Ten years!

[wildeabandon]

This Saturday was the tenth anniversary of me asking obandsoller to be my "It's Complicated" on Facebook. Ten years! There's a part of me that can't quite believe anyone could put up with me for that long, but when I'm not being self-deprecating, I know that actually we're really good together, and that both of us have done the work to make that happen. There are many things I love about him - how thoughtful and observant he is, the way he appreciates art and words and games and brings things out of them that I'd never notice, his engagement with the world and his passion for justice, his playfulness, his stylishness... I could go on.

But alongside that, there's a lot I really love about the relationship, which is a slightly different thing. I love how safe and secure it makes me feel - the absolute bone deep certainty that he will always be on my side, helping me up when I screw up, and cheering me on when I try to do difficult things. I love how affectionate we are, constantly cuddling and nibbling and reaching out and squeezing each others hands. I love that we like each other very much, and that we tell each other, and why. I love that we do little things for one another - he rubs my neck and shoulders when they're tense, and I bring him tea in the mornings. I love that even when we argue, which doesn't happen all that often, we both try really hard to do so constructively even when we're feeling frustrated, and that we continue to affirm our affection even as we argue. We are both lucky to have such a wonderful partnership, but it isn't just luck, and I think we can both be justly proud of what we've built together.

We celebrated our anniversary with a romantic meal at home - much like the weekend we first got together.

We started with red onion soup, which was pretty good, but was actually more interesting flavour wise without the cream, although I liked the visual effect. Maybe next time I'll try sour cream instead:


Then we had mushroom and chipolte tacos, with homemade guacamole. I was really pleased with how these came out.


Then finally we had rose, raspberry and almond roulade, which is the cake I make every year for Ramesh's birthday, because he really likes it.


And here we are. I really like how delighted we look.

Comments

[miss_s_b]

Congratulations!

[ludy]

Congratulations :)

[nou]

Happy anniversary!

(The photos aren’t showing up for me — permissions issue?)

[wildeabandon]

Thank you, and thanks for the heads up. I think the pictures should be showing now?

[nou]

Yes, thanks — they look great! How did you cook the mushrooms for the tacos?

[wildeabandon]

I started with sliced onions and garlic puree on a med-low heat, then added the mushrooms (I used a mixture of shitake and the waitrose mixed exotic mushrooms packet, but in future I'd go with just shitake and enoki) and turned the heat up to medium high until cooked. Added about 200ml of cream, about 3tsp of chipotle paste and 2 tbsp of tomato puree, allowed to bubble until the texture looked right, and then served.

[nou]

Thanks! I’ve scheduled in a taco meal for next week and will include this. It sounds great.

[nou]

It went down well, thanks again! I used Lactofree cream and it was fine. I’d probably use less cream next time since bob found it a bit too creamy, and also leave out the enoki since they made it quite hard to take just one bite (they just keep coming), but I’ll definitely make it again.

[emperor]

Aww, congratulations :)

[barakta]

Awww, happy anniversary to you both!

[sfred]

Hurray for you two. <3

[marcus]

Awww, congrats!

[ceb]

Congratulations! And awww. And ooh, can I have that cake recipe?

Sorry for the slow response

[wildeabandon]

Sponge
5 eggs, seperated
175g castor sugar
50g ground almonds
1/4 tsp almond essence
25g flaked almonds

Filling
275ml double cream
3 tablespoons of rose water
25g icing sugar
225g raspberries

Preheat the oven to 200C
Line a 23cm x 32 cm Swiss roll itn with greaseproof paper and oil the paper lightly.
Whisk the egg yolks & sugar and then fold in the ground almonds and the essence.
Whisk the yolks until peaking and then fold them into the yolk mixture.
Pour into the tin, and then scatter the almond flakes over its surface.
Bake for ~15 minutes, until golden brown, and then leave to cool.
Whilst it is cooking/cooling, prepare the filling. Whip the cream until lightly peaking, then whisk in the rosewater, icing sugar, and raspberries.
Invert the cooled sponge onto a sheet of icing-sugar-dusted greaseproof paper, and pull off the lining paper.
Spread it with the cream mixture, then roll it up and chill.
Slice to serve, and if you want to be fancy, sprinkle each slice with rose petals.