Valentine's Day

Of all days of the year, Valentine's Day ranks pretty far up on the list of days where a good meal is an important element. I started off the day with hearty bowls of oatmeal for Mark and I. I've been using McCann's steel-cut oats lately, and they are delicious. They cook up quickly on the stove and have a really pleasant porridge-like texture. I love oatmeal because once it's done, it is a blank canvas in terms of toppings. This time, I topped it with cinnamon, Vermont maple syrup, dried cranberries, and walnuts. This will fill you up and keep you going all morning.
For Valentine's dinner we actually went out on Saturday, since we figured we would dodge the crowds. We went to Bamboo Leaf, which is a Thai and Vietnamese restaurant. They have delicious food, and it is a cute little place with really friendly service. We started off the meal with vegetable spring rolls and a veggie and tofu spicy lemongrass soup. For dinner I had a Thai basil stir fry with tofu and veggies, and it was super tasty. I even had leftovers to eat the next day. This place is always a hit, and our Valentine's meal was no exception.

Finally, I made a Valentine's dessert. I have to give all the credit to No Meat Athlete for this one. I made three different kinds of filled chocolate cups - peanut butter, coconut cherry, and Kahlua cocoa. These were really fun to put together and came out great! It's so nice to have handmade candies for Valentine's Day instead of some mass produced, run of the mill chocolate. These also did perfect double duty for celebrating two great friends' engagement today (congrats Greg and Michelle)! You can find the details and recipe for these here.
All in all, it was a great Valentine's weekend. Besides all the tasty food, Mark and I went to Silverball Museum for a pinball date! If you're ever in the area, it is a must-see. I hope your Valentine's Day was a good one, with a few sweet treats involved too!