Sunday, February 14, 2010

Love is in the Details


"I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon".

~ Author Unknown

We have always celebrated Valentine's Day as a family occasion - just the three of us. We would normally go out to dinner and then come home for homemade desserts or go out for ice cream.

Since Valentine's Day was on a Sunday, we had dinner at home and RM did the "cooking" - warming up a roasted chicken purchased from Costco the night before, frozen tortellini with Alfredo sauce, and Pillsbury Buttermilk biscuits.

It wasn't a homemade dinner, but it was still delicious!

And since RM was in charge of dinner, I made desserts - Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I'm always a wee bit nervous when I make something new, not sure how Moe or RM would react, when I venture out of their normal eating habits.

When I made the finishing touches on the cupcakes, I had RM take the first bite.

He took a bite, closed his eyes, chewed very slowly, made some strange guttural noise with his throat, and then when he finally opened his eyes, said,
"That was one heavenly cupcake."

The next person to please would be tough:

- He's been known to scraping off cheese & all toppings from pizzas,
- He's renowned for putting ketchup on almost anything,
- Makes gagging noises when he has to eat salad,

- And went through a period of taking out the chocolate chips from chocolate chip cookies.


When Moe took his first bite, I was prepared for anything.

Surprisingly, he said, "Mom, not bad. I like it a lot."

And then I noticed that he ate his cupcake from the bottom and threw away the top ...with the frosting still intact. The kid definitely has some strange eating habits.

Next to Christmas, I love celebrating Valentine's Day. There's nothing like expressing love through sweets.

"Love is in the details" and I wanted to show my family on this Valentine's Day, that they are worth spending the time- to make it just right.


***I used Paula Deen's recipe for the cupcakes which you can find here.
For the frosting, I used a small zip lock bag and filled it with frosting. Snip a corner and pipe away. If you want small swirls, snip a small hole and for bigger swirls snip a bigger hole. ***


16 comments:

Cranberryfries said...

I love having traditions and doing fun things like that. I didnt make any treats this year but it turns out it worked out well because the kids came home with TONS from church and then the grandparents stopped by with more. You did such a fantastic job. They look delicious!

Emma said...

The cupcake look great!!! I love paula dean... good cookin!

Looks like you had a good time!

The Crazy Coxes said...

Your cupcakes look delicious! I received a box of cupcakes as part of my Valentine's gifts. I'm eating the red velvet one for breakfast. But I bet your homemade one is better!

Anonymous said...

NOT THE TOP!!! The top is the best part! I can't believe he threw away the top! Ah!

Heatherlyn said...

Your cupcakes look absolutely beautiful!!!! We celebrate Valentine's day as a family too. HH and I do something together, but we make sure to include the kids in a special family meal as well. I love spreading the love around. It's a lovely tradition you 3 have!

wendy said...

that comment above...from Emma...did you know she is my daughter.

I love Valentines day decorations too. Just so lovely And I never made any treats this year...I missed the sugar cookies.

glad you had a good day

Moe, he is a funny dude

Jenners said...

Threw away the icing?????? That is just WRONG!

tiki_lady said...

You did a wonderful job! will you be a guest blogger on my recipe blog? You can post this picture and miss paula's recipe?? please please pretty please!

Wendy said...

those cupcakes looked gorgeous and delish! yummy! happy belated valentines day!

Michele said...

Oh my...those cupcakes look absolutely scrumptious...I'll have to try them on my very "finicky" eaters!

Hugz,
Michele

septembermom said...

Paula Deen is one of my favorites. Those cupcakes look real good! What a sweet way to celebrate Valentine's Day!! Hugs to you!!!

tammy said...

HK My e-mail address is:
tammycaldron@rocketmail.com

I changed it when we moved...sorry.I can't find your e-mail address either!!
Take care!
Love ya!!!

tammy said...

HK My e-mail address is:
tammycaldron@rocketmail.com

I changed it when we moved...sorry.I can't find your e-mail address either!!
Take care!
Love ya!!!

Unknown said...

Oh my. I am trying not to eat sugar today and holy wow that made me want some : ) It looks SO good. Absolutely delicious!

I love that you treasure your family and want to make them feel special. You are a blessing.

old world sunflower said...

I love this post, your Moe sounds alot like my Josh, takes everything off the pizza and eats the crust, puts ketchup on everything that goes in his mouth, to funny, we should taste a blog so we can taste all the beautiful baked goods and recipes we make!!
Thank you for visitng my site and leaving such kind words about the dinosaurs, I have to tell you the expression on the kids faces was worth all the effort! Enjoy your evening, Diana

tiki_lady said...

I quickly went in and put your intro into the blog! I'm so sorry the days got away from me!

YOU DID A FANTASTIC job! YOu put me to shame! thank you so much for guest blogging and placing a recipe on my forgotten recipe blog.

Red Velvet is one of my most favorite cakes. I love carrot and chocolate mayonaisse too. Yeah, weird I know. But, basically I adore cakes!