Happy Valentine's Day

This is not my bum; mine is
bigger and, hence, I
experience more pain
than this slim bum!

 Ahhhh! The joys of aging. I put my back out last week doing ....... nothing! Woke up, had breakfast and decided to drink my coffee while catching up on emails and blogs. I was sitting for about 45 minutes --- not unusual for me. But when I stood, there was that familiar pain. Ever since I broke my foot falling downstairs about 12 years ago, I've had back problems; my osteopath used to say that perhaps I'd twisted my back and over-stretched muscles? I just know that 4-6 times a year, for little to no reason that I can figure out, my back just seizes up and lands me on the sofa. I saw my doctor, and thankfully, he prescribed muscle relaxants and an x-ray to see if anything is happening back there. A week later, and I'm recovered but cautious. At my age and with my history, everything must happen in slow motion!

I tried to keep limber with stretches and short walks to the mail box. Mostly, I cooked lovely food and watched entirely too much of the boob tube. 

I made these small batch banana muffins with nuts & seeds. Once I'd scooped them into the muffin tins, I realized I'd forgotten the sugar! So, I sprinkled ground almonds on top, baked them, then drizzled them with melted chocolate. They were perfect! No sugar needed!

From @niciwickesfood - This is a healthier

version of a sweet by @joesgaragenz

Yesterday in anticipation of Valentine's Day and the necessity of treating oneself, I made these 'Roadie Slices' from one of my favorite NZ chefs on Instagram. The middle is a combo of dried fruit, seeds, nuts, coconut, choco chips and condensed sweet coconut milk. (I added the melted chocolate on top because it's one of the food groups that I eat daily.) They are so decadent and delicious!

I also made a spicy Moroccan chicken soup with fragrant, warming spices and chickpeas & lentils. And being someone who hates food waste, I turned the remaining unwanted mustard pretzel bites into crumbs and used it to coat some oven-baked chicken thighs last night. OMG! They were so good that I'm thinking of buying a bag of these pretzel bites just for this! 

This weekend, I finally got outdoors in the snow for a wonderful walk through the woods with my daughter and 18 month old grandson. He absolutely loves being outside, and it's wonderful to be with him and watch his delight and awe at the world. 

Today will be a quiet day for me. I'll leave the hearts and flowers to others and content myself with laundry, leftover soup and a Roadie Slice or two.  

Happy Valentine's Day, my friends. I wish you love, good food and the opportunity to view your world with awe and delight.