Personal Note from Sora
Hi!
So here we are in February and soon it will be Valentine’s Day. I always know that it’s going to be Valentine’s Day when I walk into CVS or Duane Reade and the aislesLOL are filled with all types of red hearts filled with all kinds of chocolate candy. That’s why I’ve decided to write more about Valentine’s Day in the Food and Culture Section as well as in the Bite Size Fun FoodSection.
But right now, I want to share with you that I went to The Niagara Icewine Festival which is held in Niagrara-on-the-Lake. Yes, it was absolutely freezing there but ironically I missed the New York snowstorm and that was a good thing.
So as part of the festival, I went on 4 tastings on Saturday and then 4 tastings on Sunday and here are some of the pairings that I experienced.
At Small Talk Vineyards, we tasted their Riesling Icewine which is blended
with their hard apple cider and it was paired with a gluten-free cinnamon and spice twist. At the PondView Estate Winery, we tasted their Vidal Icewine with a Blue Cheese Bread Pudding and a Chocolate-dipped Strawberry cup. Need I say more!!! Then we went to Inniskillin Wines and there we tasted their Reisling Butter Wine which was paired with their southern favorite of chicken and waffles, spread with their own Riesling Icewine Butter. Again, need I say more!!!LOL
But my absolute favorite tasting was at The Peller Estates Winery and here we tasted their award winning and world-renowned Cabernet Franc Icewine and that was paired with a gigantic specially make marshmallow infused with Icewine and then we roasted the marshmallows over open pit fires. It was awesome!!!
So I completely recommend that you check out www.icewinefestival.com to see what the vineyards of Niagrara-on-the-Lake are up to next and then plan a fun weekend if that’s something that you’d like to do—
In Make Peace with Food,
This month’s motivational quote:
Don’t judge each day
But by the seeds
that you plant.
Robert Lewis Stevenson
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Food for thought: So what seeds do you plant on a daily basis that will help yield you your best harvest when harvesting time shows up?
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Your Monthly Food Puzzle:
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Food and Culture
Valentine’s Day-Yeah!
Whether you’re single, in a committed relationship or married, Valentine’s Day is a time when love is in the air and we Americans make the cultural choice to intentionally honor love.
Now that can be a romantic type of love, a love of one’s family (or a particular memberLOL of one’s family), or one’s pet dog or cat or bird or maybe it’s your work that you love and feel so honored to be blessed with.
Regardless of what your heart shares with you “that you love”-Valentine’s Day in American Culture is a BIG day.
So I did some research and here are some fun facts about Valentine’s Day:
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Why is Valentine’s Day on February 14th?
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l. During the time of the Roman Empire during the reign of Claudius II, 270 AD Claudius didn’t want men to marry because he believed that single men made better soldiers. Bishop Valentine went against Claudius and performed secret wedding ceremonies. Because of this Valentine was jailed and executed On February 14th.
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2. In the Middle Ages, young men and women took names from a bowl to see who would be their valentines and would wear this name pinned onto their sleeves for one week for everyone to see, thus the expression, “to wear your heart on your sleeve.” (Thought I’d put that in-cute!!!)
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3. And in 1537, England’s King Henry VII declared February 14th the holiday named Valentine’s Day.
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Why Chocolate???
OK, so we all know that Valentine’s Day is synonymous with chocolate and roses and greeting cards.
So first let’s talk Yeah! about Chocolate!
l. In the 1800’s Hmm…physicians commonly advised their patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining for lost love. Hmm…sounds familiarLOL
2. Richard Cadbury produced the first box of chocolate for Valentine’s Day in the late 1800’s.
3. Yikes! Over a billion dollars of chocolate is brought on Valentine’s Day.
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Why Roses?
1. The Red Rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
2. 189 million stems of roses are sold in the US on Valentine’s Day.
3. 110 million roses, mostly red, will be sold and delivered on this holiday as well.
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What about The Valentine’s Day Card?
1. 145 million Valentine Day cards are sent in the US each year.
2. That’s only second to Christmas with 1.6 billion units, and that’s followed by Mother’s Day with 133 million units.
3. Teachers receive the most Valentine’s Day cards, followed by children, others, wives, sweethearts and pets.
Well, hope you enjoyed what I shared about Valentine’s Day and hope that you have a blessed and love Day-starting with loving yourself. After all, who will you definitely be spending the rest of your life with-YOU!
Happy Valentines’ Day! and Hugs from Sora
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Bite Size Fun Food News
So here are some fun Valentine’s Day desserts that you can serve and not angst about the calories.
So whatever you decide to eat on Valentine’s Day-Just enjoy it and have a Great Day!
So after Valentine’s Day if you find find yourself tired of dieting and want to give yourself a post-Self Love Valentine’s Day gift of no longer dieting and making peace with food then click HERE and check those choices now!
In Make Peace with Food,
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