Spice It Up This Valentine’s Day

Where I live, in western Canada, Valentine's Day usually comes at the coldest time of the year, almost without fail during the last wintry blast of the season.  While both Valentine’s Day and cold weather are excellent excuses for snuggling with your Sweetheart, when you both suffer arthritic pain, romantic gestures are just not as…cozy.  Hand-holding can be downright terrifying.  Hubby and I, diagnosed with Rheumatoid and Osteo-arthritis, have found a few home remedies that give us relief.

The best – and the most difficult – remedy was an exclusion, yet the results for Hubby were dramatic.  He once had a 1400 ml per day soda habit, plus he enjoyed candy and sweet treats.  When I showed him the research I'd found on the negative effects of refined sugars on arthritic pain, he began cutting back.  After a brief period of withdrawal, Hubby noticed a lessening in both the intensity and frequency of his pain episodes.  That convinced him.  Now, he rarely drinks soda, and continues restricting his consumption of sweets, candies, and alcohol (which is, essentially, another source of refined sugar.)  As a result he suffers only rarely, often during the most frigid days of winter.

That's when I employ a few soothing foods and there are several which have been shown to either exacerbate or alleviate symptoms of arthritis.  Long ago, we eliminated or restricted those aggravating foods, and being a firm believer in the healing benefits of whole and natural foods, I was eager to use foods shown to have healing or soothing properties.  Really, it was an easy choice.  Since I have limited my intake of salt/sodium, the task of heightening flavours has been taken over by spices and herbs.  So, garlic, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon, (along with many other spices) were already ever-present in our diet.  Learning of their arthritic pain-relieving properties, we quite happily bumped up our use of those four powerhouse spices.

The most common home-remedy we use is a Cinnamon spread:  one part organic cinnamon to three parts

pure honey.   Some sources recommend a twice-daily cinnamon and honey hot drink, while others debunk it as ineffectual.  We use good quality organic cinnamon mixed with pure honey from a known and reputable source, and enjoy the mixture regularly, if not daily, slathered on morning toast or dolloped into tea.  In doing so, we find joint stiffness and swelling are reduced and we maintain relatively smooth ease of motion.

Ginger and garlic have long been staples of our diet, but when the situation calls for it, I’ll use massive amounts of both to “dose up” a batch of my "Healing Soup" -- a home-made ramen-style soup loaded with veg in a hearty and spicy stock – to alleviate bouts of Arthritic pain, or even to ease an upset stomach.  We're also big fans of curries, so turmeric and garlic are also used in similar Asian-style dishes, but turmeric’s effect seems more subtle than cayenne.

Ahh…that little red chili pepper!  Cayenne has quickly become our drug of choice, though we don't use the capsaicin cremes or ointments.  We simply add minced pepper, fresh or dried, to whatever we're cooking.  Its pain-relieving effect was so pronounced, I grew a few plants last summer.  Prior to that, we rarely consumed spicy foods as we both suffered heartburn.  However, when eaten in moderation – I use about 1/3 to 1/2 of a cayenne pepper for a 2-4 portion meal – there is only a mild and pleasing heat, a brighter flavour than black peppercorn, and no heartburn.  Not only does it relieve pain, it also warms the body!

There are other foods said to help with Arthritic pain -- cherries (fresh, canned, or dried), borage, fish oils high in omega 3 & 6, alfalfa seeds, and Ginkgo Biloba -- but we have little or no experience with these.  Well, we eat fish, regularly, and some of it (when we can get it) is high in those omega fats; and we do eat cherries, occasionally, throughout the summer; but we haven’t noticed any marked difference in our levels of pain or mobility after eating either.  That, however, could be due entirely to our infrequent consumption of them.

Regardless, there are many ways a person can relieve symptoms of arthritis, and not all of them come from a medicine cabinet.  If you or a loved one is suffering with stiff, sore, arthritic joints, and the thought of holding hands makes you want to run screaming, try warding off the chilly with the chili.  Or perhaps some Cinnamon Spread instead of the usual Valentine sweets?  Maybe a romantic dinner at a Thai restaurant where they use plenty of garlic, ginger, and chili peppers?

You know…spice things up a little!  ;)

Sublime Valentine

Valentine’s Day is always a welcome occasion.  One of the most romantic days, it occurs here during the bleakest and (often) coldest time of year.  What better way to warm body, mind and spirit than with a little romance?

Popular ways of setting the mood include fine dining, lingerie, or gifts of jewellery.  All these can be lovely experiences but, when budgets are tight, stressing about over-spending can easily dampen the passion.  Yet extravagance isn’t necessary.    With a little creativity, there are ways to express your love without breaking the piggy-bank.

One our favourite Valentine treats is chocolate.  In better years, we’ve enjoyed some of the fancier delights from our favourite Chocolaterie, but when life must be lived more frugally I make homemade truffles.  They can’t compete with the professional’s fare, but they are scrumptious and we get more seductive chocolate (by pound) for significantly less dough.

I have two recipes.  One is truer to the traditional recipe -- a ganache made with dark chocolate and heavy whipping cream -- and results are always light and luscious, though heavy in calories.  The second recipe (shown below) is a little more firm, like a soft caramel, but rich in dark chocolaty flavour.  It also flirts outrageously by having 16% fewer calories, 35% less fat and 25% less cholesterol than the original recipe!

Chocolate Truffles (reduced fat)

½             cup          Butter, unsalted

½             cup          Cocoa, powder, unsweetened

9               oz            Sweetened condensed milk (300 ml)

2               tsp           Vanilla extract

Melt butter in heavy saucepan on low heat.  Add cocoa and stir until smooth. Blend in sweetened condensed milk, stirring constantly until mixture is thick, smooth, and glossy (about 5-10 minutes.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Refrigerate a few hours (approximately 3-4) or until firm. Shape into 1-inch balls and roll in your choice of topping: cocoa, espresso powder, salt, icing sugar, and/or nuts.

(The nutritional comparison provided does NOT include toppings.)

Gesture:

"...an action intended to communicate feelings or intentions."

Valentine's Day is coming so I've been busy crafting a love note to my Sweetheart. It's something I've been doing for years. Both hubby and I enjoy it. For me, it's a time of loving reflection, when I view our relationship through a purely romantic filter. For my Sweetie, who has always championed my writing, these cards are an expression of that gift from my heart to his. He's saved every one.

Homemade cards may be thrifty, but their value is so much greater than any ordinary greeting card. A heartfelt, handmade card is a true gift. Making cards isn't as easy as buying a card. They take time and effort to create. Your gift is the time and thoughtfulness spent in the creation.

The actual card can be as thrifty or extravagant as your budget allows. You can save money buying card forms or splurge with specialty craft papers and parchments. You can type the text with a printer, but calligraphy, if you know it, adds a special touch. Handmade covers can be simple or complex. Suitable clip art, free graphics, hand- or computer-drawn images, even embedded personal photos are quick to produce and easily personalize the card. Scrapbooking or sewing bits and bobs create texture and visual interest if used sparingly – too much adornment can weigh heavily on the cardstock, both physically and perceptually. Or, try a natural element like dried leaves, flowers, or herbs. They look striking behind a translucent window of parchment or wax-paper.

Depending on the occasion, each cover has its own purpose, mood and appeal. A good cover should do what drugstore cards do – appeal to the recipient. If you plan to mail your card, you'll want to take its ultimate weight into consideration. Printer graphics weigh much less than glue and any attachment. Due to the printing process, if the cover has attachments, you'll want to do one of two things: either print your card's text prior to decorating the cover; or, print the text on a separate sheet (thin/parchment paper) and then attach it to the cover with glue or a suitable ribbon.

If you write poetry, by all means, include a suitable poem for the recipient and their occasion. But, if you break into a nervous sweat at the mere mention of the word, have no fear. Your prose need not be poetry. On a scrap piece of paper jot down feelings you'd like to express. Study these and try to focus them into one simple, loving sentence. Use your most poetic language, but don't worry about rhyme and meter. Just write true sentiment.

Once you've figured out the perfect wording, type it into a card template. Most word processors include a few greeting card templates that you can alter to your own specifications. You may want to change fonts and alter margins, add formatting features like borders, special characters or clip art. Have fun. Just remember to save changes to the card template with your own file-name.

Printing can sometimes be the most challenging part of the process. I print the first copy on scrap paper and overlay the result onto the cardstock to ensure margins, images, and text alignments are where they ought to be. After any and all adjustments are made, then it's time to print on the cardstock.

Creating homemade cards takes time and effort, definitely not as easy as buying a card. It can be thrifty or extravagant, funny or sentimental. More often than not, though, a handmade card is one small gesture that becomes, for someone special, a cherished gift.