It is February 1st and aside from the fact that two of my sisters, my husband and two of our presidents’ birthdays are celebrated this month, we do have a holiday coming of all things lovey-dovey – Valentine’s Day.
Now, here in Oklahoma, we consider Valentine’s Day the next best excuse for eating chocolate since the previous excuse comes nearly two months earlier at Christmas and the next one isn’t until the Easter season. After that, it is every man – or woman – for himself in the rationalization department! If you are looking for some unique and exquisite chocolates that have a real story, Google Bedré Chocolates which are owned and produced by the Chickasaw Tribe right here in Oklahoma. They are the only chocolates produced by an American Indian tribe. They are delicious!!
Being a retired home school parent, I know the unwritten law in the unwritten book of home schooling that states, “Make every opportunity the opportunity for a teachable moment.” I shall do so now. Hence, follows all you ever wanted to know about Valentine’s Day:
According to the World Book Encyclopedia – that bright red number copyrighted in 1989 (yes, I still have it on our book shelves) – there are different theories about how Valentine’s Day came to be. Some trace it to an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia. Others insist that it involves a certain saint in the Christian church and others equate it with an old English belief that birds mate on February 14. The ancient Romans held the festival of Lupercalia on February 15 to ensure protection from wolves. This appears to be an appropriate celebration, today, for most young women who find themselves chased by “wolves” on a continual basis. In Rome, the celebration was marked by young men hitting people with strips of animal hide. Even back then, they recognized that the real wolves walk on two feet! The women took the blows because they thought that getting struck made them more likely to have children. It is my informed opinion that this practice was then passed down to those very children, using switches from a nearby tree and women have been blessing their children with such switches ever since.
The Christian church disputes this origin because it is known that within the Church, there were two saints named Valentine. According to one story, young men were forbidden, under Roman Empire law, to marry because they made better soldiers if they weren’t tied to a family. A priest named Valentine took it upon himself to secretly marry star-crossed lovers who didn’t care a whit about the law and who had all read Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Yet another story says that the other Valentine made friends with many children as HE knew the story of the Pied Piper. This made the Romans mad and they imprisoned Valentine (Of course, it is possible that the fact that he refused to worship their gods might have had something to do with this). The children missed him so much that they tossed loving notes, produced by Hallmark Cards, to him through his jail cell window. We have been giving Hallmark Cards on Valentine’s Day ever since.
So there you have the history of Valentine’s Day in an abbreviated form. I am including the recipe for an original, wonderful, simple and fail-safe breakfast treat that you can make for your Valentine or Valentines to start the day off right. Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
1 whole egg, separated
2 egg whites
1/4 cup Kraft sharp cheddar Easy Cheese in a can (yep!) or any other brand of sharp cheese in a can
2 tbsp shredded asiago cheese
4 small cocktail croissants (about 1 oz each)
1 slice bacon
3 tbsp Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon with Picnic Bacon
1/2 cup skim milk or 1/2 and 1/2 if you want to get dangerous
1 pat butter
1 cup fresh spinach chopped
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 mini springform pans or medium ramekins
Place springform pans or ramekins onto a cookie sheet. Slice croissants in half lengthwise. With a rolling pin, roll 5 of the halves flat. In the two springform pans or ramekins that have been sprayed with Pam, press two croissant halves into each bottom, filling any gaps with pieces of the extra half.
In a blender, put egg yolk, Kraft Easy Cheese, milk, one of the whole croissants, onion powder, and salt and blend until smooth.
Place egg whites into a bowl and beat with mixer until fluffy and white.
Add Hormel ham and bacon bits and spinach to whipped egg whites, folding them in gently, without stirring.
Pour 1/2 mixture into each pan and sprinkle with asiago cheese and place
1/2 of the final croissant half and 1/2 slice of cooked bacon on top with
1/2 pat of butter.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes until set.
Add whatever fruits and garnishes you choose to say, “I love you!”
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Sounds yummy! As for chocolate, we go for “Toblerone”. My wife is descended from the famous Tobler Swiss chocolate family…
http://www.toblerone.com/
(:D) Best regards…
Welllll, Hawkeye…I suppose that blood IS thicker than chocolate. 🙂
thanks for that
[…] of this “Day of Love” ala the Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™ historians, you can catch it at last year’s post. I’m sure that it is accurate. Really. Gift Boxed Bedré Chocolate Meltaways Here, at the […]