Valentine's Day: Traditions

Heart shaped mini tostadas for our Valentine's dinner

Most people seem to either love Valentine's Day or hate Valentine's Day... I am one of the former! I love the sentiment of Valentine's Day, taking the time to let the people we sometimes take for granted know just how much we love them... While the commercialism is pretty over the top, and the shameless raising of prices for flowers and prix fixe dinner menus make the whole day so 'cookie cutter' and predictable, the things I love about this particular holiday are the many traditions my Valentine and I share... For example, we both decided a long time ago that we'd much rather have a quite relaxing night together at home than spend it surrounded, elbow to elbow, by other couples (some of whom inevitably brought their noisy little kids because they didn't have a babysitter!), waiting for our overpriced meals to be rushed out of the kitchen and plopped down by a waiter so busy we won't see again for the rest of the evening. There was one notorious Valentine's Day that pushed us to this conclusion, and ever since, we've started our own tradition. I create a dinner menu (and try and prep as much as possible the night before, since I get off pretty late!), he decorates with rose petals, and we get the relaxing, meaningful date night without the hustle bustle and crowd that Valentine's Day brings. Another of our traditions? We hide little presents or notes for each other to find throughout the day - it's like a scavenger hunt. But my favorite tradition is the war cookies. What are war cookies? The recipe is no secret, chocolate chip cookies, made from the recipe on the back of the chocolate morsels package, but the love and the sentiment is the secret ingredient. Back in 2003, my husband (boyfriend at the time) was stationed in Kuwait, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The invasion was imminent and I was worried about him... With Valentine's Day a few weeks away, I decided to bake a batch of cookies, wrapped them in paper towels and ziplocks (to protect during shipping) and mailed cookies to Kuwait. They miraculously arrived on Valentine's Day (mail service was so irregular, it really did seem like a miracle!), and he shared them with the guys over there. And every year since, I make a batch of 'war cookies' and think about how blessed we are, to have each other, to be together when there are so many people who want to be but can't, and that he is healthy, safe and home. So last night, I was up late, waaaaaaaaay too late, getting everything ready for our dinner tonight, baking my 'war cookies' and completely grateful to have so much love in my life.