Page 22 February 2015 Sweet valentine treat to eat, display or give to another By Lisa Weisenburger This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday – a great date night, but also a great family day! Valentine’s Day is for lovers or those you love. It’s a day for you to express your feelings in a special way to those whom are special to you. Like most other holidays, we have a few goofy valentine traditions. For example, we usually eat pink pancakes in the morning with a pink smoothie of some kind. (Typically, it includes whatever berry I have, mixed with whatever yogurt I have, blended with ice, and served in a red cup – usually left over from Christmas.) I have an ancient, heart-shaped cake pan that I always use on that day; often it’s for cake, but I have been known to make pink rice, jello or cinnamon rolls, molded in that cake pan and served on a platter. We love the tradition of making homemade valentines for our friends and family. However, some years I succumb to commercialism. Store-bought Spiderman valentines with mini bags of heart-shaped candy inside occasionally beat out the afternoon collecting supplies, cutting and         Sometimes those Valentine’s Days are just as stressful as the homemade years. Have you seen the multiple choices out there? How much time is acceptable to spend in a store aisle with your child until         We are going the homemade route this year. Especially because I recently discovered the vast number of candy canes that didn’t get eaten during the Christmas holiday. (Truth? I bought them to garnish the candy cane martinis I made            one, who needs a garnish?) This crafty treat is delicious to eat, beautiful to display and quite special to give away. The oven part requires supervision, but the rest is downright easy. The mini heart-shaped cake pan is another oldie but goody. If you don’t have one, I have seen mini heart-shaped disposable foil pans on the grocery and department store shelves. They work just as well. You could use silicone molds too; they may not have the hole in the center, but are still super cute! Directions: 1. Start by having your child unwrap all the candy canes. It’s a good job for them and it doesn’t matter if they break off the cane part. 2. Set the oven to 300° F. 3. Place two candy canes in each mini cake spot. You may need to break them to             don’t have to be touching, when they melt, they spread. 4. Carefully put the pan in the oven and do not walk away. This is not the time to check your Facebook or Instagram. Don’t even think about unloading the dishwasher. It will take a few minutes for the candy canes to begin to melt. Once they do, keep an eye on them. Pull them out of the oven when the melted candy has spread enough to close the gaps in the broken sections. 5. Put the pan in the refrigerator or freezer for just a few minutes to harden the candy. 6. The candy will pop right out. Tie ribbon, twine or yarn to your heart- shaped peppermint valentine and include a special sentiment to the one you love! They are a little more fragile than the original candy cane, but wrapped in paper or a cello bag, they are good to go!