Valentine's Day food ideas

Two weeks from now it will suddenly be Valentine's Day, and that means everyone around the country will be doing cute, once-a-year things for the people who they love. I don't cook that much and I'm not much for being lovey-dovey on cue, but I figured, ok, I'll see what's out there. And it turns out, there's some great stuff. I just may have to do a little cooking for my wife this year…

1. Cut things in hearts: Heart shaped pepperoni on pizza, heart shaped cookies, heart shaped sushi. The list could go on and on forever. There are some awesome pictures of ideas at that link, though I would love to hear if anyone out there has any other ideas. Can I interest anyone in heart shaped hunks of chocolate?

2. Edible crafts: This is just what it sounds like. Make a craft that you can eat. I'm talking about making jewelry out of twizzlers, or a necklace made out of M&M candies. Or, if you want to go a little more tasteful, here are some strawberry heart meringues.

3. Make things red: It's as simple as cutting things in hearts, but you get to play with the color. For example, throw some red food coloring in your pancakes, or add beets to the salad for your valentine's dinner. Or go all out and make a batch of these red velvet sandwich cookies.

4. Free Geometric Heart Wrapping Paper: No matter what you're going to give the love of your life, you can wrap it in this paper that pulls two things off: First, it manages to give a new spin to hearts by making them geometric. Second, it's free, subverting the Hallmark-itization of Valentine's Day. I dig it.

What ever you're doing for Valentine's Day this year, make it tasty and make it creative. Just make sure you remember!

Image courtesy of Minieco.co.uk