I know Valentine’s Day is eleven days away, but I never seem to think about the day soon enough. That means I end up running around like crazy trying to do something special. In order to keep that from happening this year and in case you need ideas, I’m sharing some Valentine’s Day facts and one of my favorite (and easy dessert) recipes for tiramisu.
- Over 36 million heart s
haped boxes of chocolate are sold every year.
- Men spend about twice money as much on Valentine’s Day gifts as women.
- Teachers receive the most Valentine’s Day cards, followed by kids, then moms, wives and girlfriends.
- More than one-third of men are okay not receiving anything on Valentine’s Day.
- The only other day when more flowers are sold than Valentine’s Day is Mother’s Day.
- Candy hearts were invented by a pharmacist and were originally medical lozenges! Not only that, but 10 new sayings are introduced every year.
- People prefer receiving candy over flowers.
- Caramels are the most popular candy in a box of chocolates.
- 40% of people prefer an “experience gift” such as concert tickets or an evening out.
- 3 out of 10 people say they skip celebrating Valentine’s Day, though they might treat themselves to a small gift or a night out with friends.
- It was bad luck to sign Valentine cards in Victorian times.
- 3% of pet owners will give their pet a gift this Valentine’s Day.
- In Finland Valentine’s Day is called Ystavapaiva which translates to “Friend’s Day.”
I think making Valentine’s Day about celebrating everyone we care about and appreciate in our lives is fabulous! That could prevent the holiday from being one where so many people feel excluded. This year, let’s all reach out to one person who might feel left out or despondent on Valentine’s Day—a single friend, a widow or widower immediately come to mind. I’m reminded of the song “Love is Something if You Give it Away.” For the lyrics click here. The more love we share, the more we create in this world.
Now on to dessert!
Ingredients—
8 oz. Mascarpone cheese
½ C powdered sugar
½ tsp run extract
1 C heavy whipping cream
Lady fingers
½ C coffee
2 tsp cocoa
Directions–
1. Place Mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, and run extract in large bowl. Whisk by hand or with electric mixer until smooth. Don’t over mix.
2. In separate bowl, beat whip cream until stiff peaks form. (If the whip cream isn’t stiff you’ll get a runny filling.) Fold into cheese mixture until combined.
3. Place lady fingers in 8 x 8 dish. Spoon coffee over ladyfingers making sure to cover completely. Top with half the cheese mixture. Layer more ladyfingers on top of this and cover with remaining cheese mixture. (Recipe calls for 3 layers using 1/3 each time, but I only do 2 .) Sift cocoa powder over top.
4. Chill at least 4 hours before serving.
5. Top with whip cream, or not. Enjoy with a friend or family!
To be entered in today’s giveaway for a valentine T-shirt and a copy of Home On the Ranch: Colorado Rescue leave a comment about your favorite Valentine’s Day treat.