Walnut Date Me?

What do you get for a boy who–in addition to having an extensive collection of handled mason jars in his kitchen–shows up on your doorstep for Valentine’s Day dinner bearing not just any old bouquet of roses…but a bouquet of roses tied up with four, beautiful Komachi knives?Yes, your favorite type of  knives…mostly because of their color.––The ones you coveted and then received for Christmas….but still haven’t opened as part of what we call the “fancy china” syndrome.* [But these new ones are already opened for you!]

*Spend a lot of money on and never use.^

^Or, to be more precise, your parents spend a lot of money on and you never use.And what do you get to say thank you, not just for that, but for the amazing dinner at The Local, one of your favorite Charlottesville restaurants?Where he didn’t judge you when you ate the rest of his salad*…

*You can’t let good baby-carrots-but not-like-the-kind-in-the-bag go to waste, right?

…accidentally knocked over all of the menus, causing the candle to extinguish…[all before a glass of wine, mind you]

…and then, before reaching your wandering fork across the table yet again to snag some garlicky green beans and (bleu) cheesy mashed potatoes from underneath his big, beefy tenderloin…*

*And yes, I realize now that that sounds sort of inappropriate.…took 1,000 pictures of your quinoa-stuffed acorn squash?[Which was just as delicious and perfectly cooked* as ever--on it's bed of sauteed chard, basil oil, and tomato sauce--reminding you yet again that you need to pair acorn squash with Italian-style tomato sauce.^]

*Seriously, the work magic there at The Local. How do they cook it perfectly every time? With skin AND flesh so soft and buttery? Normally, for me, one or the other is under-or over-cooked.

^Oh wait. You have.And when you say, “Oh, forget it. The pictures don’t really matter. I’m just being silly,” he just smiles calmly and says, “Well, now, we both know that’s just not true.”Then, after you’ve devoured your squash with a gusto befitting a vegan who it would seem had not eaten all day (or who’s appetite was exacerbated due to that wine?), he didn’t think you were crazy for polishing off the squash skin, too?

Well, if you are Miss Smart, you obviously make a cookie.

A very large (vegan) cookie.One you call “Fig-et about the Other Girls, Wal-nut Date Me?”

Because the subtly spiced–with coriander, cinnamon, and cardamom–cookie containes figs, walnuts, and dates. And to you, that’s hilarious.

Luckily for St. Valentine……the cookie was the only one left broken-hearted.*^

*Yes, I’ve totally used that line before.

^No. It wasn’t originally in the shape of a heart. I might like punny names…but I’m not that cheesy.