Fourth anniversary dinner

My boyfriend and I have been together for four colorful years. So colorful in fact that I think we have used every crayon in our box, the light happy ones, and the dark ones as well, to paint the canvass that we both share. Despite the issues we've had in the past (and a few more we still have today), I think we have grown better and stronger as a couple. Speaking for myself, I have become more patient, understanding and wiser when it comes to matters that concern not only the relationship, but also my partner, because how I live my life also affects how my partner lives his, no matter how small that influence or my decisions may be.

In the eyes of some people like us, four years may seem like a short time. But to most people, especially straight people, well, let's just continue to surprise them. I'm happy. Very happy.

I'm not an Erwan Heussaff and I'm not well-versed in the language of chefs, but I daresay I can cook. I have made several good dishes for various occasions and recreated a few dishes from a few high-end restaurants with success. So I'm pretty confident that I would be able to prepare a wonderful dish to celebrate our fourth anniversary with my partner.

Here is how I prepared my simple creamy salmon pasta for tonight's special occasion.

• Boil water (make sure it's as salty as seawater) and cook pasta as per packet instructions.

• While the pasta is cooking, sauté crushed garlic on a skillet until golden brown then add slices of salmon (I used canned salmon and I like adding the liquid to make the sauce better) and 300 grams of all-purpose cream. A dash of pepper. Remove salmon from the sauce.

• As soon as the pasta is cooked, toss the pasta to the skillet and mix with the sauce. You don't have to drain the water from the pasta. I don't get why many Filipinos like to drain their pasta dry after cooking. It's so wrong.

• Transfer to a bowl, place the salmon on top of the pasta, and serve with toasted bread.

Very easy to do. It'll only take you 20 minutes to prepare the dish. So tell me, why go to a fancy restaurant if you can prepare a dish like this yourself?