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It's time we talked about Valentine's Day. (Gastronomalies Edition)
"When love is not madness, it is not love."
It’s time we talked about Valentine’s Day. (Gastronomalies Edition)
On February fourteenth, you might want sensual fare dished up in the privacy of your home or unveiled in a dimly lit restaurant.
But if you favor the bizarre, you might want something different. Maybe Valentine’s Day makes you feel weird. Maybe it just makes you want to laugh.
If you fall into the second camp, then boy oh boy, do we have a treat for you. Meal Ticket has mined the Valentine’s Day archives to find two really odd food-related traditions, one past and one present.
The Play: Bay Leaves at Bedtime
Original Setting: 18th century rural England
Custom: On the night before Valentine’s Day, women summoned dreams about their future husbands by pinning bay leaves to their pillows. Subsequently, the ladies chanted, “Good Valentine, be kind to me. In dreams let my true love see.”
DIY Adaptation: Why change this at all? If you have bay leaves handy, you’re all set. Try the shenanigan around your lover and see what ensues.
The Play: Face it – This is Love
Original Setting: 21st century Japan
Fun Fact: When Valentine’s Day was first introduced to Japan in 1957, there was an awkward translation mix-up, resulting in the tradition that on V Day, women court their dudes, rather than the other way around.
Custom: This February, the Fab Café in Tokyo is offering women the perfect gift for their sweeties. For forty bucks, a lady can buy a truffle that is an exact, tiny replica of (drumroll, please) her face.
DIY Adaptation: Japan is a costly flight away, and as yet the face-to-truffle phenomenon hasn’t hit our shores. In the meantime, make your own truffles (a fun and easy project). Once you’re done, tape little pictures of your face on the treats.
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