Valentine's Day

Happy Monday, friends! I don't know about you, but the middle of February is the worst. Thankfully, February is a short month, but it feels SO LONG, doesn't it? I get really fed up with the cold, gray winter.

The struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder is REAL, y'all.

However, at this time of year, if you really pay attention, you start to see little signs of spring. Yes, they are teasers, but SPRING IS COMING!! You see more life outside, birds are chirping and snow is melting more and more. I don't want to get ahead of myself here-- I do live in the Midwest after all and we aren't fully safe from snow storms until around May. The people here hold their breath for no more "big" storms. They get upset when snow flies after this point. And then, when green grass miraculously begins sprouting up, it's like everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief.

I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Valentine's Day was this past weekend and while everyone was cluttering my newsfeed with pictures of the gifts their valentines got them to celebrate, I was home cleaning in sweat pants and my husband was at work. We don't do Valentine's Day.

From Pinterest...

Whenever I say that to people, I'm met with either a blank stare, pause and a confused, "oh" or questions about why we don't do anything for February 14.

I think people think I'm a bit of a cynic (whyever would they think THAT? haha) or that the hubs and I are unhappy. When it comes to love, it's neither of those things. It's because we don't need one day to tell and show each other how much we love each other. That happens several times daily. If we chose a day to celebrate how much we love each other, it would be our wedding anniversary. For me, I'm just happy to hang out with him.

Instead, I celebrate my love for other people. My sisters, my mother and mother-in-law and my nieces and nephews. I send them each a valentine in the mail. Nothing special. Not expensive. But hopefully it makes them smile!

Now, I DO like to bake, especially in the winter. Christmas is usually high season for that, but I got a little bee in my bonnet to do something this weekend. This is NOT the healthiest thing you've ever eaten, but it's certainly not the worst.

I found the recipe for these treats on Pinterest and, because I didn't have all the ingredients, I modified it. Modifying a baking recipe is scary because generally, baking recipes need to be pretty precise. When cooking, you can go crazy. Baking is a different beast.

I had these strawberries in my refrigerator that needed to be eaten soon. And, because I've been on a strawberry kick lately (yay for healthy pregnancy cravings!) this was a perfect fit. The photos on the right show what I found on Pinterest, a "Rustic Strawberry Peach Tart."

...finished product!

But, I didn't have peaches. I didn't want to make a whole huge pie thing. I just wanted a few little sweet treats that weren't heavy and made me feel guilty. So I made a dozen of them in a mini muffin pan. Baked 'em for about 12 minutes.

So, take a peek at the recipe in my recipes tab. I halved the dough recipe. I used 2 cups of strawberries, but no peaches, so that's half the fruit it called for. The vanilla glaze is easy to make and my husband LOVED it. In fact, he said this dessert is the BEST I'VE EVER MADE.

Guys, really, this is really good and SO,
SO easy.

Just because you're trying to eat fairly healthy doesn't mean you can't treat yourself. It's about MODERATION!