Love and Garlic

Happy Valentine's Day! How are you celebrating? We're not doing much since Mr. Ose is ice fishing. He did take me out to breakfast on Thursday before he left, though. We went to the Outpost on Hwy 10. This is a bar I would not have stepped foot in before the smoking ban, but it was not too bad without smoke. We had heard it had a good breakfast and it was surprisingly good. I had the eggs Benedict and they were delicious! Real Hollandaise sauce, not canned, which is an abomination. The waitress was friendly, the food came quickly and was reasonably priced. The guys at the bar thought so, too. They were tucking into the special washed down with beer. Yeah, beer! At 7:00 a.m.! I asked Paul if beer went with eggs and he replied "You are such a girl, of course it does!". (Makes me wonder about those ice fishing weekends). However, we both thought the fellow who ordered 2 Jack Daniels & cokes (that we knew of) by 7:30 was pushing it. Maybe he works nights and it was happy hour for him.

Last weekend's preschool conference included a great presentation on "The 5 love Languages of Children". This applies to every child and I think adults as well. Basically, the theory is that all kids need love, but it most effectively fills their "love tank" when shown in the way they need most.

The 5 ways to show love are:
1. Physical touch- boys need more physical touch than girls, supposedly. Wrestling counts.
2. Words of Affirmation - Praise, words of affection, pet names
3. Quality Time- Making this person a priority is huge
4. Gifts - not just actual gifts, but the gift of a favorite meal or a letter
5. Acts of Service - teaching anything, helping them when they need help, fixing broken things

To discover a person's primary love language, observe how they express love, is it hugs? Saying "I love you"? Wanting to hang out with you? Presents? Doing chores? This is often how they need love shown to them. What do they complain about or ask for most often? Pay attention and give the people you love what they need most - your love.

This information comes from the book "The 5 Love Languages of Children" by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell.

Also, tell your Valentine something you admire about them today. The sincere compliment is an often overlooked way of showing love. Make it something you haven't mentioned before for extra points.

Cooking something nice is an excellent way to show love, as well. Garlicky foods have a reputation as love enhancers. Really.

"Garlic should be eaten in moderation, less the blood of a man overheats. In truth, if garlic is forbidden, a man's health and proper strength vanish away; but if it is then mixed with food in due proportion, it will bring back his strength"
St. Hildegarde, 12th century

Yes, we wouldn't want a man's blood to overheat. Do be careful when consuming garlic, though. Pizza Hut did a "study" (right around the same time they introduced garlic crust pizza) that showed that men are 50% more likely than women to turn their noses up at a partner who smells of garlic when they haven't eaten any themselves. We will not go into the subject of how men smell.

So, the man has to eat this, too, or Valentine's Day will end up in separate bedrooms. Unless one of you is an engineer, it doesn't have to be exactly 40 cloves. As little as one head of garlic will work. If you like roasted garlic, put in lots, for later.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

1 5lb roasting chicken (Pieces work just fine, too)
Salt and pepper to taste
40 cloves of garlic, unpeeled (2-3 heads)
Fresh herbs and/or green onions
1 1/2 cups flour
loaf of french bread (optional, but good)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Put the herbs into the cavity of the chicken if using a whole one. (Scatter them around the chicken pieces.) Put the chicken in a pot or casserole dish with a lid. Those terra cotta ones are perfect. Put the garlic cloves around the chicken, under, inside, in his armpits.
Mix the flour with just enough water to make a dough. Roll it out into a snake the length of the circumference of the pot/casserole. Place dough on the rim and seal with the lid. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Slice the french bread and squish out the cooked garlic onto it like butter. The roasted garlic has a ton of uses, mash into potatoes, spread on grilled steaks, add to spaghetti sauce, make garlic bread, etc. This is a pretty healthy recipe if you don't eat the skin of the chicken.