A procrastinator’s guide to a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner

A procrastinator’s guide to a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner

Post By World chocolate, cooking, dating, Pasta, romantic relationship, Valentine’s Day

What’s the most romantic meal to serve this Valentine’s Day? Euronews Culture delved into the science of seduction to recommend a full menu for all you last-minute lovers out there.

The way to a person’s heart is quite often through their stomach.

It’s understandable then that this Valentine’s Day, you might be trying to impress that special someone with some scrumptious culinary achievements.

While restaurants are nice, and can be awfully romantic, reservations for Valentine’s Day are hard to come across. In fact, on reservation apps like OpenTable, they spike 500% in the days leading up to 14 February.

If you’re reading this article, chances are you haven’t planned ahead.

Don’t fret, procrastinator! We’ve got some tips for you on how to make an easy romantic dinner at home with ingredients that are scientifically-proven to get the love juices flowing.

And we promise, it’ll look like you spent ages planning this meal, which you can actually whip up in less than an hour from start to finish.

Here’s what’s on the menu.

Appetiser: Oysters / Mushroom toast

Okay, we know what you’re thinking. Oysters are such a cliché. These little shells have had their moment in the sun for far too long, but it’s for good reason.

Historically, they’ve been linked to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Legend has it she rose out of the sea in an oyster shell, so those looking for love would honour her by eating oysters, calling them aphrodisiacs.

These days, people still claim that oysters can boost libidos, though scientists aren’t so sure about their practical merits. They do contain nutrients that play a role in sexual function, like zinc.

More importantly for procrastinators, though, oysters require very little prep work. All you need is a good supplier (a trustworthy fishmonger is key!) and an oyster shucker and you’re in business.

Mmm…mushrooms!

If oysters are too slimy for your taste, another surprisingly romantic food is the humble mushroom. In 2016, a Stanford professor wrote an entire essay about why fungi are the most romantic food.

They’re used at various stages of the chocolate- and wine-making process, they’re known for their stunning longevity (the oldest mushrooms have been alive for thousands of years), and truffles are even known to emit pheromone-like chemicals to attract mammals.

Gastronomically-speaking, mushrooms pack an umami punch and they’re so easy to prepare that even the most culinarily-challenged can make them at home.

Here’s what you need for a simple, yet impressive mushroom toast appetiser:

-1 pack of brown button mushrooms, sliced

-Ricotta, or other spreadable cheese

-1 tbsp butter

-1 tbsp olive oil

-Balsamic vinegar

-2 garlic cloves, minced

-1 handful parsley, chopped

-Your favourite crusty bread, sliced

Sauté the mushrooms in a blend of butter and olive oil with salt, pepper, minced garlic and parsley until they’re soft and browned. Spread a soft cheese like ricotta on a couple slices of toast, top with the mushrooms and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Add some fresh herbs and you’ve got a great start to your evening. You can even make these in advance and store them in the fridge until your loved one arrives. Feel free to omit the cheese and butter if you want a vegan option.

Main course: Spaghetti (cacio e pepe OR tomato sauce)

If you don’t have time to make something too elaborate, then lucky for you, one of the most romantic dishes in the world happens to also be one of the easiest to cook.

There is some debate as to why spaghetti is considered a go-to romantic date night meal. There’s always a risk that the sauce might stain your shirt or dress, or that you might slurp too loud and kill the mood.

It was popular long before that scene in Lady and the Tramp, and it’s become a timeless classic ever since.

This stringy pasta is still a favourite for lovers of all stripes, and it’s not hard to see why. Its simplicity is its strength – with very few ingredients, spaghetti can take you back to your childhood, straight to a village in Italy or to your favourite Italian restaurant.

Two options for you this Valentine’s Day, dallying friend. For cheese lovers, a cacio e pepe is the way to go. The recipe is so simple that it comes together in 15 minutes.

For two people, you’ll need:

-150 grams dry spaghetti

-42 grams (3 tbsp) butter, cubed

-1 tsp ground pepper (freshly ground is best)

-90 grams (1 cup) grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

Start cooking your spaghetti in well-salted water. Set a timer for the pasta to be al dente (you can find this on the packaging but it’s typically around 6 minutes).

Meanwhile, melt 2/3 of the butter in a skillet on medium heat. Once melted, add the pepper and toast in the butter for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add a ladle full of pasta cooking water to the skillet and let it simmer on low heat.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add it to the sauce along with the rest of the butter. When the butter melts, turn the heat down to low and add the grated cheese. Stir until a creamy sauce comes together. Serve with extra grated cheese on top.

A second option for vegans and others avoiding dairy is your classic tomato sauce. This is great in the winter because you can make it with canned tomatoes, but it also takes a bit more time to cook, because you need to simmer the sauce to get any acidity out.

For two people, you’ll need:

-150 grams dry spaghetti

-1 can of crushed or diced tomatoes (Italian is best)

-half a white or yellow onion, chopped

-3 cloves garlic, minced (more if you’re sure your date can handle it)

-1 pinch sugar

-1 tsp dry basil or oregano (or both if you want more flavour)

-60 ml olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and onions until soft and translucent. Add the can of tomatoes, the dry herbs and the sugar to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce tastes sweet and all the acidity has gone.

Cook the pasta until it’s al dente and top with the sauce, lots of parmesan cheese (or a vegan alternative) and fresh basil.

Dessert: Chocolate mug cake / Strawberries and champagne

Chocolate has been associated with love and romance since long before Valentine’s Day was a thing. Cocoa powder became popular in the Aztec Empire, where it was consumed as an unsweetened beverage and believed to have medicinal properties.

The sweet treats are still the most popular gifts for the day of love, containing the natural mood boosters phenylethylamine and serotonin, which make people feel good.

For a simple, homemade chocolate dessert, wow your date with a chocolate mug cake. It comes together in 7 minutes and can be made entirely in the microwave, so you won’t see any carnage in the kitchen. Try this recipe from Downshiftology.

For two people, you’ll need:

-48 grams (1/2 cup) almond flour

-30 grams (4 tbsp) cocoa powder

-15 ml (4 tbsp) maple syrup

-2 tsp coconut oil

-2 tsp vanilla extract

-2 large eggs

All you have to do is add all the ingredients to a measuring cup, mix well and divide evenly into two large mugs. Then put them in the microwave one at a time for 1-2 minutes or until the cake is cooked through. Top with whipped cream and berries if you’re feeling fancy.

Now if that’s too much effort for the end of the night, no sweat. If all else fails, you can finish off your evening by popping a bottle of bubbly and eating some fresh strawberries.

Because classics never go out of style.

Now go forth and prosper, procrastinating friends. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Should You Skip Dark Chocolate This Valentine’s Day?

Post By Health cadmium, chocolate, dark chocolate, food safety, heavy metals, lead

Feb. 14, 2023 — Dark chocolate is rich. It’s intense. Some believe it’s an aphrodisiac. Plus, it has numerous proven health benefits. A box of smooth, luscious bonbons seems like just the thing to give your valentine. But recent headlines may have you rethinking that sweet, sexy gift. Here’s what you should know.

Toward the end of last year, Consumer Reports announced they’d tested 28 different dark chocolate bars and found lead and cadmium in every one of them.

“I was devastated,” says Taryn FitzGerald. The Brooklyn-based artist has been enjoying dark chocolate for years and enjoys a “tiny little square” each night. “Dark chocolate is one of my passions.”

What the Report Said

The presence of cadmium and lead in dark chocolate isn’t news. The environmental health watchdog group As You Sow sued a group of chocolate makers over it several years ago. As part of the settlement, researchers studied how heavy metals contaminate cacao beans, dark chocolate’s main ingredient. Their report came out in August of last year. It found that cadmium enters the beans from the soil where they grow, while lead contamination occurs during chocolate processing.

Consumer Reports wanted to test the current in-store reality and provide new details.

“There are always new products or reformulation of food products,” says Jim Rogers, PhD, Consumer Reports’ director of food safety research. “We might think we know a lot about food — that may or may not be true.”

The organization tested bars from big companies like Dove, Hershey’s, and Trader Joe’s as well as smaller ones like Tony’s Chocolonely and Mast Brothers, some grown conventionally and some organic. There are no federal limits for lead and cadmium content in food, so they set their threshold at California’s maximum allowable dose level for each.

“We use what we consider health-protective standards,” Rogers says. “We always say no level of lead is safe, right? We want that to be as close to zero as possible in all food products.”

Testing looked at how much of these metals would be found in a single, 1-ounce serving. Of the 28 bars tested, Consumer Reports found that 23 provide a potentially harmful dose of at least one.

Eight bars had more than 100% of the allowable limit for cadmium, 10 surpassed the level for lead, and five exceeded both. Some had more than twice the maximum amount of one metal or the other. For instance, a 1-ounce square of Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa — the bar FitzGerald ate every night for years — contains 166% of the allowable limit for lead and 80% for cadmium.

Consumer Reports‘ “safer choices” list includes just five bars with levels below 100% of both metals. None were completely lead-free or cadmium-free.

The National Confectioners Association issued a statement in response to the findings: “The products cited in this study are in compliance with strict quality and safety requirements, and the levels provided to us by Consumer Reports testing are well under the limits established by our settlement.”

The Health Risks of Heavy Metals

Both cadmium and lead are naturally occurring elements found in soil and elsewhere in the environment. But just because they’re natural doesn’t mean they’re good for you.

“Some heavy metals really don’t have a function in your body. They don’t need to be there, and some of them accumulate,” says Katarzyna Kordas, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology and environmental health at the University at Buffalo School of Public Health. “These metals are not a joke. We want to have as little of them as possible in our environment, which includes food.”

Once absorbed, cadmium stays in your body for decades. It’s known to cause cancer, and it can cause kidney damage and weaken your bones. Among other things, lead targets your respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, your nervous system, and your kidneys.

The accumulation of these metals in your body is what makes them so dangerous. And dark chocolate is far from the only source we eat. The FDA’s Total Diet Study monitors both nutrients and contaminants in thousands of foods. Researchers found cadmium in 61% of the samples tested and lead in 15%.

Because cadmium is in soil, some of the highest food concentrations appear in plants, like spinach and root vegetables. Lead tends to enter the food chain during manufacturing, so it shows up in things like baby food and sandwich cookies. It’s virtually impossible to avoid these two metals completely.

“I suspect all foods have this stuff,” says Marion Nestle, PhD, who studies and writes about food systems. “When they do test, they find heavy metals in astonishing proportions. It’s like with pesticides — everyone has them.”

The challenge, then, is to limit your exposure.

One obvious solution would be to give up dark chocolate (and spinach) entirely, no matter how many other benefits it offers. But nobody’s saying you should cut out all food known to have cadmium or lead. That might backfire.

“The risk of eliminating a food that’s high in nutrients,” Kordas says, “could potentially be as bad as eating something that has some contaminants.”

Chocolatiers Can Reduce Heavy Metals

Because cadmium and lead get into chocolate in different ways, no single solution will address the problem. Instead, experts recommend a handful of steps cacao growers and chocolate makers can take, both right away and in the future.

To reduce cadmium, which cacao plants absorb from the soil:

Purchase beans with lower levels. Soil contamination varies by region and even by farm, with some Latin American countries having the highest levels and African countries the lowest. Chocolate makers can choose to buy beans from areas with less contamination.
Blend bean harvests. If a chocolatier combines cacao from different regions with varying levels of contamination, it moderates the overall levels. Some chocolate makers already do this. One of them, Tazo, has a bar on Consumer Reports‘ “safer choices” list.
Add balancing substances to the soil. If growers change the makeup of the soil itself, that can make it harder for plants to absorb cadmium.

For lead, which can contaminate cacao beans at several points during harvesting and manufacturing, the changes may be easier to undertake. Some could show results within a year of implementation. They focus on reducing the beans’ exposure to lead along the journey from soil to store.

How to Choose Safer Chocolate

It should be obvious by now: You don’t have to remove dark chocolate from your life, though you may choose to. Every person’s risk is different, based on your health history and what else you eat. Experts do, however, recommend that pregnant people and children avoid dark chocolate.

Here’s what you can do to lower your exposure:

Eat less chocolate. If you don’t want to give it up, just don’t make dark chocolate an everyday thing. “We think that our findings and other findings are important enough to make recommendations of reducing your consumption of dark chocolates,” Rogers says.
Variety, variety, variety. Just as manufacturers can reduce risk by mixing bean harvests, you can protect yourself by eating different brands and types of chocolate. Dark chocolates with lower percentages of cacao, in the 65%-70% range, seem to have lower levels of cadmium and lead. Milk chocolate uses even less cacao, which means lower amounts of heavy metals. “Never eat the same chocolate over and over,” Nestle says. “This is true for every food — the more variation you have in what you eat, the more likely you are to get the nutrients you need and avoid what’s not good for you.”
Boost your iron and calcium. Your body absorbs lead in the same way it does iron and calcium, two metals you actually need. If your diet doesn’t provide enough of them, it can let more lead enter your system. “One reason the CDC recommends a diet rich in calcium and iron is that it’s one way to prevent the accumulation of lead in children,” Kordas says.
Become an informed consumer. If you’re concerned about your risk, Rogers suggests reaching out to your favorite chocolate makers. Ask what their own testing shows. “Good companies will know what’s going on with their product,” he says.

FitzGerald hasn’t eaten her favorite chocolate since Consumer Reports‘ research came out. She’s glad to know she might not have to stop enjoying her nightly treat altogether.

“I’m going to start exploring other brands,” she says, “and also, just see how I do without chocolate.”

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Tag: chocolate