Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Here are some Valentine's Facts:

 

Every year around 1 billion Valentine cards are sent across. After Christmas it's a single largest seasonal card-sending occasion.

Teachers receive the most Valentine's Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, and then, sweethearts. Children between ages 6 to 10 exchange more than 650 million Valentine's cards with teachers, classmates, and family members.

• Cupid is a symbol of Valentine's Day. Cupid was associated with Valentine's Day because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards and gift tokens holding a bow and arrows as he is believed to use magical arrows to arouse feelings of love.

• In the Middle Ages young men and women drew the names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear this name pinned on their sleeves for one week. This was done so that it becomes easy for other people to know your true feelings. This was known as "to wear your heart on your sleeve".

I made a yummy treat for my Valentine's gifts.

Dipped Strawberries

Ingredients:

1 package white almond bark (vanilla candy coating)
1 Tablespoon Crisco
food coloring, your choice, we used pink
strawberries
white chocolate chips
sugar sprinkles

Directions:

1. Melt almond bark in the microwave at 30 second intervals until melted.  Stir in Crisco.  Drop in food coloring and stir.

2.Dip the strawberries and place onto a waxed line baking sheet.  The almond bark firms up very quickly.

3. Melt white chocolate chips in microwave at 30 second intervals until melted.  Put into a food storage baggie and clip a small hole in the corner.  Drizzle over the strawberries and let firm up.  Sprinkle with sugar sprinkles to make them even more pretty!

4. Store in refrigerator overnight in airtight container.  These should be eaten within a day or two of making.  Longer than that and the strawberries begin to "weep" and run juice down the chocolate. 

        These were soo good! I was afraid that they would be too sweet, but the juice of the strawberry really came forward and made them delicious!

      For the almond bark, you can find it next to the baking chocolate. I had never heard of it before. It is made from vegetable fats, and has no almonds in it at all. It's like "artificial chocolate".