Yes, I realize that it is not Valentine's Day. However, I thought that I would post this lunch now for three reasons:
(1) To remind you that Valentine's Day is coming. It's on Friday.
(2) To give you an idea.
(3) To enable you to have time to get the ingredients to make a special lunch.
Here's what I did. First, I cooked heart-shaped pasta and tossed it with a bit of olive oil and seasonings. My mother-in-love gave the pasta to me, so I couldn't tell you where to buy it. But I'm sure if you Google it, you can find it.
Next, I cut baby carrots diagonally, twisted them around to match up the ends, and then speared them with a toothpick. Honestly, the toothpick was really hard to skewer the carrots with. Perhaps, you could try a food pick instead.
Moving on to the second layer: I cut a thick slice of pineapple and then pressed a heart-shaped cookie cutter into the slice, to make a pineapple heart. Because fresh pineapple is super juicy, I put it into a silicone cup to keep the juice from ruining the rest of the lunch.
This next part - the heart-shaped egg - was a bit more time-consuming. There are two ways to make a heart-shaped, hard-boiled egg. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures. Instead I'll include links on HOW to achieve this lovely look.
(1) Egg mold: Hard boil an egg. While it's still warm, peel it, and place it in this heart-shaped egg mold. Refrigerate until cool, and then pop it out of the mold. Voila - a heart!
(2) OR follow these directions on how to make a heart-shaped egg, using cardboard, a skewer & rubber bands.
Strawberries: This one is super easy! Follow this link to discover how to make heart-shaped strawberries.
Store-bought sugar cookie dough is transformed into Valentine cookies, using cookie cutters and red & pink M&M's. (The darn cookie dough expanded in the oven making an enormous cookie. Whoops!)
Lastly, here's an extra tidbit that I didn't utilize in this lunch, since my kids dislike raw tomatoes. But perhaps you can use it - how to make heart-shaped tomatoes!
Let me know what you come up with!
