14th February has come and gone for another year. This year the set up was a little different as we have just started a months-long building work project. We will be living on site amongst the renovations and I will still be cooking most meals in our existing kitchen. My aim is to make nutritious and tasty meals simply, using limited utensils and equipment (as most have been packed and stored in different rooms). There are a few special dates for celebration during this project, so every now and then I might need to pull out all the stops. We are on Day 3 as I write, do you think I will keep up with “reality cooking” in the next four months?
Back to Valentines’ Day, it originated as a Christian feast day in the third century honouring a martyr named Valentine, who ministered to the persecuted Christians under the Roman Empire . A few centuries later, 14th February became associated with romantic love, and symbols like hearts, winged cupids, doves, are widely used. In modern times, merchandise of floral bouquets, greeting cards, chocolates, teddy bears are found in many shops. I was listening to BBC Radio 4, “The Kitchen Cabinet” with Jay Rayner yesterday, and the panel was asked about their pet hates on Valentines’ Day. On their panel was a chef and her pet hate was cooking in a restaurant kitchen and each order was “times two” of set menus; and another said hers was “sharing plates for two” as she had to eat the dish that she didn’t order or like! My pet hate is the commercialisation of the day when the prices would double or triple, and in a decent restaurant, the seating is most definitely time limited, with set menus. I quite enjoy celebrating it at home, albeit it may be a bit ordinary to some. In previous years we have enjoyed cooking for each other, sometimes a bit more elaborately if it was at a weekend or simpler on a weekday after work. Sharing Valentines’ dinner (or breakfast, or lunch, which is just as special too) is not unlike an everyday occasion. Along with the food, good conversation and company make any meal special. And does it have to be celebrated romantically? I think not, spending time with family and with friends, is just as meaningful. But for one night only, why not amp it up and celebrate it your way? For Archie, he had a heart shaped raw beef burger as a solo supper and a few more extra treats!
While I was writing this post, I recalled my granny telling me the Chinese version of Valentines’ Day. It falls on the seventh day of the seventh month. Legends had it that a couple (an oxen herder and a weaving maid fairy) were separated by a milky way and they met on a bridge formed by magpies, but just once a year. Come to think of it, why are most romantic love stories so melancholic?
For next year or any high days or holidays, my 3 top tips for success would be these:
– On the day itself don’t attempt a completely new menu that you haven’t cooked before, it is better to cook something well and familiar than checking the recipe every 3 seconds as you cook it.
– Give yourself time and space to cook it. Think, buy and prep ahead if you can. Standing in front of a supermarket shelf at 6pm frantically deciding what to buy before rushing to the train is already stressful!
– And if you really don’t like cooking a meal as such, how about making a free style one. Set the table, buy (online or in person) a few well liked ready to serve items, and they don’t even need to be matching or a particular theme, and your beverage of choice. Sharing it in a relaxed setting is far more enjoyable than “sweating over the stove”!
Did you celebrate Valentines’ Day? Whether you like a bit of kirsch or are a realist or a minimalist, I hope you enjoyed it. And if you can’t abide the pinks and reds in the shops, it was only for one day! And psst, you might be lucky to catch some cut price confectionery this week!
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