How I Spent My Valentine’s Day

It started pretty routinely for Valentine’s Day. We decided to find a place for lunch on West Portal. It was nice that I got to choose from which of the myriad of cuisine choices were available. As we ticked off each cuisine, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, my eyes widen at the mention of crepes. “Let’s do crepes!” I exclaimed like a kid offered candy. Since I chose the crepe place, I felt I should order a savory crepe, which I did. We ordered a chicken salad and salmon crepe. My selection was the salmon crepe. It was delicious, but my body wasn’t used to eating heavy ingredients like how the crepe was made. Upon the first bite, my tummy felt queasy. I suffered for it the rest of the afternoon with sluggishness.

Because it was Valentine’s Day, taking the afternoon off seemed like a logical plan. I thought today was a perfect day to finally crack open the bottle of Kenwood Yulupa Cuvee Brut that was gifted to us on our stay at Bodega Bay Lodge for Markie’s 60th birthday in 2018. I’m sure you’d agree, it was time to open it. After toasting, I started sipping and found it wasn’t bad, but soon after, it was causing tightness in my torso like having a heart attack. I quickly realized drinking this wasn’t going to work for me. 

Thanks to my lunch and the champagne, I fell dead to the world in a long, much-needed nap. I’m not surprised. Many times, Markie and I would go out to a special meal, come home and end up sleeping the afternoon away because of our food choices, so this was no different from any of those days.

Upon waking, we took a walk and enjoyed the rest of the daylight before I started to make dinner. I thought it would be nice to make a burger since Markie loved burgers. However, the difference was that this time I made it with a plant-based patty. Before I went plant-based, I rarely had burgers. That was his thing. Since I was introduced to the plant-based patty, it’s become my thing, too. Thus, for Valentine’s Day dinner, I thought a compromise plant-based burger would be perfect. I grilled the patties and toasted the whole grain seeded bun, my new favorite, and lathered the bun with a roasted garlic hummus spread. I layered the bun with a patty, a slice of vegan provolone, sautéed cremini mushrooms, fresh avocado, and finally the lettuce greens. I finished off the plate with air-fried sweet potato fries. It was a satisfying guilt-free dinner. 

Years ago, we did as most couples did make a reservation at a nice fine-dine place. Got all stressed out getting ready. Getting there and being in the crowded restaurant eating sub-par food that was massed produced to accommodate the throng of couples trying to do as everybody else did. In recent years, we decided to celebrate this day in the comforts of our own home. 

Completing the meal was easy—a piece of Godiva dark chocolate Marzipan for me, and for Markie, a piece of Sees rocky road. 

What could have made this day better than that—sharing it with Markie instead of Markie Angel?

Lunch was on West Portal, but it was actually spent with my girlfriend, Lonnie. Then the rest of the day was spent with Markie in spirit. All in all, it was a lovely Valentine’s Day. 


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