Valentine's Day menu

The week when Valentine's Day falls is always a special one in our family as my husband's birthday falls on 11th February so we try to go away for the week to celebrate both occasions, usually to a cottage in the West Country where we enjoy long coastal walks with our dogs followed by cosy nights in front of an open fire with home cooked meals using local produce and delicacies.

This year will be no different as we head off tomorrow to the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall (home to the wind damage from last week's storms).  I already have some ideas for what we'll be enjoying on Valentine's Day.

For starters, I will be making these super simple beetroot, ginger and cream cheese timbales, but making them extra special by serving them from heart shaped moulds.  Simply whizz together cooked beetroot (the vac-packed sort, not pickled beetroot from a jar!), a knob of fresh grated ginger and cream cheese.  Serve with black pepper oatcakes for some crunch.

Beetroot & Ginger starter

As we will have been out all day enjoying Mother Nature at her best and will undoubtedly be super hungry, I will buy some local lamb from the village butcher the day before and cook it long and slow in the oven throughout the day to make a wonderful, heart-warming traditional Irish Stew.  I like to serve it with a twist and top it with a Thyme Cobbler to soak up all the delicious juicy gravy. I'll be making the cobbler in heart shapes (instead of my usual Shamrocks) to celebrate St Valentine!

Heart warming Irish stew

I'm not a great lover of desserts, but my husband has a sweet tooth, so I like to make the effort for him and I'll cook these quick chocolate pancakes stuffed with blackcurrants and Greek yoghurt.  Even I have to admit they are pretty moreish!

So there you have it, you know what we'll be enjoying in just a few days time.  I hope you have a great day as I feel sure that we will have!

Maybe one day we'll ring the changes and spoil ourselves with one of Superbreak's Valentine breaks - they look fab!  :)