I made Jonathan pose for some pictures for me last weekend when i wanted to try out my new camera and this is one of my favourite shots.

On Sunday, we’re celebrating our one year wedding anniversary. I can’t believe a year has gone by so quickly. I still remember how stressful the week of the wedding was and how glad i was to be on our honeymoon, having got the wedding out of the way. It was an incredibly beautiful celebration but i would do it so differently now, with far fewer people being invited and cost cutting on things like elaborate bouquets when i would have been happy with a bunch of daisies held by a ribbon.

It is too easy to get caught up in the wedding but we all know that what comes after, is what counts.
We have faced many, many challenges this year and have had to cling to each other even more tightly than ever before. But when he makes me tea just the way i like it and performs silly dances for me to make me smile, i know this is it. The real thing.

Happy anniversary, baby.

Yesterday, after baking some bread, i decided to try making halva, a dessert often made in India and which my grandmother and auntie faithfully made every year to usher in the Indian new year.

(Lightly toast 2 cups of semolina and set aside. Brown 1 cup of cashews in olive oil and set aside. Bring 4 cups of water to the boil and then add 7-9 tablespoons of caster sugar and some saffron powder to the water. Remove from stove. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt about 50g of butter or ghee. When melted, add in 1-2 teaspoons of ground cardamon. At this point, you should get a wonderful aroma. If not, add in more cardamon. Stir in the toasted semolina and mix well. Then slowly add the sugar water, making sure to stir well simultaneously to avoid lumps forming. Add the cashews and stir. Once thickened, remove from heat and place in a 8 x 8 dish. Flatten with the back of a spoon and let cool. Eat with some sweet tea.)

It made me feel very close to my grandmother and my auntie as i cooked this, knowing that they had cooked it many times before. As the smell of the cardamon hit me, i was taken back to my auntie’s kitchen where all sorts of sweet things were made with love. As i had my first bite of the halva, i could almost see myself in her kitchen, sitting at the table as she cut me piece after piece to eat.