Valentines Day Inspirations

Valentine's Day is Coming 

I hope you find these inspiring for your special day

Note, flowers on this page are not necessarily edible, just beautiful to inspire one for valentines day

Caprese salad in puff pastry. Bake Puff pastry at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes-20 minutes until crispy. Bake in a small baking dish, I chose a rectangle.  Let cool on rack.  Buy some fresh mozzarella and cut into rectangles small enough to fit inside the pastries.  Top with Roma Tomato cubes or slices, and some fresh basil leaves cut fine.  Then mix up some balsamic vinegar (where I use my 25 year old balsamic),olive oil, salt and pepper if you wish, and yummy.

    Heart Shaped Herb Biscuits

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 cups flour

1 tbsp sugar

3 tsp baking powder (not baking soda)

1 tsp salt

2-3 tsp rosemary or dill

3/4 cup of milk ( I use 2% fat)

Mix butter and dry ingredients using your hands or a pastry blender, you are looking for the size of small peas.  Then add the milk and continue to knead until it starts to form together.  Turn out onto a floured board, and use a glass or biscuit cutter, to cut out the biscuits.  Here I used a heart shaped cookie cutter.  Place on a greased baking sheet or silpat (silicone baking sheet) and bake at 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.  Makes about 1 dozen.

                                      

  spinach
Fresh Strawberries in mini pie shells
Parfait of strawberries, Boysenberries, and vanilla whip cream Chocolate Souffle with chocolate sauce and whipped cream-see recipe on dessert page
coffee beans 

 Peanut Butter Nut Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp of nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
1 cup of butter
l cup chunky peanut butter
l cup brown sugar
3/4 cup of white granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups (1 1/2 cups before chopping) deluxe mixed nuts, or specialty nuts of your choice

1/4 cup additional white sugar for rolling cookies in before baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix together the flour, nutmeg, and baking powder, set aside.
In another mixing bowl, or your kitchen Aid mixer, mix together the butter and sugars until smooth and creamy.   Add eggs in one at a time, mixing after each addition. On a low speed, slowly add the flour mixture.  Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls.  Place ball into the 1/4 cup of sugar reserved, and roll them around covering all sides.  Place on a baking sheet 2 inches apart.  Next get a small bowl of water, and a fork.  You are to place the fork in water and press the cookies out flat. Then back into the water with the fork and press the other direction.  Continue with all the cookies the same way.  Right before you bake them, take any remaining sugar and sprinkle a pinch of sugar on the tops.  Bake for 22 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on a rack and enjoy.  These are my favorite peanut butter cookies, been working on them for years, finally totally happy
with them.

          sunflower seeds
noodles                                
 tomato, mozzarella and basil   marshmallows
raspberries
marshmallows
sugars heart blueberries whole grain breadpeas, carrots and onions

 Try a nice old port or your favorite beverage is some nice cordial glasses after dinner.

Ok, my husband says that guys just want a good dinner,some chips and a 6 pack of their beer in a cooler.  Hmm, I guess it's what they want that matters since it's for them.  I like to put beers in an ice bucket and have them sticking out kinda cool, but he says, then you only get 2 beers.  Ok, I'm listening. 

Maybe take him or her for a nice coffee, check out these amazing cappuccinos.  I didn't make these but they are worth showing, enjoy

You can try this at home too.  Make a sousse mocha international foods coffee or whatever is your favorite cappuccino etc. and simply add your favorite creamer in small dots, add a little chocolate syrup in small dots  and use a toothpick and drag through the circles of chocolate and cream you put in it.

Planning to give roses-Do you know the meaning of different colors of roses?  Is it saying what you want it to?

Red Roses

     Love, Respect, Courage

Dark Red Roses

     Unconscious Beauty

Single Red Rose

     I Love you

Pink roses

     Appreciation, Admiration,

Yellow Roses

      Friendship, Joy, Gladness, Freedom

Yellow Roses with red tip

      Friendship, falling in love

White Roses

     Purity, Innocence, Reverence

Orange Roses

     Desire, Enthusiasm

Two Roses Joined together

    Engagement

Red and White Roses together

     Unity

Lavender Roses

      love at first sight

Blue Rose

     the unattainable or the impossible

Thorn less rose

      Love at first sight (love that one, my husband has taken thorns off roses before giving to me for years-:)

If you decide to give flowers, often men buy roses. They are beautiful, don't get me wrong.   Tell her or him that you bought this color or that because you know it's meaning.  And think outside of roses perhaps, orchids, a few sprigs are not costly.  What is your special someones favorite flower-it'll mean a lot to them to show you know.