Valentine's Menus and the Last of Our Snow Days

Confession: Neither myself or Adam are really into Valentine's Day. We are absolutely in love with each other, and some might say attached at the hip, but neither of us are really "lovey dovey," if you will (though I was greeted with some gorgeous white roses :) ).

However, we do have our multiple little ways to serve each other and express our love, and one of my favorites is by cooking. We both love to cook and experience delicious food, so we generally share this joy on a daily basis, but on Monday I attempted to give it a little Valentine's flair.

il menu del giorno...

arugula salad with char-grilled calamari

barley risotto w/roasted squash and leeks

seared sea scallops

coconut vanilla cupcakes

...to be enjoyed with a glass of white wine and cold milk, of course...

It was all quite tasty, but I have to share the especially yummy and easy (no stirring for 20 minutes!) barley risotto, adapted from my new favorite cookbook, Best-Ever Book of Organic Cooking...

Barley Risotto (serves 2)

overflowing 1/2 C pearl barley

1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into chunks

2 tsp fresh thyme

2 leeks, sliced thin on the diagonal

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 rounded cup sliced mushrooms

1 carrot, grated

1/4 - 1/2 C veggie stock

Parmesan cheese (1/3 C, give or take - I go light, then top Adam's with more)

Preheat oven to 400. Toast barley in small pot over med-high heat, then add enough water to cover by about and inch. Bring to boil, then simmer, part-covered, for 35 minutes, or until tender. Drain. While this cooks, put squash on cookie sheet, toss with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic salt, and half the thyme. Roast, flipping once, until starting to brown, about 20 minutes.

Heat a little more olive oil in a large saute pan over almost-med-high heat. Saute leeks until softened. Add mushrooms and thyme and saute until lightly browned. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Stir in carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 C stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the flavor off, then add the drained barley. Cook for 5 minutes, adding more stock if needed.

Grate on some parm, maybe some toasted pumpkin seeds or walnuts, and enjoy!

I had to include a couple more snow pictures (Jaida staring, longingly, at the ducks and geese that she swam through the freezing water to try to get, and Jaida climbing on her dad as he makes a snow angle in the snow that was as tall as she is) since our snow is on it's way out. I think I might be the only person in CT that is sad about this...