Chew on This for Valentine’s Day
Chew on This for Valentine’s Day
Editor: Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m hope everyone finds a diamond in their soup.
By Cate Rees-Hessel
All That Glitters
I am a simple kind of girl – give me some plain ol’ chocolates in a velvet heart-shaped box with a big ribbon and an even bigger diamond, then I am content. As long as my chocolate confections come with a little something sparkly, I am happy. My husband is big on placing jewelry in food – nothing says romance like a cracked molar and expensive, extensive dental work…
Cuisine Creative
My first diamond cocktail ring arrived in a dish of carrots because it was a “1 carat” ring. My engagement ring was presented, much to the delight of the charming waitress at Red Lobster, in a plate of mussels – my husband’s theory was since pearls come in oysters, diamonds can come in mussels. Another diamond ring embedded in tiramisu (ladyfingers…) appeared at our favorite Italian restaurant. A sapphire ring came atop a cupcake; my diamond and sapphire wedding set was encased in a miniature pink gumball machine. Hmm, I wonder what I’ll find topping our heart-shaped pizza this year (hint, hint…). Fortunately, I never broke a tooth on or ingested any of this jewelry, so I don’t have any trips to the emergency room stories to share.
He Shelled Out…
So I asked my spouse to get me something expensive and rare this Valentine’s Day. I am enjoying my dozen eggs – I might just bake him a cake with them. Maybe once “The Donald” leaves office, I can get a heart shaped box of Whitman chocolates, a pink stuffed bear (just not Trumpy Bear), and a dozen long stem roses instead.
The Good Ol’ Days
I was looking over some vintage Valentine’s Day ads recently – they sure bring back memories of Whitman samplers, red dresses with Peter Pan collars, and those adorable little valentines with the small white rectangle envelopes that have a lick strip straight across the top that we were forced to give to everyone in our classroom, whether you liked them or not. I would wear my crimson velvet dress with shiny black Mary Jane’s and the requisite white socks trimmed in lace, a big red bow in my hair. With giggly anticipation, every little girl in kindergarten and first grade awaited the pile of white envelopes on our desk top.
Sugar Rush
The red napkins came next, then frosted vanilla cupcakes with pink sprinkles and gumdrop hearts, topped with sugar and a chocolate Hershey’s Kiss. This was our grammar school celebration for the sweetest of holidays. We washed the caloric red dye food coloring down with even more sugar laden red hued beverages. A plastic punch bowl adorned with a scoop of sherbet and a splash of ginger ale, or if you happened to be from the Pittsburgh area like me, a cherry Little Hug.
Dance Like Teacher’s Watching
Off to the gymnasium to learn to dance with a reluctant partner and work off the sugar high. My Barbie and kitten Valentine cards were passed around with a flourish. I received a stack of puppy and Hot Wheels cards in return. We lined up in pairs of two to receive our box of conversation hearts for the road. Sticking our tongues out (when the teacher wasn’t looking our way) at the little boys that stepped on our beloved shiny patent toe pinchers while we learned to waltz. Those were the days – our hearts were full of joy and our little party had style…
