All You Need is Love

We also need food. That is why yesterday, on Valentine's Day (and also the Prophet's birthday, Allahu Akbar!) I made a bunch of food for the people I love: me and GP.

When I woke up yesterday I had totally forgotten it was February the fourteenth. I wished GP the usual nice things I wish him for his day, "Hope it's good, work hard, have fun, love you lots, etc." and then promptly went back to sleep for another half-hour, as unemployed people do. When I finally dragged my sweatpant-clad ass downstairs I was delighted to see the gorgeous bouquet of flowers GP had gotten me the night before with a sweet note in them. Immediately I felt guilty for forgetting what day it was. So I decided a simple three-course meal was the only way I could redeem myself.

We started with a terrine of beets and herbed goat cheese served with cucumbers and greens:
It was SO GOOD. Much better than the crappy photo would lead you to believe. I wish I could find the battery for my good camera. This blog should be called the Use-Your-Imagination blog because the photos are so untrue to real life. Anyhow, moving along...

Our entree was a sockeye fillet baked with wholegrain mustard, spring onions and thyme on top of smoky sauteed peas and beet greens with shallots.
Doesn't look like much, but I can assure you it was very yummy. The smokiness came from smoked paprika; no pigs were killed for this particular meal. I was originally going to do two whole trout stuffed with various herbs and spices and grilled, but there were none at the store. Besides, it was raining cats and dogs, so I'm kind of glad I had to change plans.

For dessert we were bad. Really REALLY bad. Tony Horton would not be pleased.
The above picture is of oranges caramelized in a cardamom-infused sugar syrup with Greek yogurt and it was every bit as good as it sounds. Actually, it was even better than it sounds. It was not, however, very light. I mean, the oranges were, as fruit should be, but the yogurt, well... That yogurt is like eating sweet butter, not that I'm complaining. We were kind of miserable after that, in the best way possible.

I hope your Valentine's Day was as tasty as ours and that the only kind of baby you made was a food baby. Unless, you know, you're in the market for a real one... I guess it would be okay then.