Ethiopian Anniversary Dinner

Husband and I celebrated 15 glorious years of wedded foodie bliss last week. One of things we love most about each other is our adventurous enthusiasm about food. High end, low end, authentically ethnic or not if it tastes good, we eat it!

Husband and I met during new performer orientation at The Ohio Renaissance Festival. As we sat next to each other lunch, Husband picked on the sprouts on my sandwich because everyone else at the table was picking on him for assembling his sandwich from ingredients he pulled from his refrigerator and quickly stashed into a cooler.

We’ve been making fun of each other ever since.

Husband and I became accidental foodies. During our Early Marriage, Early Career,Trying to Pay Off Bills Days, Husband and I shopped for fun and inexpensive and interesting ingredients at the plethora of mom and pop ethnic grocery stores in Columbus(thanks to Ohio State)

We experimented and learned how to make real food, real quick, and on a budget. Now we travel the world via our dinner table any night we choose.

 

It also allowed us to pay off our early marriage bills and buy a house. We continue to live on a cash only budget with the exception of our mortgage and car payment. That frees up funds for occasional foodie treats. Well, until lately.

This anniversary our plans for a romantic weekend getaway took a left turn at Albuquerque with Blitzkrieg’s cancer diagnosis. The gift part was easy. We gave each other Dog Chemo because Blitzkrieg is our most precious gift.

Fortunately, from those Early Marriage Days Husband and I know how to have foodie treats on a budget. We went for an interesting, yet affordable Ethiopian meal at Blue Nile. You might remember Blue Nile from the TV show 30 Days.

Ethiopian food is meant to be shared. It is a series of stewed served on a platter of spongy injera bread.

You might have already seen this if you follow me on Foodspotting

Husband and I enjoyed Doro Wat, a chicken dish served with a hard boiled egg and seasoned with berbere sauce and cow’s milk cheese on the side to cut the heat if deserved. I desired because it was on a bit on the too spicy side for me solo. We also enjoyed Doro Fitfit, a chicken dish made by mixing Doro Wat with injera and spicy spices (sorry neither of us could identify the spices other than – tastes good) and greens on the side.

My apologies for the photo quality. It's hard to take a decent 

picture one handed with your phone.

To add to the experience we ate in the traditional Ethiopian fashion of tearing a piece of injera from the large round, scooping up food from the patter with the injera and popping it delightfully into our mouths with our right hand (because back in the day, people used to wipe with their left hand.)

It doesn’t’ look it but our meal was very filling. Try as he might our waiter could not tempt us with dessert. No small feat since we were celebrating that night!

It was not the big celebration we thought we would have but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Husband and I allowed ourselves to finally laugh after our life turned upside down. We riffed at dinner and on the ride home like we did on that first fateful lunch – something we needed much more than a fancy gift.

Here’s to 15 more years Husband. I truly madly deeply love you now and forever.

You. Complete. Nutjob. 

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