Stupid Cupid, Valentine's Day Mush, and How to Spoil Your Loved Ones
Watch out for Cupid's arrow, or better yet, avoid the greeting card aisle. Valentine's Day is approaching and love is in the air. For many hopeless romantics out there, February 14th is a wonderful, starry-eyed opportunity to give and receive special tokens of affection like flowers, chocolates, and of course, store-bought or homemade valentines. If your significant other is not so romantic the rest of the year, it's practically mandated on Valentine's Day. On the other hand, singles can enjoy being exempt from all this romantic (and financial!) pressure and focus completely on spoiling themselves. And besides, there are always plenty of ridiculously fun Anti-Valentine's Day parties going on in most cities. In that spirit, I'll present a special chocolate spa day designed just for single women. Chocolate IS a girl's best friend. Moving on to the mushy stuff, I'll tell you how to spoil the loved ones in your life, whether it's your kids or your hubby. In the true spirit of Recipe4Living, the way to anyone's heart is the stomach.
Don't forget to check out our other Valentine's Day Features: A Romantic Valentine's Day Dinner for Your Sweetheart Little Love Bites Edible Valentines
Spoil Yourself The Essentials Spoil the Kids Meal Ideas Sweets for your Sweeties
History? I got your history
Okay okay, if you must know WHY we celebrate this silly holiday called Valentine's Day, let me explain briefly. Valentine's Day began with a priest, St. Valentine. Rumor has it that during the third century in Rome, Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than married men and thus outlawed marriage for young men. Recognizing the injustice of this, St. Valentine continued to marry young people in secret and was imprisoned and eventually killed. Other rumors say that St. Valentine helped Christians escape harsh Roman prisons and that he may have even sent a love letter from prison to an admired woman, signed "From Your Valentine." As St. Valentine was later a favorite saint in France and England, Valentine's Day became popularly celebrated in the seventeenth century. In 1840, the first mass-produced "valentines" appeared in America. Today, 85% of Valentine's Day cards are purchased by women. Is this because men are buying flowers?
Boycott this Silly Holiday and Spoil Yourself!
Rose-Lavender Bath Powder
Here is a list of "needed" supplies for an indulgent foot spa experience.
Ingredients
Marbles
A foot basin
Whole milk
Vanilla extract
Chocolate extract
Brown Sugar
White sugar
Olive oil
Directions
Put a handful of marbles in the foot basin or any large container to soak your feet in. Fill halfway with cold water. Warm enough whole milk to fill the basin and whisk until frothy. Add 1 Tbs. each of vanilla extract and chocolate extract. Soak feet for 5 minutes while you are rolling them over the marbles. The lactic acid in the milk naturally sloughs off dead skin and softens them. Next, mix a handful of each brown sugar and white sugar with enough olive oil to form a paste. Massage this paste into the feet, ankles, knees and calves. Rinse with warm water and pat dry. Finish with lotion that has been warmed in the microwave. You can add a few drops of vanilla extract in your lotion to keep the vanilla scent on your skin.
So sweet and indulgent, it's the perfect bath for chocoholics - but please, don't drink the bath water.
Ingredients
1 C. unscented bubble bath
1/3 C. unsweetened Soya Brand Milk
3 oz. dark chocolate
Directions
Heat the Soya milk and add in the chopped chocolate, stir well until melted. Do not boil. Allow cooling down. Mix with the bubble bath and pour into your bath and enjoy.
This is a really easy way to make a normally complicated dessert. Enjoy these while you are lounging in the tub.
Ingredients
1 12 oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 C. orange-flavored liqueur or 1 tsp. orange extract
1 can chocolate or fudge frosting
Toppings: Coconut, chocolate sprinkles, ground nuts and cocoa
Directions
Melt chocolate chips in medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in orange liqueur and frosting; blend well. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or until firm. Place coconut or other toppings in pie pan. Scoop mixture into 1" balls; drop onto topping. Mixture will be sticky. Roll to coat. Place in foil candy cups, if desired. Store in refrigerator.
Yield: 6 dozen
Ingredients
1 shot vodka
Splash of peach schnapps
Equal parts cranberry and grapefruit juice.
Lime for garnish
Directions
Mix together all ingredients and pour over ice. Garnish top of glass with a lime wedge.
Some Essentials for Spoiling Loved Ones
Oatmeal Soap Balls
Flower Meanings- Every flower has a meaning, many of which have endured for centuries. So unless you want to give a woman the symbol for mourning this Valentine's Day, make sure you look into these meanings before picking a bouquet. Not only will you have the perfect gesture with the flowers, but you'll impress that special someone with your knowledge. He or she will think you are quite thoughtful (just don't let on I told you).
- Amaryllis or Iris- Both of these flowers are perfect for the artists or actors you know. Amaryllis is dramatic and the iris is inspiring.
- Carnation- To be blunt, many women view carnations as a "filler flower," but if you know this person likes carnations go with yellow or pink. These express cheerfulness and gratitude respectively.
- Gardenia or Day Lily- Symbolizing joy and enthusiasm respectively, these are great universal flowers to brighten anyone's Valentine's Day.
- Lilac- Have a serious case of puppy love? Lilacs are the symbol for first love. Your spouse or fiancé will giggle.
- Orange Blossoms- Do you have a friend or significant other trying to get pregnant? Or one that has recently become pregnant? Orange blossoms are the symbol for fertility.
- Orchid or Hibiscus- As would be expected, orchids and hibiscus symbolize delicate beauty. Depending on the person, this can either be touching or somewhat offensive.
- Pansy, Yellow or Red Tulip- While all these flowers are gestures of love, the pansy is the least strong, and the red tulip is a great first declaration. Yellow denotes a hopeless romantic devotion.
Rose- Red roses are the ultimate gesture of passionate love. If you have only been dating a short time, this is too strong a gesture. White roses are a symbol of purity (making them particularly popular at weddings). Pink roses symbolize friendship. A mixture of red and white denote unity, making them perfect for a married couple of many years.
- Sunflower- These unique flowers show adoration. You can't help but smile when you see a sunflower.
Chocolate
For information on different kinds of chocolate, its history and more, check out For the Chocoholics: All About Chocolate.
Melting Chocolate- Because chocolate is very delicate to heat, you have to melt chocolate slowly, well-removed from heat. Always heat chocolate over low heat or it will quickly become an unappetizing mass. Use a double boiler, or place the saucepan with chocolate on top another saucepan with boiling water on the stovetop. Keep in mind that chocolate will continue to melt even after removing it from a heat source, so be careful not to overcook.
- Unsweetened chocolate will easily liquefy when melted, but sweetened chocolate must be continually stirred.
Chocolate flavored coating contains cocoa and vegetable oil, rather than cocoa butter. Coatings are popular because they are easier to use for things like dipping, but the taste and quality are nowhere near real chocolate.
For the Kids
Cherry Bubbles
Sweeten bath-time for the kids or for yourself with this delicious recipe.
Ingredients
1/2 C. unscented shampoo
12 drops cherry fragrance oil
2 drops red food coloring
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 C. water
Directions
Mix together the shampoo and water in a jar. Add the salt and stir again until the mixture thickens up. Add the cherry oil and the red food coloring and stir the mixture thoroughly once more. Bottle the mixture until ready to use in your bath. To use; add 1 Tbs. to running bath water. Soak as desired.
Crafts for Kids (Compliments of our RSVP writer Sarah Potts)
Valentines- Go out and buy a bunch of colored construction paper and have a "card making" station. Have scissors, heart patterns, stickers and markers supplied so the kids can make their family and friends Valentine's Day cards.
Candy Lollipop Flowers- This is a great and non-messy activity for children. All you will need is wrapped heart-shaped lollipops that you should be able to find any where in the seasonal section, green chenille stems and scissors. First have the children start at the top of the lollipop stick (just before the end of the sucker) and tightly wrap the chenille stem in a coil around the lollipop stick. Once this is done, cut off the extra chenille. You can use the extra piece or another piece of chenille and wrap this around the stem as well to make the "leaf," just make sure the leaf is secure. There you go- your child can now have a fun bouquet of little hear shaped flowers to give to anyone.
- Foam Love Letters- Give your child the gift of love this Valentines Day. These easy to make foam letters spell out the word "love" and would be adorable in any little girl's room. Click here for how to make!
Rose Valentine Coffee or Tea Mug- Here's an inexpensive Valentine's Day gift that you can make yourself for your special valentine. It is easy and it is fun, any child could make this for his or her mom. The Web site provides the free, full-sized rose stencil pattern (at right) - or you could use your own romantic theme. Click here for how to make!
- For more craft ideas, visit HandCrafter's Village.
Spoil Your Sweetie- In my mind, there is no greater gift for a loved one than a fancy meal. Here are a couple fancy menus perfect for Valentine's Day, and a few more ideas to inspire you.
Menu 1- Shrimp in Champagne Sauce with Pasta
Menu 2- Crab-Stuffed Fillet Mignon with Whiskey-Peppercorn Sauce
More Aphrodisiacs!
Beef Filet Mignon with Wild Mushroom Sauce
Cornish Hens with Cherry Sauce
Chicken Breasts with Pears and Zinfandel
Sweeten Your Sweetie- It really is all about the sweets on Valentine's Day. Here are a few ideas for homemade gifts
This Valentine's Day, give your sweetheart a bouquet she'll really love: chocolate!
Ingredients
10 wooden skewers or 18-gauge florist wire
Red and silver Hershey Kiss candies
Green florist tape
Silk green leaves with wired stems
Directions
Pull tiny labels from each Hershey Kiss. Stick two foil- wrapped Kisses together, bottom to bottom. Insert the skewer into the tip of one Kiss and at this point begin winding florist tape down the skewer. Add several leaves along the way.
Rate the recipe here! Cherry and Chocolate Pastry Hearts
Ingredients
1/2 of a 17-1/4-oz. package frozen puff pastry (1 sheet), thawed
3/4 C. cherry pie filling
8 tsp. fudge ice-cream topping
2 Tbs. chopped nuts
Directions
On a lightly floured surface, unfold thawed pastry. Using a 3-1/2- to 4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut pastry into shapes, discarding pastry scraps or reserving for another use. Place pastry hearts on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool on racks. Split hearts horizontally; fill each with some of the pie filling. Place hearts on dessert plates. Drizzle with fudge topping and sprinkle with nuts. Serve immediately.
Yield: 8 servings
Tip: Prepare pastry hearts; cool. Place in airtight freezer container; place crumbled paper towels around hearts to prevent breaking. Seal, label, and freeze up to 2 weeks. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
More Sweets
Berry Valentine Pie
Shortcake Biscuits with Berries
Chocolate-Dipped Fortune Cookies
Sweetheart Meringue Tarts with Strawberries
Frozen Raspberry Mousse with Ice Cream Warm Chocolate Swoons
Find All Valentine's Day Recipes Here!
A Romantic Valentine's Day Dinner for Your Sweetheart
