Showing posts with label #ValentinesDay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #ValentinesDay. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Valentine's Day Love: Red-Hot Cocktails Shake Up Your Happy Hour; Cheese Treats, & More


Let’s just get right to it, shall we? Sexy cocktails are the foreplay to a celebrated evening of romance and fantasy. What could be more suggestively sizzling than a red-hot, “Shut up and kiss me” spicy martini?

Cran-Spiced Martini

Ingredients: 
  • 2 parts Reyka Vodka
  • 1 part cranberry 100% juice
  • ¾ part Vanilla spiced syrup
Glass: Martini

Method: Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker (with 2-3 ice cubes) and pour strained, foamy ingredients into the glass -- Shake, strain & garnish.

Garnish: Skewered cranberries. I like those picks with the red ball top - pretty; plus the ball helps anchor the pick. You can also use ruby or garnet stick pins as the skewer.

*Vanilla spiced syrup: Add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, ¼ tsp. ground black pepper, 5 tsp. allspice, 1 cinnamon stick (2 ½"). Bring to a boil in a pot. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Let cool completely.
Fine strain and add ½ oz vanilla extract.



The Exene

Ingredients:
  • 1.5 parts Hudson Baby Bourbon
  • 1 part Aperol aperitif
  • .5 part fresh lemon juice
  • .5 part honey syrup
  • Half-dropper of Bittermens Elemakule Tiki Bitters (comes in dropper format—2 dashes if decanted into dasher bottle )
Method: Add ingredients to shaker with ice, and shake to chill.

CENTER IMAGE - (my favorite) : shaken with egg white or .75 oz aquafaba (chickpea water), strained into cocktail glass
Garnish with lemon twist

LEFT IMAGE: strained over ice and topped with soda
Garnish with lemon wedge

RIGHT IMAGE: strained over the rocks

Garnish: Lemon wedge & cherry

If you want to spice up your Valentine evening but keep it light, here are a few cocktail confections to explore. I love the rich, nuanced Ancho Reyes so much -- and also the heat of the Milagro Reposado -- therefore I can wholeheartedly recommend this Spicy Milagro Paloma.





Spicy Milagro Paloma: by Jaime Salas, National Milagro Ambassador

Ingredients:
  • 1 ½ Parts Milagro Reposado
  • ½ Part Ancho Reyes
  • ½ Part Fresh Lime Juice
  • 3 Parts Grapefruit Soda
  • Grapefruit Wheel
Method:
Using a lime wedge, wet the rim of the glass and salt half the rim. Add ice, Milagro Reposado, Ancho Reyes and grapefruit soda. Squeeze a wedge of lime and discard.

Garnish: Add a thin grapefruit wheel to the glass

Glassware: tall Collins glass (or Pilsner if you have that in your collection)

“Were kicking up the Paloma recipe with the spicy and savory notes of Ancho chiles along with Milagro Reposado’s caramel and hints of pepper. The winning Mexican combination makes for a next level riff on an already amazing Mexican classic.” – noted Jamie Salas, National Milagro Ambassador. Agreed!



Strawberry Mamie Taylor: By Giuseppe Gonzalez (Suffolk Arms, NYC)

Ingredients: 
  • 2 parts Monkey Shoulder
  • .5 parts Lemon juice
  • .75 parts ginger syrup
  • .25 parts strawberry puree
Method: Shake. Top with soda.

My suggestion for a Garnish -- chocolate dipped fresh strawberry, or a fancy twist, or a candied ginger or two on a pretty pick such as jewelry pin or a barbershop red and white straw cut in half.



Prickled Pink by Jaime Salas, National Milagro Ambassador

Ingredients:
  • 2 Parts Milagro Silver
  • 1 Part Fresh Lime Juice
  • 2 Parts Pink Agua de Tuna**
  • 3/4 Part Agave Nectar
Method:Pour all ingredients into a Boston shaker, shake and strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass.

Glassware: Old Fashioned or Rocks glass

Garnish: Add a lime wheel to the glass rim

**To make Agua de Tuna: Peel and roughly chop 5 prickly pear fruits (green and red), add to blender and puree until smooth. Pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds and pulp, discard.

The Freshest Margarita
“This delicious, yet simple three ingredient take on the classic margarita allows Milagro to shine front and center among the freshest trifecta of flavors.” – said Salas, Milagro ambassador.

I think this cocktail not only works for Valentine’s Day but you can also practice for National Margarita Day, February 22nd!



Mexican Garden Margarita by Jaime Salas

Ingredients:
  • 2 Parts Milagro Silver 
  • 1 Part Fresh Lime Juice
  • .5 Part Light Agave Nectar 
  • 2 Parts Pineapple Juice 
  • 1 Cilantro Leaf
Method:
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and add ice. Shake, strain, and pour over fresh ice into rocks glass. 

And because you can never have enough artful Garnishes - I love that this cocktail offers no less that three garnishes! So you might think of as a fashion layering - meaning one or two or all garnishes. 

Garnish: A pineapple leaf, lime wheel, and a cilantro leaf.
Garnish: 1 Pineapple Leaf
Garnish: 1 Lime Wheel
Garnish: 1 Cilantro Leaf

Spicy Verde Margarita by Jaime Salas, National Milagro Ambassador

Ingredients:

  • 1 Part Milagro Silver
  • 1 Part Ancho Reyes Verde
  • ¾ Part Fresh Lime Juice
  • ½ Part Light Agave Nectar
Method: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.

Glassware: Rocks

Milagro Tequila (milagro means ‘miracle’ - which is just so darn apropos for Valentine’s Day imbibing ) is made from 100% estate-grown, hand-selected, blue agave in the town of Tepatitlan in the Jalisco region of Mexico. The agaves are harvested about 8 to 12 years after planting and the juice is extracted from the heart of the plant by roasting in clay ovens made from the estate’s volcanic soil. Milagro Tequila is triple distilled and aged longer than most tequilas to obtain its distinctive flavor. Be still my heart….

The available expressions include Milagro Silver, Reposado, Añejo, Select Barrel Reserve Silver, Select Barrel Reserve Reposado, and Select Barrel Reserve Añejo.

Spirits

If you want to bring a bit of ahem, “spirit” to your Valentine - you will win over his or her heart with a bottle of one or more of these quality brands:

Proper No. Twelve: Proper No. Twelve is an Irish whiskey launched in September last year by MMA champion, entrepreneur, family man and philanthropist, Conor McGregor. The brand and its name were inspired by McGregor's love of Ireland, its people and Irish whiskey. Proper No. Twelve is a blend of Ireland's finest golden grain and single malt. Plus, this treat will last you through St. Patrick’s Day celebrations! Price: $25 - $30

D’USSE:D’USSE is a bold new expression of Cognac that dares the palate like never before. It’s VSOP varietal is a perfectly balanced blend of selected Cognacs aged at least 4 ½ years in French oak barrels in the Chateau de Cognac’s unique dry and humid cellars. It’s a full-body blend with a powerful, complex taste and a pleasantly smooth finish. D’USSE VSOP Price: $49.99 - $54.99

Hillrock Distillery: Hillrock Estate Distillery is on a mission to produce the finest hand-crafted spirits using its onsite Malt House and three different Estate Grains. Its Double Cask Rye’s deep golden amber color is highlighted by warm and inviting aromas of vanilla and caramel with hints of prune, apricot and rye spice. Double Cask Rye Price: $92 - $99

You didn’t think I’d leave you without a recipe to whip up using these exotics, did you? Heaven’s no. Here’s some racy, red cocktails to woo your beloved.



The D’USSE Red Velvet - perfectly elegant for Valentine’s Day

Ingredients:
  • 2 oz- D’USSE Cognac
  • 1.5 oz- Crème de Cacao
  • .5 oz- Simple Syrup
  • 3- Fresh raspberries
  • 3 Dashes- Chocolate Molé Bitters
Method:
Muddle Raspberries and Simple Syrup in a shaker. Add D’USSE Cognac, Crème de Cacao and Bitters. Shake vigorously with Ice. Double strain into a chilled Coup or Martini Glass. 


Glassware: Coup or Martini

Garnish: Fresh raspberries on a metal skewer. I would suggest you could skewer the raspberries on a bejeweled hat pin for some extra bling..



KNOCK OUT: Created by Sonny Verdini, Bar Manager, TRADE (Boston, MA)

Ingredients:
  • 1.5oz Proper Twelve Whiskey
  • 1 cinnamon syrup
  • .75 oz house made ginger liqueur 
  • .5 oz lemon
  • 3 dashes Angostura Bitters
Method: Shake into a single rocks glass.

Garnish:Adorn the glass with a dehydrated lemon or orange wheel and a cinnamon stick. I might add that you could lim the rim of the glass with cinnamon sugar; and add a dehydrated ginger candy slice.



Apple of My Eye - created and available at db Bistro Moderne - where we just enjoyed a sterling pre-theater lunch -- and returned post Network performance to talk about and decompress from this kinetic Broadway masterpiece. Ohhhh Bryan Cranston - you are a treasure. Sorry - I’m smitten with this actor of stage and screen….

While not red in hue, this darling cocktail is beautiful and elegant with notes of Cider Apples, Honey, Cherry (a wee bit of red for the Valentine holiday), and Almond. So warming…

Ingredients:
  • 1 oz Calvados Ménorval
  • 2 oz Henriques & Henriques Rainwater Madeira 3yr
  • .5 oz Honey Syrup
  • 3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
Method: Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir.

Glassware: Serve straight up in a coupe glass.

Garnish: Dress the glass with an apple slice and cinnamon stick. You can use a Granny Smith or for this holiday - a ripe, red apple such as a Fuji would work.

If you’re like me - you can’t resist indulging in cheese love. I prepare a salumi plate every evening for my husband, Bill, to enjoy when he gets home from the office.

But Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to up the cheese game. And who better than my friends at Murray’s Cheese -- THE defining cheese mecca to offer a portfolio of Valentine’s gifts - not only for your lover but for friends and family.

I love Murray’s outreach -- “Will you Brie Mine?” How cute is that?

OK - I dare anyone to resist the Sweetheart Tower ($55)
Get ready for romance with your one and only by indulging in this delicious cheese tower. Complete with Murray’s Cavemaster Reserve Hollander, Murray’s Mini Brie, and Pico Picandine, it’s the ideal tower for every palate and will have your Valentine’s Day date swooning.



This Cheese Indulgence is a Truffle up and wheel, high roller—piled high with a magnificent mélange of flavors and textures. The base is loaded with black truffle—everyone’s favorite fancy fungus—and from there it builds through a pair of renowned wheels, up to a sublimely creamy peak. This is a tower that simply has it all.
And then -- there’s the Valentine’s Day Collection ($100)

This gift could surely inspire a romance in your life. It includes Mast Brothers Dark Chocolate, Moliterno al Tartufo, La Tur, Cambozola Black Label, and Urban Oven Olive Crackers.




Did you know? Fun Facts about Valentine’s Day, according to a recent WalletHub survey:

Valentine’s Day Trivia:
  • $20.7B: Total Valentine’s Day spending projected for 2019 ($161.96 per person celebrating). Candy is the number one item folks buy for their sweetheart - followed by cards, flowers, an evening out, and jewelry. I say, why settle for one of these items when you clearly deserve all of them!! 
  • $196 vs. $100: Men spent nearly twice as much as women, on average, for Valentine’s Day 2018.
  • $7.6 Billion: Amount Americans will spend on jewelry ($3.9B), flowers ($1.9B) and candy ($1.8B).
  • 9 Million: Number of marriage proposals made each Valentine’s Day.
  • NYC is number one for florists per capita - so no excuse for not bringing home a bouquet.
You can enjoy the full WalletHub survey.

And I just got back from reviewing a new restaurant in Chinatown, PhobarNYC And so I can share a quick shout out here (formal review to follow).

The reason why I’m including PhoBar in a Valentine’s Day overview is that after tasting and testing at the new restaurant today, I could understand how this Vietnamese menu could be not only a delicious Valentine’s evening out for the food --oh wow - but also - and hear me out on this -- at Phobar one “builds” their “Perfect Bowl” of Pho. Sooo, if you’re still with me -- you could better connect with your date or mate - as you observe how they build their Pho!

Love is in the ingredients.

So glamorous.

Love, love and more love to you, my readers. I so appreciate your support and input.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Valentine's Flowers: Roses & Orchids, Champagne, Cocktails, Kissing, Dining Out & Love...


I’m thinking there is no more enduring, more classic, more romantic way to say “I love you” and to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with champagne, roses, and - I thought a new twist on the classic - with orchids.

Incredibly, as I was writing this loving holiday blog post, my husband, Bill, came home and surprised me with a floral arrangement of blossoms and fragrant blooms in luscious colors - that he selected from the florist.



And guess what? The composition included those very same blooms I was dreaming - er, writing about!



I don’t know about you but my experience with floral design has not been one where these two exotic and beloved blooms have been natural partners.
I did a Google search to confirm my curiosity - and by and large - it’s true.

Orchids

Orchids are love. They elicit emotions.

Did you know there are more than 28,000 distinct species of orchids? Ecuador - with only 0.21% of the world’s landmass is home to approximately 4,000 orchids. (The US has fewer than 200) -- according to a wonderful book, “Birds, Butterflies, and Orchids - A Life in the Cloud Forest,” authored - and autographed - by Carlos Zorrilla.

I chose to include the orchids because - well - they are the jewels of the plant world.
Orchids are eye candy. And The New York Botanical Garden will premiere its Orchid Show soon - I’m looking forward to the press premiere in a week or so.

And even more significant - I’ve just returned from this year’s garden design and horticulture work at Hacienda Cusin in Ecuador -- a kind of plant paradise to say the least.

And while there, I scooted up to the Cloud Forest to not only meet Sandy - my Spanish instructor -- (we do Facebook classes but I’d never met her in person - and she runs an Air BnB there as El Refugio de Intag ), but to see and discover the incredible and rare orchids there in the Intag. Sandy and her husband gave part of their land to Ecuador for the reserve where the orchids grow. More on this in another post but by way of reference - orchids have really been on my mind as of late, as you can imagine.

Here are a few of the images from my rare orchids discovery adventure in the Cloud Forest.









Many see faces in their glamorous blooms and love in their expressions.

 

This is a monkey orchid!

Most folks don’t know that Vanilla is an orchid.

It’s a legendary plant and flavor; loved the world over.

You can combine almost any orchid in your flower arrangement and a vanilla flavor in Valentine’s Day cocktails.

A rare breed of a gold orchid can also be enjoyed in tea or broth or as part of a facial spa skin treatment. Dendrobium has a wonderful taste of honey. Or use the rare orchids that have been artfully crafted intp a special fragrance to be gifted to your loved one.

Sustainable Flowers

Veriflora® Sustainably Grown certification assures that cut flowers meet the very strictest standards of environmental and social responsibility.

So when you give flowers this year, you can tell your loved one that you are also taking care of the environment, farmworkers, and farm communities.

This is the “gold” standard in sustainability certification for ornamental horticulture. Third-party certification assures buyers and consumers that cut flowers and potted plants have been produced in an environmentally and socially responsible way, with practices that achieve the highest level of product quality.

I asked the ladies at Veriflora a few questions about the certification, costs, and if the certificate is US only.
In less time than you can say Dendrobium or Trichophilia fragrans they were back with answers. I’m was happy to learn the certification program has been active since about 2003. And embarrassed I hadn’t had this on my radar until now. (why is that?!)

Veriflora certifies domestic and imported flowers, as well as potted plants. And, to the best of their knowledge, these flowers are not more expensive than non-certified so that makes it a no-brainer to ask for them at your local florist.
Their clients are certified across the U.S., as well as in Columbia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador.

Up until this year, visitors to Hacienda Cusin where I work every January doing garden design, could explore the nearby rose plantations and operations. The Sierra in Ecuador is known for its roses and dairy. A few years ago, I wrote about “Spanking Your Flowers! and the Symbols and Meaning for Valentine’s Day Blooms & Blossoms” that was, in part, inspired by the rose-growing in Ecuador where they grow an abundance of the world’s roses -- and not surprisingly, the end of January is crazy busy time as they line up the rainbow of roses for the world.

Champagne
Coco Chanel once said “I only drink champagne on two occasions: when I am single and when I am not.”

Coco is not just my fashion hero - but I have blissfully inherited her name as my nickname - so christened by friends/associates at The New York Botanical Garden and garden clients, too. I love it.

And love the Coco quote…

I’ve selected a few champagne infused cocktails here for your celebration - today and well, every day that Cupid strikes…

The Siren by Ingi R. Sigurdsson

Photo courtesy of Reyka

Ingredients:

1.5 fresh Lemon juice

1 oz simple (1:1)

1 oz St. Germain

3 oz Reyka vodka

6 oz champagne

Method:

Combine all ingredients into cocktail shaker except champagne.

Shake, top with the champagne - or prosecco - garnish and serve in a Bordeaux/Burgundy wine glass over flower ice cubes.

How to Make the Flower Ice Cubes:

Recipe for 2 cranberry juice cubes/2 grapefruit juice cubes/ 1 large simple syrup ice cube with orange blossom water, rose water, frozen edible Sonja orchid.

Ingredients for flower ice cube liquid:

4 liters - or a little more than a gallon of water

24 oz simple syrup 1:1

10 droppers Orange flower water

10 droppers rose water

Method:

Stir till all ingredients combined

Freeze in 1x1 molds with the Sonia Orchids

I adore champagne - and maple syrup - nectars of the goddesses and gods.  So when I was sent this recipe by the Maple Guild, I did a double blink back. Too good to be true!
Photo courtesy of the Maple Guild

Beau & Arrow by The Maple Guild

Ingredients:

1 oz vodka

½ oz creme de cassis

¾ oz champagne

1 tsp The Maple Guild Vanilla Bean maple syrup

Method:
Shake all but champagne in the cocktail shaker. Pour into a coupe glass. Top with the champagne.  Garnish with a maraschino cherry or raspberry or chocolate maple candy from that box that you probably just opened.

Winter Rose

Photo courtesy of Vivanco 
Ingredients:

2 oz Vivanco Rosado Wine

2 oz Brut Champagne

.5 oz Elderflower Syrup

Splash of Pressed Clementine Juice

Garnish with Halved Fresh Cranberries

Sprinkle of Ground Clove

* Build over Ice


French 75

The French 75 is one of two cocktails named after the French 75mm field gun, which was commonly used in World War I.

Ingredients:

2 ounces gin

1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar

Champagne or sparkling wine

Garnish: long thin lemon spiral and cocktail cherry

Method:

Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Shake gin, lemon juice, and sugar in a cocktail shaker until well chilled, about 15 seconds. Strain into a champagne flute.

Top with champagne. Stir gently, garnish with a long, thin lemon spiral and a cocktail cherry.

If you plan to drink your champagne straight - please choose a quality sparkling wine. It’s a special occasion, after all. I researched and found this complete guide to champagne from Wine Folly that sorts out all the different brands at every price point.

Kissing

Pucker up -- kissing is a sweet exercise just made for Valentine’s Day. Hugging is another romantic “workout” along with hand-holding and …. Well, all this food and drink are mere aphrodisiacs, no?

Because lot’s of kissing is surely in order, it is important to keep your lips healthy and moisturized -- year-round -- but now that the year’s most kissable holiday is here, the lips can use some extra care. And my friend Trish Alkaitis has a sweet offer.
Check this out: Alkaitis gifting you a free 'Love Your Lips' Organic Lip Treatment with any online purchase of $89 on alkaitis.com

The Organic Lip Treatment gives your lips that shiny attractive glow while protecting and nourishing them, providing a long lasting deep treatment.

Dining out

If you you’re in Gotham, you might relish a four-course meal from Irvington at W Union Square. Dishes like Arctic Char Crudo and Chestnut Agnolotti are on the the $65 pre-fixe menu, as well as a dessert platter for two.

Even sweeter? There’s a $55 champagne pairing available as well, including Domaine Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Dom Perignon and Moët Rose.

Midtown? Check out Kingside in Viceroy Central Park is offering up an À la carte Valentine’s Day menu with dishes like ravioli and a Moulard Duck dish for two. Top the meal off with $55 champagne tasting featuring luxe selections like Veuve Clicquot and Moët Rose.

If you’re planning to go out, here’s a splendid spot in Gotham: bar Sardine, Gabriel Stulman's intimate Greenwich Village neighborhood gastropub.

Managing Partner/resident cocktail guru Brian Bartels has crafted a special NOLA-inspired drink menu for the occasion of Mardi Gras/Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day (sort of a hat-trick of holy occasions), featuring smart cocktails like the Big Freedia 63 (a take on the French 75 with singani, lillet, lemon, lavender, prosecco... and twerking) and Forgive me Father, For I Have Pimmed -- it is Ash Wednesday, after all. This one is inspired by the classic Pimm's Cup with rye, becherovka, amaro, and Pimms. I love most everything with a good amaro.

Dining In

Be sure to create a tablescape worthy of your loves: friends, family, food, drink - and entertaining. 
I am creating one for a Ladies Who Lunch Valentine’s / Lunar New Year celebration next week. It’s the Year of the Dog!

Here’s the work in progress: (details to follow)

Photo courtesy of Virginia Popik


Photo courtesy of Virginia Popik 

Kisses and hugs for a sweet Valentine’s Day celebration filled with glamorous flowers, drink, food, and lots and lots of love.

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Spanking Your Flowers! Symbols and Meaning for Valentine’s Day Blooms & Blossoms & more


Photo courtesy of Techuloid


Did you you know that every blossom gets “spanked” at the airport when the flowers land in the US?!  Yes, Federal Agents “spank” or shake the plants to make sure they are free of some hijacking pests or bugs.
I saw the news report on CBS TV the other morning and enjoyed the presentation.
CBS News Valentines Day Roses  "From Rose Farm to Table."  (The co-host Charlie Rose (how perfect is his moniker for this feature?) - has a moment!) Here's the newscast:





Valentine’s Day offers passionate plant lovers  a holiday like no other. Besides the many luxury gifts designed to woo a special someone -- including chocolates, champagne, fragrance, and jewelry -- glamorous, glorious flowers, blooms, and blossoms are the Valentine gift sure to elicit that romantic swoon.  The thing is - all those other luxury gifts are inspired by and composed of --- plants!  Think about it - chocolate comes from a plant bean, champagne from a grape plant, jewelry is most often a flower or blossom rendered in earth’s metals of gold, silver or diamonds. So why not go with the original gift of romance - the authentic messenger of love?  Plus, there are legends and stories about most every plant and flower, right down to the meanings of color and the mysterious effect on our ardent -- and lustful -- desires.


According to CBS, Americans will spend more than $2 billion on flowers this Valentine’s Day - the “Superbowl of Flowers” said Joann Whitley, flower manager of the chain, Fresh Market grocers.  The holiday statistics demonstrate Valentine's Day is indeed the number one holiday for florists, according to the National Retail Federation as reported by About Flowers.
Of fresh flower purchases only, Valentine's Day ranks No. 1, capturing 36% of holiday transactions and 40% of holiday dollar volume, with red roses racking up 61% of all rose purchases, followed by pink roses.  


I’m “In the Pink” this Valentine’s Day!  I received a sweet, happy, feminine, and glamorous arrangement that is a mix of pink roses, lemon leaves, purple daisies, fragrant, beguiling, heavenly-scented Stargazer lilies, and Peruvian lilies (Alstroemeria).  Those last two have those flirty freckles adorning their faces.   



Say it with Flowers
Over time, flowers have taken on meanings beyond their sheer beauty.  Perhaps it was the garden sprites or Garden Goddesses that sprinkled their fairy dust -- adding more romance to nature’s jewels -- as symbols of virtue and ardor and more.


For example, my Peruvian lilies are noted as a symbol of devotion.  Peruvian lilies can say to a companion or loved one that you will always be there for them and that you trust in your lasting bond. The depth of meanings for Peruvian lilies is a compliment to their beauty, and the message that these flowers send is profound in its authentic simplicity, according to Proflowers.  
Further, my pink roses signify grace and elegance, Stargazer lily, aka the “floral celebrity” represents wealth, prosperity, innocence, and purity.


I make my annual Valentine’s Day arrangement with tulips - their meaning is “Perfect Love!” And Red Tulips are “most strongly associated with “true love.”
Did you know tulip the word comes from “Turban?”  See, tulips originated in Persia and Turkey and residents there wore the tulips in their turbans - so western Europeans mistakenly gave the tulip its name mixing the flower with the hat.  
For my Valentine’s floral candy confection, I place a glass inside the vase, line it with the Sweetheart candy -- the heart-shaped ones with the cute, conversation love letters like, “Kiss Me,” or “Love” - or now, emoticons - and are in fact, THE best selling Valentine’s Day candy.  
The tulips go inside the glass.  Sweet.


What does all that color mean?
According to Michael Skaff, FTD as reported by ABC-TV Chicago:
Red is for passion and love. These are best suited for the person who you are on clear terms with, like you're both in love or serious about dating.
White is for purity, renewal and freshness. If you've messed up recently, these may be a good way to make amends.
Yellow is for friendship. These are best reserved for someone you're close with and care about very much.
Purple is a complex color that can evoke a variety of different emotions; integrity, fantasy, enchantment. This color says "I'm intrigued by everything you do." It is also on trend for 2015.
Pink can mean flirtation, femininity. It's also evocative of passion. It's a safe color for those flirtatious relationships that may still be in the "honeymoon" phase.
Orange is for desire. You wouldn't normally think of Orange of Valentine's Day, but the can say how much you desire him or her and can be a color that's outside the box.


You can peruse the FTD site to your heart's content (smile) - for an almost limitless variety of romantic bouquets and artfully designed floral arrangements that say, "I love you" for lots of occasions! 

Local Flowers


And not to douse the aforementioned floral ardor, this is a perfect occasion to highlight the gospel and work of one of my favorite floral visionaries: Debra Prinzing


Just as I espouse growing edibles and eating food that is locally-sourced, Debra has championed a more sustainable floral business/”industry” using locally-grown ornamental flowers.  Termed a “Slow Flower” Movement, she advocates for growing your own flowers or buying from local growers.  For many of the same reasons.  Do we really need to have billions of exotic flowers flown in every day?  
If we can recalibrate our floral aesthetic, we can enjoy glamorous floral designs and practice a more eco-friendly and sustainable environment - not to mention creating lots more local jobs.


Prinzing has authored two books on this important subject: The 50 Mile Bouquet: Seasonal, Locally Grown Bouquets from the Garden 





Photo: Debra Prinzing
Debra’s news release quotes: “The book follows Prinzing through 52 consecutive weeks during which she challenged herself to pick, arrange and photograph a seasonal bouquet using only local ingredients. She sourced flowers, leaves, branches and seedpods from her own garden, from friends' gardens, and from the meadows and fields of her favorite flower farms. Like an easy-to-use cookbook, Slow Flowers features vivid images of each finished bouquet, a thorough ingredient list and step-by-step design instructions. Special "takeaway tips" share expert flower growing advice and eco-design techniques.
Photo: Debra Prinzing
"After being immersed in the 'slow flower' movement and documenting  the dramatic transformation in how cut flowers are grown, designed and used, my own relationship with flowers - and floral design - changed," Prinzing says. "Gardeners and flower lovers have so many exciting botanical options to collect for their vases. Slow Flowers demonstrates that living in the moment - each season - is just as rewarding for flower lovers as it is for foodies who cook seasonally-inspired menus."


In her richly-photographed book, Debra celebrates each season's unique character -- with fresh blooms, ornamental twigs, colorful foliage, gorgeous vines and many other gifts from nature. Each of the arrangements begins with a design "muse," be it a beloved antique rose, a new variety of seed or a family heirloom vase. Debra photographed her bouquets in and around her home, close to the garden where many of her ingredients were sourced.”

Check out Debra’s books - it can change your mind to look at flowers and floral arrangement design in a whole new way - celebrating what Mother Nature has so generously gifted to us right in our own backyard using seasonal arrangements inspired by the beauty of a garden.  


Happy Valentine’s Day.   Enjoy the glamour…