"I like to
get a meaningful card.
I never go wrong by
making my spouse's favorite desert: Lemon
Icebox Pie, which is a rare treat at our house.
Here is the very easy recipe in case anyone wants
it.
Lemon Icebox Pie
1 crust--graham
cracker, vanilla wafer, or pastry crust
1 14 ounce can sweetened
condensed milk (or homemade equivalent)
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup bottled lemon
juice (or squeezed lemon juice)
2 Tbsp lemon zest,
optional
Mix condensed milk,
egg yolks, and lemon juice (and zest, if used) thoroughly.
Pour filling into crust. Prepare the
meringue.
Meringue
2 egg whites, at room
temperature, whipped
1 tsp vanilla
flavoring
1/4-1/2 cup
granulated sugar
1/8 tsp cream of
tartar (can leave this out, but it makes the
meringue smoother with less separation)
Whip the egg whites
on high until very frothy. Add vanilla flavoring.
Continue your mixer at high speed while slowly
adding in the sugar, beating until mixture is
white, thickened, and forms and holds soft peaks
when the mixer is stopped and beaters raised. Beat
in the cream of tartar and then spread the
meringue over the top of the pie forming soft
peaks. Cook in preheated 325 degree oven for
about 10 - 15 minutes until top is lightly
browned. Refrigerate and serve cold. The pie can
also be made ahead of time and frozen." ~
Lana
"Actually, my husband made me my absolute
favorite gift two years ago. He had all our (at
the time, four) children lay down like spokes on
a wheel (heads together), with himself, and took
a picture from above. Then he framed it and
wrote underneath, 'Thanks for all you do for us!'
It is my most treasured item and hangs in my
laundry room, to encourage me when the laundry
gets overwhelming. :-)
But, for this
Valentine's Day, I'd love to just have a day of
'slave labor' to do all those projects around
the house that may be small, but add up to feel
overwhelming. We even have all the equipment it
takes to complete those tasks. For example,
there are many bulky things that sit on our
kitchen counters all the time. Some we don't
even use, others we could modify, such as a
magnetic knife rack on the wall, which we've had
for two years, but have never hung up. Instead,
our chunky knife block still sits there. With
five (soon to be six) children under 10, so there
just never seems to be time to get to things
like that. But it would make the everyday tasks
so much easier or more efficient to do all those
'little things.'" ~ Lori
"I would like to get a love letter from my
spouse. He writes really well but has not done
it for a long time." ~ Nuria
"The best
gift is time and attention. My husband and I have
a great relationship, but we are active in many
areas and stay busy, plus we have two children
under two! We love our lifestyle, but we've also
learned that those times we deliberately set apart
for the two of us are not just precious, they are
absolutely necessary. This Valentine's Day,
my plan is to put the kids to bed early, and sit
on the floor in front of the fire and talk and eat
and just give each other the gift of time and
attention." ~ Annie
