We celebrated my third favorite holiday (right after Christmas and Halloween) a day early. Jeff took me to the Melting Pot for the most decadent dinner. For those of you who are not familiar with the Melting Pot, it is a fondue restaurant chain and so good you'll want to curl up in the melted cheese or chocolate and just smother yourself in the ooey-gooey goodness of it all.
Seriously sinful!
Yes, we released ourselves of the commitment to low-carb for this one day, threw caution to the wind and ate our fill. Not everything was off the diet. First course of shrimp cocktail-right on track. Second course of melted cheesy fondue-well, that would have been sticking with it except for the bread for dipping. Ah, bread! Hadn't had it in so long it made me drool a little when the waitress set it on the table. However, we ate mostly the veggies and apples with the cheese and left at least half the bread behind.
Next came a sweet salad with strawberries and a sugary dressing. The sweetness of those berries made Jeff want to give up low-carb altogether and switch to low-fat! I have to admit, I totally agreed! The fourth course was various meats, veggies and seafood we cooked in broth at the table with a few dipping sauces, cheeses and butter. All right on target with the diet-we left the potatoes behind. So good-so amazing!
Cheesy goodness!
But then came the dessert. Oh dear! How do you say no to a pot of melty, chocolatey, candy-coated sin with fruits, cakes, brownies and krispie treats to drown in it? You just DON'T! To our credit, we didn't finish all of the dessert plate. Most of the cheesecake was left behind. It was an incredible feast and I don't regret a single bite.
Are you kidding? You're gonna say no to THIS???????
Growing up, food was love. My mom made the most delectable sweet treats from scratch. There was always a freezer full of homemade cookies or brownies (she would make a quadruple batch at a time) that I would sneak into without permission. Yeah, I'm a rebel like that. Every Christmas and Easter there were the cinnamon twists lovingly made from Grandma Loncosky's recipe. They take 4 hours to make. A true labor of love. Mom always made us breakfast before school, there was always a snack after school and dinner was on the table at 5:30 sharp. She always tried to make something everyone would like, which was nearly impossible with her three picky-eaters (and I am probably the worst of the bunch).
Home-baked love!
When I became a mom, I carried on the tradition of "love foods", but in my own way. I was never much of a cook, but I can bake like nobody's business. And every outing included food. Lunch at the zoo, picnics at the park, deep-fried love in a paper boat at the fairs and festivals. Forget the tunnel of love-how about the funnel (cake) of love? YEAH! I chased down the ice cream man with my kids, had play dates at McDonald's, popcorn and candy at the movies and birthday parties exploding with junk food. But it was all in the name of love.
The guy who invented this is a GENIUS!
Jeff does a lot of the cooking around here. When I have cooked for him, it's usually been a complicated dish that takes hours to prepare and cook. I don't do anything cheap, small and easy. Shepherd's pie, meatloaf, roast chicken covered in bacon or even a casserole comes piping hot out of the oven with a heaping helping of love spooned over it. Pies and cookies of all kinds for holidays or just because he's so cute are sugar-coated with my affection for the man I adore. It's all for love.
But now I think I may have been misdirecting my love when I aimed at their stomachs. I have to find new ways to show my feelings and appreciation for the people I love the most. Valentine's Day always meant gifts of sweet treats. I didn't get Katie anything this year (she's at her dad's house for the weekend). And Jeff, after showering me with so many amazing gifts, I can only offer him massages and kisses and a card with a short but sweet sentiment (I hate those long, drawn out cards that feel like homework). I will have to do better for him next year.
Jeff and I are spending more time in the kitchen together because of this low-carb lifestyle. He cooks the meat and I handle the veggies and cheese and things. And I love having that time with him and being partners in our planning and preparing our evening meals.
Yes, we will pay for our extravagant Valentine's dinner. I am dreading facing the Axis of Evil tomorrow for the weekly weigh-in. I know we have sinned against our goals. But I won't beat myself up about it too much. It was a wonderfully romantic evening with my amazing guy. We dived head-first into that melting pot together and we are right back on track today.
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