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Happy February 14th my friends! Our annual Valentine’s Day tradition is to meet for lunch at Cafe Nonna, one of our favorite local restaurants here in Nashville. CD and I are total homebodies at night, and so for some reason, we started going out for lunch on Valentine’s Day instead of dinner. Every year, CD leaves his office a few minutes early and drives to Costco to buy me flowers before we meet. Hehe – it’s the only place that boy will buy flowers, and they are always so beautiful. In fact, our florist ordered all the flowers for our wedding from Costco. Lots of roses, sunflowers, and Gerbera daisies. They were perfect. 
Anyway, back to today. We can’t go to our usual lunch spot since it’s closed for lunch on Sunday. So instead, we’re having dinner with my family tonight. How romantic, huh? 
We did exchange gifts. I got this bracelet…
Thanks CD, I love it, and I gave him some locally made chocolate bars.
So, our annual Valentine’s Day tradition is out, but my Pancake Sunday tradition is in! Some of you were probably expecting heart shaped pink pancakes or something, but come on you guys, has HEAB ever been that predictable? Nah.
I went with savory this morning and made artichoke ♥ pancakes based on this recipe. Get it? Hearts? Valentine’s Day??? Clever, no? I subbed almond flour and used seltzer water, and my toppings were Trader Joe’s full fat whipped cream cheese and Sabra’s spinach and artichoke hummus. Um, YUM!
I challenge all of you to shake things up with some savory pancakes as these were delicious!
So, how about you? How are you celebrating this day of love? As much as I love my husband, I have to admit that my favorite Valentine’s Day ever involved my best girlfriends, a bottle of peppermint schnapps, some ice-cream, a blender, one flight suit, and Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies…don’t ask. To this day, I can’t even smell peppermint schnapps…honestly, even mouthwash kind of makes me want to puke. Fun times my friends…fun times.
{ 72 comments… read them below or add one }
happy V day to you too! Gosh, your peppermint memories sound like they were fun, but well left in the past. have fun with your folks and CD tonight. Not much going on around these parts. Kids want sliders, so guess i will be concepting some grand protein filled recipe for dinner. xxoo Your artichoke pancakes sound great. Love the savory take!
I’m having girlfriends over. I’m cooking dinner (tempura vegetables, griddled halloumi, and beetroot risotto) and they’re bringing wine, dvd’s, and board games.
Should be great.
Why shouldn’t valentines be about all the people you love, not just your significant other?!?
Those pancakes look nommy. I need pancakes, it’s shrove tuesday soon, might have to find a good savoury recipe and do something a bit different.
GORGEOUS flowers!!!
I’m not a big fan of Valentine’s day this year but I plan on taking myself shopping and having a fabulous dinner
My husband and I are going to the bookstore and shoe shopping. Romantic, I know. But, my foot got run over by a door last week and broke my favorite “basic” black shoes and I need a replacement, ASAP.
costco flowers are always pretty, you’re right. i agree about the gf comment. as much fun as boyfriends/husbands are, so many of the fun memories we have involve our girlfriends on these holidays. i’m with ya on the peppermint schanpps—ickk. have a great v-day!
You deserve the sunshine and flowers. I love the bracelet — nice work, CD.
We don’t celebrate today, but I like to think we more than celebrate every other day of the year. Enjoy your family dinner!
Looks delicious! I made coconut-oatmeal pancakes and Kona coffee (for my parents, haha!) and gave my mom a corny but sweet card which she loved.
Later my lovey and I will be cooking dinner together.. fresh salmon and stir fried veggies are on the menu.. with chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. Have a great Sunday heab
Costco flowers are the best! They are so beautiful and are at great prices. I love your wedding centerpieces!
Have a great Valentine’s Day…enjoy your stunning bracelet!
We had pancakes this morning too! But nothing nearly as exotic as yours
lol– that’s quite the list from your fave v-day…sounds interesting
You have such pretty hair!
Happy VD Heather!!! We’re having a fondue night tonight… bread and cheese (one meal won’t kill me, right?) and boullion w/meat. It’ll be nice to stay in and avoid amateur night!
Love you!
We celebrated HEAB style with pancakes and bacon for breakfast
Gotta get those healthy animal fats in right? We’re also going to see Valentine’s Day and I’m making Beef Bourguignonne with homemade noodles for dinner. And chocolate bread pudding for dessert. I can’t wait! Have a wonderful Valentines Day Heather!
Happy Valentines Day to you and your loved one!! My husband and I dont really exchange gifts.. we went out for Indian food last night then rented a movie (we’re homebodies too). Toaday we will just cook an early dinner together then maybe go out for tea and coffee! IF we are feeling “Crazy” we might hit up Barnes and Noble.. lol
Enjoy the time with your family
YUMMY! Those pancakes look great, I need to venture out to savory!
Katie
Gong Xi Fa Cai – Happy New Year, Year of the Tiger
I don’t know if I could handle savory pancakes. I have always been too afraid to try them! I have thought about blending some spinach into the batter before, but still keeping them sweet, like green oats.
That looks crazy! And delicious.
Peppermint schnapps, yikes. I can just imagine the green stains on your bathroom rug
Happy Valentine’s day, HEAB! CD is lucky, those chocolates look divine. Just like those pancakes
Those Costco flowers look so rustic and cute.
I’m celebrating by staying at home and eating chocolate after every meal. Hehe x)
It’s funny, I love pumpkin & kabocha pancakes.. so why not artichoke or spinach? Can’t think of one reason.. excited to try it! Thanks as always for the inspiration. And Happy Valentine’s Day!
You know I love the savory cakes. I like the heart theme, too.
hummus+pancakes= Ahhhh!!
that sounds awesome,
Happy Valentines day!!
Happy Valentine’s Day!! I will have to try hummus and pancakes!!
Happy V Day
You are so clever with those savory pancakes! I love anything with hummus so I might attempt to make these.
I’m getting a mani/pedi with some of my other single girl friends and helping my Dad plan my mother’s birthday party. And possibly eating chocolate covered popcorn…yummm.
I made your “Eggs in a Nest” this morning! YUM!!! I used two bunches of chard, two grated zucchini, and two eggs (with runny yolk…of course!) for my version. I topped the whole thing off with 1/2 of a large avocado! LOVE IT!!!
Thank you for the inspiration!
Jen, Your breakfast sounds perfect.
Artichoke pancakes! I swear, every time I read your blog I go “OMG!!!”
Happy Valentine’s Day! Gorgeous flowers indeed
We made pancakes for breakfast today too! Some were cut with heart shaped cookie cutters!
And for lunch (our largest meal on weekends – we don’t like to eat too much at night and also always try to do our dates doing lunch!) we had homemade beet heart-shaped raviolis, it was fun to make and eat together!
Happy Valentine’s Day for you and Cd!
Ana
I love your flowers AND your pancakes! I love stories that include seemingly random objects and end with the phrase, “to this day I can’t smell ________ without wanting to puke.” Well done!
http://whitneydargle.wordpress.com
Hi Heather – I’m at a fitness spa in southern Utah. Red Mountain. It is amazing – the food is crazy!!! You would be in heaven!!! My boyfriend wouldn’t touch any of the food here, so I left him in Hawaii and met a friend here : ). Thought about your blog several times while eating my meals. We had barley pancakes, tofu orange chocolate mousse, carrot ginger soup, pumpkin carrot peanut butter (YUM)… I’m buying the cookbook, so I’ll keep you posted on some amazing recipes!
Anna
Anna, I’m so jealous!!! Please send recipes for barley pancakes and pumpkin carrot peanut butter.
happy v day! our version of fun today was going to a Vietnamese market for pho ingredients. we enjoyed dinner out last night, hubs had prime rib and i had local venison!
You never fail to excite me with new recipes! Great idea!
Hey Heather!
I am glad you two had a wonderful Valentine’s day – Although heart shape pancakes would have been a good idea!
For my breakfast, I had about a cup of grits with almond milk again and a slice of wheat bread with Nutella.
Well, I am just spending my V-DAY alone in my room and listening to good ol’ Buddy Holly.
~Chris
Oh…and I do have another reason to celebrate this day – It’s my dog Willie’s Birthday!
Chris
Chris, Happy Birthday Willie!
Thanks Heather!
He is my howling buddy. He howls with me when I play music! He loves music! He loves it when I play the keyboard!
It’s funny, My dog’s birthday is Valentine’s day – that is why he is so lovable!
My mother’s B-Day is Christmas and My Dad’s B-DAY is Cinco De Mayo. My Brother’s B-DAY is The Ides of March (He he he …evil comes that day…Julies Caesar) Me and my sister – non holiday birthdays.
Chris
I celebrated the 14th with a 13.1 mile run and strawberry chocolate chip pancakes!
Happy Valentine’s Day, Heather!!
I didn’t make pancakes this morning, but I made “Inside-Out (Coconut) Peanut Butter Cups” this afternoon – and they turned out delish!
Glad you’ve had a fantabulous day!!
Hugs,
Michele
I got flowers on friday (from the grocery store when he stopped to get things on my list of grocery needs.. that was a gift as it’s too cold out to do anything). I made him Rudy bread toast today for breakfast with white TJ’s cream cheese and red fiber raspberry jam on top. So kinda red and white…
That is one heaping plate of artichoke yum.. Must try those… !!
Your peppermint schnapps is my Southern Comfort memory….. {:-O****
HEAB, I barely comment but I love your site. I think you are AWESOME. Although you praise carbs and fat, both of which I feared for a long time, I never though of you as preaching, but instead an inspiration.
Keep doing what you do because we all love you.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
We don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day at my house. Just another Hallmark holiday. We are pretty much homebodies, too. However, my sweet son brought home a dozen pink roses for me last night. Very thoughtful. And we got a phone call from Bekah telling us about her day spent in the big Apple with a girlfriend from the C.I.A. It was nice to hear from her. Miss her…..
The savory pancakes sound quite interesting. My personal chef is living in NY and I’m a lazy cook.
Have a great week, Heather!
Hugs,
Tenaya <3
Hey, HEABs! This is a bit off topic, well mostly late. Your post from a few days ago about hormones got me thinking. Do you believe diet plays a role in hormonal imbalances? I JUST had a conversation with a friend about trying to find balance in my life. I wonder if my diet is impacting my hormones which is impacting my life?! Would love your thoughts. . .
Kelly, Yes, I definitely think diet can affect our hormones. I’ll email you more on this topic.
Hi Heather! Scott and i have been married 9 yrs, together 11. We dont do gifts on any holidays anymore, but he did surprise me with a dozen pink roses which was sweet
I love sunflowers a ton and yours are sooo pretty! The VDay story you told about the schnapps, I just told a story about Rum and Grand Cayman on my blog. I normally dont do the trips down memory lane thing but it inspired a recipe and I have to say, such fond memories of that rum 
Happy Vday!
xoxo
I’ve been dying to go to the spa that Anna mentioned. It’s super pricey, but I’ve been trying to find a deal…will have to be in 2011 now.
A flight suit? That’s the only “ingredient” that surprised me.
We used to have awesome girlfriend Valentine’s Day bitchfests in LA, but this morning was lovely too with a nice card, chocolates (salted caramels), and Underwear for Squirrels (from Archie McPhee). The natural gift when you’re thinking naughty lingerie, right?
Then we did a favor for a friend’s mother who’s elderly which made her totally fall in love with my husband and revealed to me, for the 1 billionth time, his incredibly giving heart and generous spirit. I think it may be my most grateful V-Day yet!
Hugs to you both!
Hugs to you too Carbzilla.
I wish Ben would buy me flowers from Costco! They are always so pretty and so much better priced than ProFlowers or something! I actually have even told him I will only accept jewelry from there, I love that place!
This Valentine’s day is all about the Daytona 500! Being a Nascar fan is quite the commitment
Completely unrelated… you look like you have the *best* hair. As a fine, pin-straight hair person – I’m j-e-a-l-o-u-s!!!!!
Thanks Becky. Some days I wish I had pin-straight hair.
Happy valentines day to you heather
Those artichoke pancakes look awesome! I worked today until about seven, and now im hanging out with my most favorite person (my mom!) and were watching movies and exchanging gifts.
oh my gosh i just fundyour blog! love your ideals….carbs play a second back hand in my diet too. it is based on fat, potein then carbs. i use a LOT of butter, eggs, cream, my vice is cheese and i eat sour cream and almond butter by the jar
i agree with yu about the connection between hormones and fat as well! keep it up!
hey heather! what is the significance of the seltzer water in the pancake batter?
for valentines day i made nathan some blueberry chocolate buckwheat pancakes. he adored! he made me a very pretty card with a wonderful bible verse inside…1 cor 13:4-8, from our wedding.
Yogiclarebear, The seltzer water add fluff. Try it!
Looks like you had a great Valentines Day. Love the bracelet. Lori received a nice surprise from her boyfriend, red roses. She was totally surprised because he is studying abroad. As for me, I have no Valentine, so just another day for me.
Love the pancakes, I have not had savory pancakes…yum!!
Happy V Day. Unrelated question…have you ever used coconut flour as as a coffee creamer? I have heard some people say coconut oil/butter in coffee (in lieu of creamer/lightner) is amazing but I was wondering if you had tried the flour as it is just ground coconut. I would imagine it might be best blended with a little coffee in the vitamix first before dumping it into a cup of coffee. Would you be my guinea pig before I buy some flour:) Hee Hee.
Missy, Coconut flour in coffee…hmm, why not? Yes, I will try.
Love the artichoke heart pancakes! You are delightfully unpredictable and it gives me a reason to look forward to the next post.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S and Chinese New Year!
Costco flowers are the best. They have such gorgeous bouquets and amazing quality!
I tried to post this to you yesterday, but it wouldn’t let me submit (my windows explorer/connection kept breaking down) so if you DID get this, I apologize! These just may be the best tasting, healthy tortilla type snacks I have EVER eaten. They are made from chickpea/fava beans, and tons of organic ingredients. I tried the spicy, and I kid you not- I actually dreamt about them last night!
http://www.falafelchips.com/index.php
Love,Barbara
Barbara, Thanks so much for the link as you know I love my crunchy chips. I must find these!
The girlfriend story…….we all wanna here it now! Ha! I’m gonna have to try those artichoke pancakes!!
-emily http://www.emilyeatsclean.wordpress.com
Pancake Tuesday is this week! Best holiday ever!
Lovely flowers. Hubbies are so funny – mine will only buy flowers from Wegman’s,
I must make artichoke panckakes soon!
My man flunked the Valentine’s Day exam. Glad to see that your V-Day was fun although I want to hear every detail about the infamous Peppermint Schnapps V-Day!
haha, i get flowers from costco too from my hubby. they’re so much cheaper. and still beautiful too!
I’ve never thought to make savory pancakes–what a good idea!
I can always count on you for new morning inspirations! For Valentine’s I got a deep fryer from the Mr…probably so I can make him donuts 
I got him a coffee mug with a picture of us on it and homemade cookie dough truffles!
Happy Valentine’s Day Heather!
that bracelet is SO cute! sounds like y’all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day
Mmmmmmmm hummus on pancakes. Another heavenly combo — you are the Queen of innovative pairings!
Happy Valentines Day hon!! Im loving those savory pancakes. I never really got into pancakes too much cause I do like savory things for. Especially for breakfast I guess. So Im so loving this twist on the traditional pancake that you got goin on! Looks fabulous. Gorgeous flowers too by the way. Have an awesome day!
Hahaha, my Valentine’s Day maaay have involved a pint of whiskey and ice cream cake with my BFF. Just sayin’
Those flowers are gorgeous!!
Dear Friends, Happy Valentine’s Day!
Ha ha the peppermint schnaps story cracks me up. And yes, peppermint schnaps and girlscout thin mints are the obvious happy couple!
Good that CD got the memo on the flowers that every girl wants. I got a cute bright pink hello-kitty wifebeater. Is that an oxymoron or something? He got a home made card and some chocckies.