However simply because it’s simple doesn’t imply it ought to really feel like each different regular evening at house.

What I like about Valentine’s Day is that it’s a vacation solely devoted to creating the individuals we love really feel particular — discovering little methods to say “you matter a lot to me,” and I occur to be married to a man who hears that message loudest by his abdomen.

I assumed I’d use this submit as the proper excuse to present our Valentine’s date evening menu a take a look at run, and hopefully offer you guys some inspiration and concepts in your personal romantic dinners.

Step 1: Get Impressed

There’s a restaurant on the town referred to as The Peacock, situated contained in the Austin Correct Resort. It’s one of many first “cool” (ie not hole-in-the-wall) actually Mediterranean spots we’ve had open up on the town, with a menu full of colourful, wholesome dishes impressed by North Africa, Greece, Israel & Lebanon – all meant for sharing. Because it was considered one of mine and Adam’s fave date evening spots pre-pandemic, that Mediterranean vibe felt like the proper theme to tie collectively my desk and menu. Plus, I’ve been dying to check out a selfmade falafel recipe.

Step 2: Set the Scene

There’s one thing a couple of low, lounge-y desk surrounded by flooring cushions that simply feels horny. You’ve received to kick off your footwear and sit shut, and also you may even recline whereas your associate slowly feeds you… however I digress. For this straightforward setup, I moved our out of doors espresso desk proper in entrance of the fireplace, pulled out some cushions and sheepskins from indoors, and used a few of our potted succulents as a straightforward centerpiece that doesn’t really feel fussy. Apart from, I didn’t need to purchase flowers for the desk since Adam may come house from work with an armful of peonies (not that I’m shamelessly dropping hints, or something.) These fairly plates gave an earthy backdrop to my colourful menu, and the matte black flatware supplied a contact of cool distinction.

Step 3:  Combine Up a Festive Drink

A enjoyable cocktail is a straightforward option to take issues up on a notch for a Valentine’s date evening at house. I’ve been loving shrub cocktails these days — they’re principally drinks made with infused vinegar, which sounds bizarre, however the vinegr truly gives a scrumptious acidity and slightly fizziness. That mentioned, I needed to do one thing with strawberry taste for V-day, and since I couldn’t discover any strawberry-infused vinegar, I freestyled and grabbed some strawberry kombucha. I combined my cocktail with 1 half kombucha, 1 half prosecco, and garnished with a cucumber spear and a sprig of mint.

NEW FAVORITE y’all, it was critically so good. And now I’m obsessive about making cocktails utilizing totally different kombuchas (this previous weekend I added a splash of tequila to my lime-ginger kombucha and it was additionally amaze.)

Step 4: Plan a Attractive Menu

Right here’s what’s on the menu for our Valentine’s Date Night:

The cauliflower tabbouleh in all its glory. My model is admittedly a really free riff of on a conventional tabbouleh, nevertheless it features a bunch of my favourite issues and — gosh it’s so good. For the grains, as an alternative of bulgur, I used a combo of three components cauliflower rice (so wholesome, extra veg) with 1 half cooked farro (chewy and satisfies carb cravings.) Then I topped it with shaved fennel, pomegranate seeds, chopped pistachios, and alllll the herbs — mint, parsley, and dill. A maple-lemon French dressing and large pinch of sea salt took it excessive.

Get the cauliflower tabbouleh recipe proper right here!

Step 5: Spark Enjoyable Dialog

I dug up just a few outdated polaroids of us collectively from the previous few years and used them as tabletop decor. For us, going by photographs from enjoyable instances we’ve had collectively is likely one of the greatest methods to get in a romantic headspace and bear in mind a few of our favourite journeys we’ve shared.

My “Love Hummus,” as I’ve dubbed it, is nearly shockingly simple, a lot in order that it doesn’t deserve it’s personal recipe card — it’s received these semi-homemade vibes, nevertheless it’s DELISH. Right here’s what I did:

1. Roast Four small beets by wrapping them in foil and popping in a 450 diploma oven till you’ll be able to pierce them simply with a fork, about an hour.
2. Let cool, then peel by rubbing pores and skin with a paper towel.
3. In a blender, mix a container of fine store-bought hummus with 2 beets and slightly olive oil and mix till easy. Add one other beet or 2 to get desired colour.
4. Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with sesame seeds, then serve with heat pita and crunchy veg for dipping.

And eventually — my first foray into at-home falafel! To be sincere, I’m kinda late to the falafel sport altogether, however now that we’ve got a very nice Mediterranean spot on the town, I’m obsessed. And making it at house was means simpler than I anticipated! No shock that I loaded mine up with a loopy quantity of herbs, and baked them as an alternative of frying. So good and so easy, these might be in our rotation for on a regular basis weeknight dinners, too.

Get the recipe for my herby inexperienced chickpea falafel proper right here!

What are y’all cooking up for Valentine’s Day this 12 months? Go away a remark and let me know what you’ve received deliberate… and what’s on the menu!

This submit was initially printed on February 5, 2020, and has since been up to date.