WIAW #11 – Valentine’s Day

I thought it would be fun this week to follow a slightly fancier day than usual…

Breakfast is still much the same – protein shake and oatmeal. I saved some of the raspberries, though, for both my breakfast (heated up with the oatmeal) and his (I let them thaw, and he put them in his cereal.) Note to self – buy more frozen berries in winter. We eat apples, and I use orange juice in my shake – he used dried apricots in his cereal – but we really don’t eat much fruit, and the berries were a nice change…  We love the fresh berries in summer, but they’re almost too precious to cook – we just enjoy them in their glory.

Lunch was, well – a fine combination of leftovers. I had some leftover chickpeas and pork, and added a bit of cooked chicken, and tossed it with rice. It needed more vegetables. In winter, I keep a bag of either peas or the classic Mixed Vegetables in the freezer. That mixture bored me when I was a kid – peas and carrots and green beans – but the pieces are small and heat quickly, and are great for tossing into things. I drop a handful into soup, or eggs,  or a rice dish like this… and they are ready quickly. Most of the year I have enough fresh veggies that I don’t need this – but in February… they add a lot.

I wanted to fancy dinner up a bit, but, well,migraine… so it stayed pretty simple, except for the parts I’d made ahead. I simply grilled the pork chops, and tossed a more interesting frozen vegetable mix with a  touch of garlic/chili sauce and some soy sauce. I had made carrot kohlrabi salad ahead of time, to let it marinate, so that didn’t take any immediate effort. I also tried something new – mixed seltzer with a bit of pomegranate concentrate, to drink We both liked that.

And then, the dessert… One great advantage of the Coeur a la Creme is that you do make it at least a few hours ahead of time – the previous afternoon is ideal. So I made it the day before – took the pictures and wrote (and posted)  my valentine on Valentine’s Day – covered it carefully…  and learned that sitting in the raspberry sauce doesn’t hurt it… (I made two, so he could have the one that hadn’t…  just in case…)

I just took my pictures quickly in the kitchen – didn’t want to hover around the table once it was set and spoil the mood!

Joining Jenn 9and others) at Peas and Crayons for What I Ate Wednesday!