Yes, they've got a plan, but they aren't glued to it, they say.

"Remember when there was that really good deal on parsley?" Maureen said, over her pre-dinner glass of wine. "Then we had to figure out what to do with all of it."

There are some patterns. Friday is pizza night. Maureen brings home pizza dough from the Reading Terminal Market and Scott creates the topping following the plan on his spreadsheet. Often on Wednesdays, he prepares salmon for himself, and warms leftovers for Maureen.

On Saturday, Maureen cooks, but plans her menu in the morning, buys the food in the afternoon and prepares it in the evening, making a full-course vegetarian meal including appetizers.

"I just sit on the couch," Scott said. She's been trying to follow his example of cleaning up as she goes. Otherwise, he said, "it's like a tornado in the kitchen."

Scott's kitchen prowess isn't entirely influenced by the military, unless you count General Mom. When he was a youngster, his mother, a stay-at-home homemaker with five children, always put on lipstick and changed into a nice dress for dinner, which was ready when his father came home from work. "We always had dinner in the dining room. It was Leave It to Beaver, that's what it was," he said.

The couple take their meals and their relationship seriously.

"We always joke that when there's a snowstorm, people go out and get milk and bread. We go out and buy capers and olives," Maureen laughed.

This is a couple that never eats in front of the television - in fact won't even have a television in the living room because that's where they have their pre-dinner wine and chitchat.

"I'm out a lot of nights," Maureen said, "and so when we are home, we both like being at home and we both like to have nice things."

Scott had a simpler explanation: "We're in love."

Chinese Hoisin Stir-Fry (Vegan)

Makes about 4 servings

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons sesame oil, divided use

4 tablespoons soy sauce, divided use

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar or liquid sweetener