Sommer Pyne
I love celebrating Valentines Day so to all the hopeless romantics out there here is my guide to setting hearts on fire this Valentines. Forget about tacky pink hearts and red flowers and over priced meals with thousands of other punters. No that’s not our style at all. We would much prefer to hide away from the world, cook a meal because let’s face it, you can't beat home cooking from the heart. It doesn’t have to be fancy pants either, simple fresh ingredients, mood lighting and music are all winners. The company and setting will set the tone and your lover will be so bowled over with all the effort you've gone to that the food will taste extra delicious.
Start the day right. Who doesn’t love getting brekkie in bed?? What a way to start the day with breakfast in bed, sweet note and flowers. Just think of your partners fav breakfast or use my go to recipe below. If you have kids its also a great way to get them involved.
Egg in a nest with a side of bacon, avo.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil or butter
2 large slices of bread (I like to use sourdough)
2 eggs ( I used duck eggs)
2 large pinches of smoked paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Optional - side of bacon, avo and baked cherry tomatoes. For the cherry tomatoes I toss in olive oil with balsamic vinegar, thyme and bake until soft and a little gooey. Another alternative is to sprinkle truffle oil over the bread and egg at the end.
Instructions
Cut out holes in the the bread with a cookie cutter or you can use the top of a glass. You want to make the hole big enough to hold an egg. Place olive oil or butter in a hot frying pan and place one side of the bread down in the pan for a minute or until the bread has turned a lovely golden colour. Crack the egg and place the yolk in the centre of the hole. Try and get some of the egg white over the bread. Let the egg fry a little and then flip over and season with smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Cook until golden for 2min depending on how runny you like your egg. Remove and place on the plate. Add bacon, baked tomatoes or any little extras that your lover might like.
Add a fresh smoothie or juice. My fav smoothie is frozen banana, fresh pineapple juice, lime, greek yogurt and a little honey with sprinkling of bee pollen. Or for a juice try beetroot, apple, celery and cucumber. It's delicious, trust me.
If dinner is more your thing then check out some of my favourite places to get inspiration. I like my food spicy and will no doubt have seafood and meat on the menu. For the vegetarians Anna Barnett always has some good alternatives.
Gift ideas
Gifts are a great way to make someone feel special and let's be honest with our workloads and busy social life sometimes we forget to let that someone special know how much we care about them. As soppy as Valentines may be it's a great way to spend a litte more time on the ones we love and make them feel special for a day. For me I love to buy a gift that will be cherished forever or something my hubby can use daily that reminds him of me. I've put together a gift guide from House Curious to help give you some inspiration. One little tip - don't leave it to the last minute get in early. Today is a good day to start planning and getting those pressies ordered.
Our limited addition art prints from Blacklist Studio from Sydney are a lovely keepsake that will be cherished forever. Add some romantic drama to your lovers wall.
These cards are so different from your typical Valentines cards. If you're sentimental like me a handwritten card means the world.
Our selection of stationery makes the perfect gift this valentines. Pop a little note inside that your loveer can cherish forever.
