Happy Valentine's Day if you want it to be, I guess. Hey a Squirrel!

Okay, so there are a lot of opinions about Valentine's Day out there, from the "Plan my life around it" types, to the "Remind everyone why you think it is evil" types. Some people say, "I don't need a holiday to tell my spouse I love them" and other say "If you don't get me a present, I'll divorce you".  

Here in Howktown we believe in not taking everything so seriously. Here's the thing, I like chocolate. I like chocolate enough to MAKE UP holidays to buy it, give it, and more importantly... eat it. It is a super food after all. Why would I turned down the culturally sanctioned holiday dedicated to chocolate?

Second, I know that we all like to think that we don't need reminders to do things, but if that were true we wouldn't have alarm clocks and calendars. That's awesome if you remember every single day to point out everything you love about your spouse in a meaningful way. Me, I get distracted by ... HEY SQUIRREL!

What was I saying? Anyway. I don't think you need to plan beyond your means, or even doing anything 'noteworthy' beyond maybe an extra tight hug.  I certainly don't need you to go to Jared's unless that is the only thing you want to get.  Did I mention I like Chocolate? Dark Chocolate. The Superfood?

Oh, lest you think I don't understand the singlers v-day plight? Considering my age, and the number of people that I've dated, I had three V-days with a boyfriend worth noting.  The first, I got two speeding tickets in 15 minutes. The guy cancelled plans at the last minute. We'd been dating for months.  All the other times I was single or freshly dumped. I didn't give up on love, though. I still was getting valentine's day cards from my parents and if I was at home, a chocolate bar at the breakfast table from my dad.

The other notable VDay was 5 years later after the speeding tickets and was very sweet. It was the first 'real' valentine's day I'd ever had. It changed my outlook on the whole day. That it didn't have to be about money and presents (or even chocolate). 

The third was again, 5 years later, and this year.  D convinced me to try playing his online adventure game, which I agreed to finally because it was something that we could do together as a team.  We went to Korthos island, killed some zombies, rescued some villiages, and he bought me a really cool sword that cost way more than any diamond ring. 

So folks, I love ya. Don't fret V-day, cause here in Howktown, it's just an excuse to get hugs and chocolate, and we don't really need that around here, but we're not going to pass it up either. 

Wait, you want me to eat what?

Speaking of tasting things, 5-6 years ago, I still considered myself a vegetarian. Oh, I had noble environmental reasons that I had acquired in my numerous conservation biology classes. I knew the number of gallons of water that was saved by one person avoiding meat, the nutritional benefit of reducing meat intake on your heart, liver, and cholesterol. I didn't have a problem with people eating meat, if they did it in a responsible way, but the problem was I was lazy... and hungry.

I have food allergies and limiting my diet even further proved to be an obstacle that I grew weary of after 6 or 7 years. My down fall was that my group of friends, by matter of attrition and natural change evolved from mostly women to mostly men. Red blooded, steak eating, American men. Men who had a side of meat with their meat.

Chris was the first to start and convince me that bacon was not gross if cooked in the proper way. He pointed out that you had to cook it at a lower temperature and not just cook everything on high until its burned. It was a slow process, but I started to accept that bacon was really vegetable, so its okay.

As you may be able to guess, I learned to accept bacon and beastie boys (another boy lesson learned) as a necessary part of a full life. I eat less meat, but I don't consider myself a vegetarian any more. Aside from the bacon, however, I didn't generally include pork as part of the dietary picture, and offal was out of the question.

So today, Ii find myself sitting on my patio while my boyfriend smokes three racks of pork ribs... for the second time in two weeks. Sure, his brother is visiting from Colorado, so you have to feed the guests their man food. Last week he had pork hocks and saurkraut. I tasted it, but I was wasn't overly enthused about it. Granted, I love a good day of grillin', so it is quite possible that I will be turned toward the piggy mess when it comes to rib. My friend Chris was aghast when I was frontin' on the ribs, but what I can I say? I like black berries and yogurt.

All this stuff, I can see a natural progression to, but then Doug suggested I try this:



Beef Tongue.

Ah. Sorry Doug, I don't like to taste things that can taste me back.

"But it's the tenderest piece of meat there is!"

Hey, I've seen langua tacos on the menu at the taco joints. I know people eat tongue... but in all honesty I'm a midwestern suburban girl. We don't eat tongue. Then the haughtier side of my kicks in and I think, "but I'm not like the girls I grew up with. I'm more daring, independent, and open minded"

Oh alright, I'll try it, but don't describe what I'm eating until after I've tasted it. I've eaten eel and octopus for God's sake, and midwestern suburban girls don't eat those things either. What harm could it do... right?

I'll have to keep you posted, as their are not many restaurants that serve tongue in the Farmland, MN. Though I have a feeling Doug's not going to give up on this one. It may be years from now, but I know their will be a day when I'll have chewed cow tongue, praying that their isn't a brain in there tasting me back, *shudder*