3 Years of a Very Foodie Valentine's Day

It's Valentine's Day, and although I have pneumonia, I'm thrilled to say I can eat. Not the same quantity, of course, but my taste buds are in tact again, which means I can enjoy today's lineup. For brunch: Grecian strained yogurt; Whole Foods-made granola that I can already tell has a hint of vanilla; and blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Dinner will be our traditional Valentine's Day dinner, takeout Indian. And it's not takeout b/c of my condition, which leaves me enough energy to, say, type this blog post before taking a nap.

For all three Valentine's Brian and I have been together, we've ordered in an assortment of Indian dishes and camped out. By default, we avoid restaurants on V-day because of how chaotic restaurants generally are, but the tradition started when we found ourselves confronted with an in-your-face-about-love holiday just five days into our relationship. Adjusting to our recent change from friends to significant others was a lot, and declaring it full out with all things red and expensive was scary -- and that was for me. He was the guy -- I can only imagine.

I remember I made us have a talk about it before the big day hit. As much as I didn't want to make it a big deal, I didn't want it to be awkward or get disappointed -- ignoring it would be a bummer after 26 years single.

And so we decided on the takeout and makeout strategy. He brought me a red rose, and I bought him the cookbook Booty Food, which we had blushed over earlier in the week while walking around Barnes & Noble together. (I still like to make him blush.) We debated on cuisines and ordered Indian, and the food was good enough.

So I guess this isn't much of a story about foodie food as it is about the foodies who eat it.

It was the perfect. A good meal, a good boyfriend ... what more could a girl ask for?

***

I just wrote about love and Valentine's Day. Like I said, I spent it single 26 years, even if I did have the occasional love interest (Paul, 7th Grade, delivered a carnation candy gram to my lunch table). I didn't always love the day -- who likes being reminded of what you don't have? -- but never hated it. The way I saw it, I had a lot of good friends who made the day fun. Even as an adult I sent V-day cards to my best friend and still send them to my godmother and parents. (If Lorraine were still with us, she'd get one, too.)

Here's wishing you a day full of love -- friend, lover, family and all.