarotti always has been my husband's favorite, not only for his wonderful tenor voice but for the interview in which, he was asked if he was overweight, he answered, "I like to eat."When I tried to tell my husband he as in issue with food, he would say, "I am not overweight-it's not my fault-I'm lumpy I just like to eat."As proof of my point, however, when he was on a business trip to London, he called me late in the evening U.K. time.  I thought he was going to tell me how much he missed our daughter and me, but I was only slightly shocked when he opened the conversation by telling me he was calling on a cell phone from a new Italian restaurant he had discovered in London.  "You won't believe the sauce I having," he said, excitedly.  "And how are you," I asked. "Fine, but you should taste the pasta they served as a side dish."He continued like this for next 10 minutes, describing in intimate detail the food, the service and he was going to go back again the next night.It was not the first time something like this happened.  He once came back  from trip to Italy.  When we got home from the airport, he couldn't wait to show me what he got me from Rome.  He opened his suitcase to present me with 25 pounds of Italian Lentils.  "They cook up so much better than the one we buy in the store here," he said with very sincereand innocent smile.  As a family, we've come to accept his relationship with food and love him anyway.Here is a recipe for Italian lentil soup, which I obtained from Lilly, who ran Giovanni's Restaurant in Rome.Lentil and Tomato Soupserves 6-81       pound lentils4       tablespoons olive oil1        medium onion, chopped3        stalks celery, finely chopped4        medium carrots, peeled and finely diced2       bay leaves1      teaspoon sage2      cloves garlic, mashed1       16-ounce can crushed tomatoessalt and pepper to taste-In a soup pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onions for couple of minutes.-Add the carrots and the celery, stir and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.-Add the lentils and 10 cups of water, the sage and the bay leaves.  Bring to a boil and allow the lentils to boil until done but not soft and mushy.-Add the garlic, the crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Bring back to a boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.