vermicelli

the cowboy and the sisters - Bess & Piper Belle, Miss D is hangin' back with the photographer

The cowboy made dinner last night - maybe my favourite dinner that he's made yet. Rice vermicelli with spring rolls drenched in a sweet, tres garlicy, fish sauce concoction.

Vermicelli with Spring Rolls

cooked rice vermicelli noodles (4 cups)
large handful of fresh mint rough chopped
handful of chopped cilantro
carrot sliced into thin strips with a vegetable peeler
half of an English cucumber chopped in large pieces
2 cups of bean sprouts
4 or 5 cooked breakfast sausage chopped (the cowboy's favourite brand)
1 cup chopped unsalted peanuts
3 spring rolls heated and sliced on the diagonal
Asian hot chili sauce to taste

Divide the above ingredients into two large bowls, spoon on plenty of the fish sauce concoction. 1/2 cup or to taste. Stir together with chopsticks and eat. Wow !

Fish Sauce Concoction

1 large head of garlic minced
2 cups of apple juice
1/2 cup Thai fish sauce
4 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. Asian hot chili sauce

mix well in a jar and refrigerate (keeps for ages)

Our day's begin with early morning coffee and conversation, followed by goodbyes at 29 Black Street as we attempt to separate for our new eternity (8 hours in the daytime). Hours in which I've been trying to recreate part of the life I had before the cowboy. My designer's life, my work life - that Creative Empire building life. Yikes. I'm struggling I confess. Oh how I wish I counted beans or some less conceptually taxing occupation - for my brain has become as dull as dull can be. Brilliant creativity and the love stupor do not seem to make a good match.

An hour goes by while I sit at the TTD willing my dull brain to come to, Please !? and he calls and I'm so relieved because I'm missing him tremendously already and we commiserate while counting the hours until we'll meet up again. He's coming into town to do errands, he tells me Why not stop by for a visit I ask. He says Yes I will with relief in his voice. Our scheduled meeting up again time is 3pm when I take the sisters Miss D and Piper Belle, to his house, for our afternoon walk with the beautiful brown hound Bess in the golden, now snow covered, hayfield behind his house. Then I have tea (English Breakfast imported from Newcastle on Tyne) and he has an afternoon beer and we chat once again by the fire. Dinner's back at 29 Black Street with another fire to stoke, crazed, wrestling, gnashing dogs and cats lurking disapprovingly from the darkened corners of the room. More after dinner conversation - ongoing and expanded next chapters revealed from our individual histories. We eat dessert - last night it was squares of dark chocolate and Christmas clementines. We sit on the floor on the thick rug (brought from his home for the dogs to play on - traction) and in front of the fire and we laugh until we're both crying and snorting at the silly and acrobatic antics of the sisters Bess & Piper Belle, while Miss D, who's curled up on the sofa, beams down big at her new pack.

Then we sleep tangled perfectly together looking forward to the beginning of our next new day.