Valentine's Day

[southendmd]

Happy Valentine's Day to you, Chuck, and all the Brokies everywhere who observe it. The New York Times had a literary romatic quote quiz this morning, and I'm sure all of you can get at least one question right! (Gift Article)

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/02/09/books/review/literary-love-lines.html?unlocked_article_code=1.MFA.6p_a.3MbdHgnL0_s3&smid=url-share

I got 5/5, mostly by guessing.  Except for one I was pretty sure I knew...

[serious crayons]

My son texted me Happy Valentine's Day yesterday morning. "Make a lasagna," he added.

Hunh?

He recalled that I used to always make lasagna on Valentine's Day. I'd forgotten that! It became one of his favorite foods, he said.

I didn't want to make a whole pan of lasagna just for myself, so I bought a pan of spinach lasagna at a really good Italian foods cafe/store, and shared it last night with two neighbors.

At my other son's suggestion, I also bought us a huge piece of tiramisu to share.

[Front-Ranger]

Both of my oldest grandsons requested a tiramisu cake on their birthdays (oldest grandson's was Friday). This is one of the easiest cakes to make--no baking! Traditional tiramisu is kind of alcoholic because the ladyfingers are dipped in sherry or red wine, but I dip them in chai tea. It still has a faintly spirited taste because I use home-made vanilla (pods steeped in vodka) but it's just a teaspoon. Have you seen tiramisu cakes at grocers' or Italian bakeries? They can be very pricey so I'm glad I can make my own. Another change is that I use cream cheese (Philadelphia brand) instead of Mascarpone. It has a lovely tangy taste, while I find the latter pretty tasteless. You can recall my Italian card if you wish. I have no Italian blood (the Italian name is my ex-husband's) but I really respect the people, even more as they graciously host the Olympics.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I agree. Commercial crap.

If that's the only day of the year you tell someone you love them, you might as well just skip it.

The best part about it is that probably any candy left over went on sale today. 

[Jeff Wrangler]

He recalled that I used to always make lasagna on Valentine's Day. I'd forgotten that! It became one of his favorite foods, he said.

At least one time that I can recall, my mother made a single-layer heart-shaped cake. She used one square cake pan and one round pan. Then she cut the round cake in half and placed the halves on two adjoining sides of the square cake to make a heart shape. She covered the whole cake with white icing/frosting and then she wrote Happy Valentine's Day using one of those jell-things that came in a tube that you used to write things on cakes. (Is that stuff still around?)