More is better, right? If that’s the case, then I sure was in luck this Valentine’s day weekend celebrating with Evan and Sophia. A two year old is hardly conducive to a full out romantic fete and besides, the lack of babysitters once again ensured a homey celebration at our house. We weren’t sorry; We’re not big on Valentine’s day and enjoy Sophia’s company too much to leave her at home. I was faced with a dilemma of what to get my husband who already has pretty much everything. After much deliberation, I decided to bake him Boston cream cupcakes. Okay, maybe it was a slightly selfish gift since I too enjoy pastry cream, chocolate and all things cupcake.
You’ll have to trust me when I say that these were better than the picture suggests. The rest of the weekend we spent both at home and out and about avoiding cabin fever and taking advantage of the less than frigid temperatures outdoors. The cupcake indulgence still burning a trail of sugar and butter guilt, we turned to healthier meals to compliment. There was of course the turmeric-spiced home-made chicken soup with lamb kofta that I ground myself spicing with more cumin and mint. Light, delicious and very satisfying. No carbs necessary.
Then continuing with the green and vegetable theme that seemed to have emerged this weekend, I whipped up a batch of spinach gnocchi from scratch. I am usually very nervous about making homemade pasta but decided to give this Mark Bittman’s recipe a go. I’d say they were a resounding success and oh so easy to make.
Here they are lined up like pretty soldiers waiting for their turn in the salted hot water.
Sauced and plated they’re even more appealing. Green and bathed in a white cream-based sauce they were a delight to eat. I think this recipe is a keeper. Maybe I shouldn’t even mention the last culinary delight from this weekend, but I think I will. You see, it may be a tradition from the old country, but one I intend on keeping on in my own family. When I was growing up, I remember having a mid-afternoon snack to bridge lunch and supper. It was always something scrumptious. My mom is a great cook and an amazing baker. Many a pirozhok, pastry and cake were served with tea at around 3 or 4 in the afternoon on a daily basis. So… without much further adieu, I present you with a pear and almond clafoutis made with almond milk.
A perfect adieu to our very warm weekend. We loved every single moment, even when faced with the prospect of watching Dumbo two days in a row. 🙂
[…] look at the cake picture carefully, you’ll see a new batch of the Boston creme cupcakes from last week in the background. We just had to share them with our family this weekend. The cupcakes were […]