I am not the biggest fan of Valentine’s day. Growing up my V-Day crushes were always unrequited, but that wasn’t what made me on edge around Feb 14th. In fact, I was quite the romantic up until I was in a relationship on Valentine’s.
It seems that HAVING a significant other on Valentines day is almost worse than not. When you are single, you can rail against the tradition, declare yourself independent and modern and without need for Valentine’s day mush. But when you ARE in a relationship, the pressures build until nothing, no matter how grand, can fufill your mind’s imaginations and disappointment reigns. How do you prevent this? Ignore the pomp and circumstance of the so called holiday and instead just have a quiet night together. No pressure, no stress, just relaxing enjoyment. My Giant and I did just this. We made a meal together and watched a movie, and enjoyed sharing our time together.
Supper was pasta, chicken and garlic bread, with a yummy red wine. I didn’t get a picture of the bottle, but it was a delicious shiraz from chile.
I made the quick bacon garlic pasta. It is one of my favorite pasta dishes, and I have been craving it so much lately.
The chicken was a boneless, skinless breast that we butterflied, then spread with herb and garlic cream cheese and some chopped broccoli. Then the breast was rolled up, ‘pinned’ with toothpicks to help keep it closed and baked in the oven. Some Italian salad dressing makes a nice baste so that the outside of the rolled chicken doesn’t dry out while cooking.
Sorry the picture is so blurry. This time I tried out my new phone’s camera, only to discover it doesn’t do close ups well.
In case you are wondering why we would have a romantic meal with so much garlic? Turns out garlic is an aphrodisiac. And as for the bad breath, as long as you both are having garlic, neither will notice!
For dessert, I had picked up squares from The Baking Stone. There is a Chocolate Obesession (my favorite) and a specialty caramel square. We shared them and they were both delicious!
As for gifts, we had decided not to exchange them. I kind of broke the rules, a little, and got him a cell phone. It was a gift for both of us, really. He got an android HTC Desire Z, something to play on and be tech-y with, and I gained the ability to reach him anywhere. You see, my Giant hasn’t had a cell phone since before we started dating. It used to drive me bananas, but now I can text him and he can send me jokes all to our hearts’ content.
I hope everyone out there had a good Valentine’s Day, whether you are single or in a relationship. The key is to stay positive, and know that love is out there. Even if it isn’t fairy tale, it is out there.
What's On Lola's Table 