belated Valentine's dinner

Due to band practice, Dan and I ended up celebrating Valentine's Day on Tuesday night instead, with brie fondue!

We had homemade baguette, apple slices, steamed broccoli, cremini mushrooms, and steamed potatoes for dipping, and let's just say this meal was a hit . . . Dan ate so much cheese he had to take a little pepto before bed! :)

Hope you had a nice Valentine's Day, whether or not yours included fondue!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I must confess, I'm not a lover of Valentine's Day . . . I fear the holiday has grown far too commercial, and has become all about pre-packaged cards and candy for children, stress about finding the perfect "gift" for grown-ups in couples, and grumpiness for those grown-ups not in couples.

So, I thumb my nose at Valentine's Day, and make it about what I love most -- food! (Well, and Dan, too.) :)

We had a nice "date" day today -- we went to see a play this afternoon, and enjoyed a fantastic treat for dinner:

That, my friends, is BRIE FONDUE. Yes, indeed, my all-time favorite cheese, melted into something alltogether tastier than I even imagined. :) Yum, yum, yum. Dippers included homemade Artisan Bread baguette, sliced apple, steamed broccoli, steamed potato, and homemade veggie sausage slices.

I also managed to bang out a batch of cuppers this weekend:

Ever-thrifty, I pulled leftover Christmas buttercream out of the freezer, and decorated with a box of conversation hearts that Dan or I hadn't gotten ahold of yet, plus leftover holiday sprinkles. Score! (P.S. I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe ever -- Moosewood's Vegan Chocolate Cake. Full of nothing but pantry staples, whisks together in minutes, and bakes up moist, chocolatey, and delicious!)

Hope you enjoyed your Valentine's Day!

deliciousness, vacay

Friday night dinner:

Barbecued tempeh, sweet potato fries, and artichokes! Vegenaise for dipping my fries, lemon and Earth Balance for dipping my artichoke. Nummy. (Oh yes -- and I made iced blueberry herbal tea to drink. Very refreshing!)

Friday night dessert:

The affordable organic strawberries made me think, "hmm . . . fondue! Yum." So, there you have it. Nothing like tons of fresh fruit and melty, creamy, rich chocolate to dip it all in.

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After dinner last night, Dan and I sat down and mapped out/started planning our vacation we plan to take in June. Woo! I'm so excited -- we're going to see several places I've never been! We plan to hit several state parks for camping, do some hiking in the Boundary Waters, and also return to one of our favorite Minnesota places. I can't wait -- only five weeks away!

classics and fantastic treats!

While I may have been feeling a little bit uninspired when planning meals for the weekend, "classics" are still tasty and healthy!

Dinner Friday night:

A regular repeat at my house, Thai coconut soup with tofu and mushrooms, garnished with plenty of green onions and cilantro. (Jasmine rice hiding underneath.) The soup was not nearly spicy enough this time around . . . I wonder if my curry paste is getting old? Hm.

Saturday brunch:

Another classic, this weekend with two-potato hashbrowns instead of our regular Yukon golds. I asked Dan if he was getting sick of this brunch; he replied, "nope." It's healthy, easy, and keeps both of us happy -- what's not to like?

Valentine's Day Dinner:

Falafel in homemade pita (Artisan Bread, as usual,) with a giant, delicious salad on the side. Dan helped a ton with this meal, which was very nice -- he made the tahini sauce, cooked the falafel, and made half the pita. I was glad for his help, even though we trip over each other in my tiny kitchen. All I did was make the salad and chop the veggies to go in our falafel! An easy night for me. :)

AND NOW . . . on to the treats:

Valentine's Day Dessert:

Chocolate Fondue!! I used this recipe, courtesy of Eating Well, which was a cinch to prepare (measure ingredients, microwave, stir, voila!) and incredibly delicious. The recipe serves two, although it still made too much chocolate for the two of us after our filling falafel. A keeper recipe for sure, though -- look at all of that delicious fruit! And dark chocolate IS a good source of antioxidants, after all! A heart-healthy treat for a heart-holiday! ;-)

Last, a heart-themed baking project:

I made the sugar cookies from Joy of Vegan Baking, and made a pink vegan buttercream to top them off -- 1/4 cup Earth Balance, 4 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon almond extract, red food coloring, and 3 tablespoons almond milk. This made enough frosting to generously cover the 24 cookies the recipe yielded, plus enough leftover for copious bowl-licking. I used to loathe almond extract as a child . . . I'm so glad my tastebuds have grown up!

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We're off to brunch with Dan's family this afternoon, so there won't be much more cooking left this weekend. Hope you all had an enjoyable, treat-filled holiday weekend!

What special Valentine's Day meal or treat did you make?