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Valentine's
Day History and Treats for the Heart
Ah,
love! The simultaneous terror and brilliance
of it! No wonder Valentine’s Day resides
upon the mountaintop of delight as well as in
the valley of despair. Within the hours of
February 14, hearts will be won and wounded.
Relationships will bud and fade. The oblivious
will fall victim to the day – as will their
expectant lovers.
Legend
has it, though, that Valentine’s Day
originated in real love – pure and
sacrificial – expressed by a Roman Catholic
priest during the 1st century Anno Domini.
Father
Valentine ministered to poor Italian children.
He taught them to read and to write, using
Holy Scripture, letting Christ’s love pour
through.
The
Roman government in those days, upon
discovering anyone spreading Christianity,
persecuted them in all sorts of horrible ways.
They eventually seized and jailed Father
Valentine.
The
children, having learned love and comfort from
that sainted man, brought little loving notes
to him. They pushed the notes through the
small vent that opened to the street from his
jail cell.
The
jailer’s daughter, also a student of Father
Valentine’s, visited her father at the jail
every day. She secretly delivered messages
from Father Valentine to the children.
In
such manner, Father Valentine continued to
write the children’s lessons and to
encourage them in Christ until the day of his
execution on February 14, 0037 A.D. The night
before that fated day, he wrote each child a
loving, encouraging note and signed each one,
“from your Valentine.”
So
when we send a Valentine, it’s not
necessarily to express romantic love. We can
pass on God’s love, like Father Valentine
did.
Father
Valentine’s Notes
20
sheets phyllo dough, thawed
1 stick melted butter
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon mace (optional)
¼ teaspoon cardamom (optional)
Red
ribbon
Unwrap
phyllo dough and place on countertop. Cover
with a barely damp cloth to keep it from
drying out. Mix dry ingredients together in a
small bowl. Brush some of the melted butter
over the entire surface of one sheet of phyllo.
Then evenly sprinkle a teaspoon of the sugar
on top. Fold the dough in half length-wise.
Starting
at one end, fold a 3” triangle or square of
dough back over the rest of the dough and
continue folding until all of the dough is
folded. Seal the ragged edge with a little
water. Fold the remaining phyllo until you run
out of butter and sugar. Place the folded
pastries, sealed side down on a cookie sheet.
Bake
pastries at 300° for 15 minutes, just before
they begin to brown. Remove from oven and let
cool on a wire rack. Tie each with red ribbon,
attaching your favorite verse or poem.
Chocolate
Trifle
Quick
and easy! Gather these ingredients:
One
8” or 9” plain chocolate cake
12 – 14 Oreo cookies, crushed
6-oz package of instant chocolate pudding
1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
¼ teaspoon almond flavoring
16 oz Cool Whip, thawed
2 Tablespoons dry cooking sherry (optional)
½ cup macadamia nuts, chopped and toasted
Cut
or crumble the cake into 1” cubes. Whip the
pudding mix, milk, flavoring, and one cup of
the Cool Whip until thickened.
Into
a half-gallon trifle bowl, place half of the
cake cubes in a layer. Sprinkle with half of
the sherry, then half of the Oreo crumbs.
Dollop and spread the pudding over crumbs.
Then spread half of the remaining Cool Whip
over that. Repeat layering. Top with toasted
macadamia nuts and garnish with whole Oreos or
Oreo crumbs.
Strawberry
Heart(break) Cake
1
strawberry cake mix
3-oz package of white chocolate instant
pudding mix
¾
cup milk
8 oz strawberry icing mixed with 8 oz Cool
Whip
Valentine candies, and/or strawberries,
almonds, chocolate chips
Mix
cake according to package instructions. Spread
into a 17” x 14” x 1” cookie sheet lined
with parchment paper that has been greased and
floured. Shake batter until it is evenly
distributed across the pan. Then slam the pan
on your countertop to get rid of air bubbles
that would cause the cake to bake unevenly.
Bake at 350° for 15 - 20 minutes.
While
the cake is still warm, seal it tightly in the
pan with aluminum foil. Place in the freezer
for at least one hour. In the meantime, whip
white chocolate pudding mix and milk together
until thickened. Refrigerate until set.
Using
a cake-sized pan or template as a guide, cut
two hearts out of the frozen cake. Carefully
remove the first heart onto a serving plate.
Spread the pudding on this layer. Place the
second layer on top of the pudding. Cover the
entire cake with the frosting mixed with Cool
Whip. Return it also to the freezer.
Freeze
uncovered for at least 20 minutes, or up to 3
days, covered. Decorate the top with any
assortment of crumbled cake and the cake
decorations listed above!
If
your cake turns out beautiful and pleasing to
the eye, you have a Valentine Heart Cake. If
not, you have a Valentine Heartbreak Cake.
They both taste delicious – and both signify
the nature of this truly dichotomous day!
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