Seasonal Sundays (Week 7) Dinner for ♥♥

Seven recipes for special occasions, Valentines, sure, but also year-round because why let the calendar dictate when (and with whom?) we celebrate love?

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

Hey, all. Thank you for following Kitchen Parade, for checking in on these Sunday missives. It means the world to be welcomed into your InBox and RSS readers and most of all, your kitchens. So thank you, truly.

Valentine's Day, I think, could do with a makeover. All those hearts and roses. All that c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e, what's up with that?!

So if you're feeling at loose ends, hey, for sure make it your own, whatever that means. At the moment, I'm kinda thinking a pizza and a cowboy movie to fall asleep to???

It's a healthy choice, I think, setting aside Norman Rockwell paintings and Hallmark holidays for Friends-giving and Gal-entines to say nothing of picking up a few cheery flowers for yourself, no matter who or who doesn't share your table.

So I picked this week's recipes with that in mind, weeknight-friendly dinners (and desserts!) to share with a partner, sure, but also with, hmmm, your kid who'd rather play video games, your mom who's having a hard time, the neighbor who shoveled your walk all January ...

I hope you find something that inspires your own February 14th ...

Remember This Plant Name: Anthurium

My Canadian grandmother brought home these other-worldly plastic tropical flowers from Hawaii when I was a kid: at six or so, I learned to pronounce "anthurium".

And now the live plants have become my favorite houseplant! They're easy to grow and showy. The leaves are glossy and heart shaped, neat and orderly in a pot. Two or three flowers bloom at a time, they're also heart-shaped though smaller with an odd-looking, um, protuberance. Even during the periods without flowers, it's a really attractive plant. I mostly see plants with red flowers but picked up one earlier this year which was a lovely pinky-purply lavender, very pretty.

And ... keep an eye out, because for the last couple of years, they pop up around Valentines at Trader Joe's, Sam's Club, the local grocery, etc.

Anyone else have a favorite houseplant to recommend?

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SEASONAL INSPIRATION: Dinner for ♥♥

• THE RECIPE Quick 'n' Easy Shrimp Bisque Part shrimp chowder, part traditional bisque.
• ANOTHER TAKE Finnish Salmon Soup (Lohikeitto) Finland's famous fish and potato chowder.

• THE RECIPE Warm Baked Feta & Tomatoes with Shrimp The TikTok phenomenon plus shrimp.
• ANOTHER TAKE Shrimp with Tomatoes, Spinach & Feta Shrimp cooked in a nest of tomatoes, spinach and feta cheese.

• THE RECIPE Chicken Cacciatore The classic Italian dish, chicken slow-cooked in a rich tomato sauce.
• ANOTHER TAKE Italian Lemon Chicken Italian-style baked chicken, lemon-y and garlick-y.

• THE RECIPE Perfect Lamb Chops How to cook lamb chops perfectly each and every time.
• ANOTHER TAKE Frozen Steaks Perfectly cooked steaks, starting with frozen meat!

• THE RECIPE Smoked Salmon Salad with Quick-Pickled Cucumbers & Roasted Peppers A Quick Supper, easy and refreshing.
• ANOTHER TAKE Arugula Salad with Smoked Trout & Peach Preserve Dressing

• THE RECIPE Chocolate Decadence Cake The ultimate chocolate experience.
• STELLAR WITH Raspberry-Red Wine Coulis (Reduction Sauce) Sweet-but-tart raspberry sauce, a perfect added-touch for desserts.

• THE RECIPE Chocolate Shortbread Cookies A simple chocolate cookie, tender and crisp, barely sweet.
• ANOTHER TAKE Chocolate-Almond Shortbread Cookies Almost sugar-free, great for shipping.

• THE COLLECTION Valentine's More recipes for romance and special occasions.
• ALL THE HOLIDAYS All the Holidays Year-round food for fun and celebration.

What's New?!

Wondering about a recipe from the last while? Check Recent Recipes from Kitchen Parade and Recent Vegetable Recipes from A Veggie Venture.

• THE HOW-TO Charcuterie for Two Practical tips and ideas for convivial meals for special occasions.

Looking Ahead ...
February 12 - Superbowl Sunday (today!)
February 14 - Valentines's (Tuesday this week!)
February 20 - President's Day (Monday)
February 21 - Fat Tuesday / Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Night
February 22 - Ash Wednesday / Beginning of Lent

• THE COLLECTION Football Fever! Game-changing recipes for Playoff Games & Superbowl Parties.
• AND ANOTHER Chillin': Favorite Chili, Chowder & Cornbread Recipes Football friendly!

• THE COLLECTION Valentine's Recipes for romance.
• ALL THE HOLIDAYS All the Holidays Year-round food for fun and celebration.

• THE COLLECTION Mardi Gras Cajun and Creole straight from N'awlins.
• ALL THE HOLIDAYS All the Holidays Year-round food for fun and celebration.

• THE CONCEPT Make Tonight a Pancake Night Especially on Fat Tuesday but move over Taco Tuesday and Pizza Friday.
• AND ANOTHER #PieDayFriday Because good pie deserves more than one day a year.

• THE TRADITION How to Plant Lenten Grass (Easter Grass) An old Finnish tradition, good to mark the season of Lent with children.
• AND ANOTHER A Birthday Cake for Jesus: A Story My sister's gentle way of keeping the spirit of Christmas.

• THE COLLECTION Kitchen Parade's Fish Recipes, many Quick Suppers, many healthy meals.
• AND ANOTHER Kitchen Parade's Seafood Recipes including shrimp, oysters, lobster, crab.

A Quick Peek Into a Real-Life Kitchen

Just so you know, everything's not all pretty pictures around here, in the background is a pile of dirty dishes. And just like many (all?) of us, come five o'clock, I too draw a blank about what to make for supper, despite so many recipes I so dearly love. Here's a quick peek from the last week.

• THIS WEEK What a great way to use (or use up) a half head of cabbage. This week, I used the "noodles" as a middle layer in big dinner salads, fresh spinach on the bottom plus pickled beets and leftover salmon on top. Such an easy supper, one we really love, in part because it's rarely the same but always good.
• THE RECIPE Cabbage Noodles Ribbons of soft, silky cabbage, almost like pasta.

• THIS WEEK It used to be, I only roasted tomatoes in late summer. But ever since re-discovering roasting Roma tomatoes which are inexpensive and easily found year-round, I roast one tray after another. In part, it's to update all the recipes which use the tomatoes, see Slow-Roasted Tomatoes. Let me suggest the Slow-Roasted Tomato Soup? Wow.
• THE RECIPE Roasted Roma Tomatoes Turn so-so supermarket tomatoes into something special.

• THIS WEEK So good! Not just once but twice! I first made a big dent in a three-pound bag of spinach (something I've learned to do asap, as soon as bringing home the bag) and finished the last of some fresh kale, where I stirred in some cream and cheddar at the end, turning it into a kind of creamed kale.
• THE RECIPE Jubilee Greens How to sauté leafy greens like spinach, chard, kale & more.

Just Updated!

• THE RECIPE Slow-Roasted Tomato Soup For deep, dusky slow-roasted flavor.
• ANOTHER TAKE Pasta with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes With roasted tomatoes, a deep, dark pasta sauce in 10 minutes.

• THE RECIPE Fried Bread (Skillet Toast) Slices of hearty bread, toasted in a pan until crisp and golden.
• ANOTHER TAKE Gashouse Eggs The old-time comfort food, just an egg and bread fried together, with so many names.

• THE RECIPE Orange & Avocado Salad Simple but sumptuous.
• ANOTHER TAKE Savory Orange Slices A simple and surprising orange salad.

• THE RECIPE Kale Salad To-Go with Avocado & Apple
• ANOTHER TAKE Festive Kale Salad with Apple & Pomegranate A burst of color, texture and flavor for holiday meals.

• THE RECIPE Simple Beef Salad Retro good with veggies, rice and a savory soy dressing.
• ANOTHER TAKE Grilled Steak with Tomato-Avocado Salad in a Warm Poblano-Bacon Vinaigrette A hearty salad supper, steak with a mess of lettuce, tomatoes, avocado in a poblano-bacon vinaigrette.

• FREEZER SURPRISES Surprising Foods That Freeze Well
• PANTRY MEALS How to Make a Meal with What You Have Select recipes for our favorite pantry ingredients.

Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail (my current address is in the FAQs), dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, tuck a question into a plastic Easter egg, whatever.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. When you make my recipes, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below or better still, on the specific recipe's page.

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