more than i can hold in my heart.

terrible cook

brilliant mind. terrible cook.

double amen.

sneak peek to miranda being a terrible cook.

×+×+×+×

The first time Miranda made some food for him, it was nice.

"What's this?"

"My special, secret recipe artichoke dip," Miranda smiled proudly while setting the bowl down in front of him. "And some chips."

He smiled. Miranda always refused to cook. They either ate outside, for takeout, or he cooked. It was a nice change to see her make some food, even if it is just a dip.

Ben looked at Miranda and smiled at her. She nodded at the food, and then to him. "Well? Take a bite, babe."

And he did. He took a bite of it, and damn, it was good. "Woah, that's really good, Miranda."

Her smile was so wide, he'll never forget it. "It's my mom's recipe."

He grinned, and finished the whole bowl easily. They moved to the couch, and they weren't really paying attention to the TV. It was just extra noise. "Why do you never cook?"

Miranda shrugged, "I'm not really good at it."

"Come on," he chuckled. "Cook something else for me. A proper breakfast, or dinner."

She scoffed and kissed his cheek. "I'm telling you, you wouldn't like it."

He put an arm around her, and she snuggled at his neck. "Try me."

"Your choice." She shrugged, "I want you to remember this conversation when you taste my cooking."

"Embedded in my memory."

And he remembered that with clarity when he indeed tasted her cooking.

And she was right.

"Uh, Miranda, it's burnt." Ben commented as he looked at the pancakes served in front of him and Tuck.

"Mommy, you know you can't cook!" The 5-year-old giggled. He looked at the pancakes and scrunched his nose. "Yuck!"

Miranda sighed and shook her head. He could see her face reddening. "See. I'm gonna say 'I told you so.'"

He chuckled and stood from his seat. "Love, it's fine. No biggie."

She huffed and walked away. Before he ran after her, he faced Tuck, "Don't eat that, it's poison." He pointed to the food, and the kid giggled.

×+×+×+×

The third time, Miranda cooked mashed potatoes. She wanted to prove herself and make one of the most basic American dishes of all time. So mashed potatoes it is.

Ben watched her from the doorway. She had on her barely used apron, her hair up in a ponytail, and she was zooming around the kitchen. Sweat was already dripping on her forehead, but she was adorable. Her focused face consist of a scrunched up nose, furrowed eyebrows and her lower lip bitten by her upper teeth. God, this woman was the love of his life.

When she finished, he walked away to the dining table.

"Here!" She beamed, her eyes wide. "Mashed potatoes."

Ben leaned up with a towel and wiped the sweat from her brow. "Good job, my love."

She smiled, and kissed him sweetly. "Thank you, Ben."

"Let's eat."

It wasn't horrible, per se, but it wasn't that good either. Very salty, and kind of rough on the tongue. "So?" She asked. "How is it?"

He chewed particularly slowly, even if mashed potatoes weren't supposed to be chewed that much. "It's..." he trailed off.

"Come on, Ben. Tell me." The brightness in her eyes just made him gulp.

Ben looked at her straight in the eyes. "I love you. You know that right?" He was sweating.

She snorted. "It isn't good?" She looked down at the food she made. She took a spoonful and ate it. "Oh God, that's terrible."

They looked at each other, and Ben felt so bad. He wanted her to feel good about herself, and she was so excited to make these. She was so sure she'd finally make something good. And it just blew up in her face.

"I'm--

He was cut off by her laughter. "That's terrible." She kept laughing, and laughing, and her joy was contagious, he started to laugh too.

They settled down after a few minutes, and Miranda was wiping the tears from her eyes. "Oh God, I actually thought I'd make it right this time."

Ben chuckled. "You'll get it soon, Miranda. I'll help you."

She rolled her eyes. "Um, no. I can do it."

Eventually, she did. It took three more tries, before Ben can actually swallow the mashed potatoes.

Miranda may be a beautiful, smart, a great mother, but in cooking, there's no telling which way it'll go.

And Ben loved her anyway.