rustic valentines

i have to admit the last few days have been just fabulous. it's not only the 50 plus degree weather that has had sunshine with it everyday. valentines day was so wonderful, my adoring husband went so far out of his way to let me know he loves me!

the day began with me stepping out of the shower to a trail of rose petals, that lead me to more roses, see's chocolates (my favorite) and directions for the evening.

then it was off to a full day of cooking with my phenomenal instructor dr, juri sbandatti and my new, very fun friend ellina. (o.k. so ellina... she actually has a Harley, she really is quite cool) we cooked our hearts out. it was a very full day and the results were outstanding as always.

we began the morning making the pasta for our lasagna that we would put together later in the day. it was a lot of work, ellina & i chose to try and do it by hand without the use of a mixer. i admit juri did most of my kneading it was quite difficult but in the end the pasta was so perfect, so thin yet strong. we made it into a true tuscan rustic lasagna using only the meat sauce we had made the week before, roux and parmesan. it was about nine layers of the most amazing flavor. we were all pretty proud and delighted when juir's wife kinley joined us to feast at lunch and have a glass of wine or two....

after our pasta course we served the many fried foods we had prepared (fried the italian way, light and crisp) i can not decide if i liked the fried artichokes or the fried chicken more, they were both amazing. the frying process was very difficult and juri did most of it but it was fun to learn and try.

here it is warmed up as leftovers for dinner last night. bill loved it, i was so glad because i really did think it was incredible!


i flew home after cooking (we stayed very late into the day eating, drinking red wine, talking about our trip this spring and laughing a lot. it is just such a wonderful experience each thursday) to get ready to meet bill at the beautiful fivepine lodge for valentines. my husband, so sweet.... he met me in the lobby with a glass of wine (oh my another....) a rose and we just sat in front of the lodge fire a caught up on our day. then we had the pleasant surprise of our dear friends gary & lynette showing up so they joined us and we just had such a fun time gabbing and catching up with one another. they were off to brand 33 for dinner, which they said was delicious and we went to our beautiful cottage (we were in the classic, it is so nice! if you ever have a chance to stay here, do it! it is so affordable too!) where bill had prepared a lovely picnic dinner with a yummy bottle of champagne.

then we played a super fun game that was 'couple questions' that bill gave me for valentines. it was a blast, the questions were intelligent and sparked really thoughtful conversation. thank you bill, you are... the best!

the label was so pretty we saved the bottle and placed it with some of our favorite things here at home to take a pic. silly i know, but we rarely drink champagne and it we wanted to have a memory of it.



it is another lovely day on the high desert today, we got out for a nice long walk this morning. of course ruby had to stop us to say hello... sophey actually likes ruby.


we later got the cruisers out and rode into town to do a few errands, it was a tiny bit chilly but fun. we may even walk in to dinner tonight if the temp holds.

we are thankful for this teaser of spring, we know that is all it is but we are going to enjoy it while it's here.

enjoy the love you have.

xo
- leila