Mary Ann Dames, M.S., R.D.

So many choice to write from this week. President's Day will be celebrated on 15. Before that comes the day of hearts, flowers, and chocolates - Valentine's Day. Why not try writing an acrostic poem. What's that? Choose a word and write in down the page, one letter per line.

D
A
Y
S

Each line of the poem starts with the corresponding letter.

Dark mornings
Are giving way to early dawns. I
Yawn.
Sleep flees.

Not bad for a quick example, no?

Mary Ann Dames, M.S., R.D. ©2010.

Valentine's Day makes me think chocolate and candy. I'm sure I'll get enough of those I don't need to add more to these recipes. Presidents Day makes me think of George Washington and cherries. So I started wondering what I could do to combine both holidays. I came up with this sugar-free, heart-filled and heart-healthy molded salad.

Ingredients

1 can (16-ounces) dark sweet cherries, drained, reserving 1/2 cup of the juice
1 tablespoon plain unflavored gelatin*
1/2 large red apple
2 tablespoons lemon juice or orange juice
3/4 cup sugar-free cherry soda

In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cherry juice with the unflavored gelatin. Let it sit, off the heat, while you make the apple hearts.

To make apple hearts, slice the apple in sixths. Cut each section into slices about 1/4-inch thick. The cross section sort of looks like a heart. Sort of. To make it look more like a heart, cut like in the photograph at top. As you make the apple hearts, place them in a bowl with the lemon juice so the apple doesn't turn brown.

You can use a small heart shaped hors d' oeuvre cutter.

After all the apple hearts are made, the gelatin should be soft. Put the pan on the stove and over low heat, stir until the gelatin is melted. Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove. Stir in soda. It will fizz at first.

Put some apple hearts in the bottom of four 1/2-cup to 3/4 cup molds of one 2 to 3-cup mold. Spoon enough of the gelatin mixture to almost cover the apples. The apples will float. Put the molds in the refrigerator until the gelatin sets, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the molds from the refrigerator and divide the drained cherries among them. Pour in the remaining gelatin mixture. Return the molds to the refrigerator and let set until firm.

Makes 4 servings.

*To make this vegetarian, substitute agar agar powder for the gelatin.

Mary Ann Dames, ©2010

I'm getting ready for next week and realized that you probably wanted to, too, especially since next weekend is doing double duty with Valentine's Day and Presidents Day Celebration.

Start the fun off with Valentine Mice!, a bouncing story filled with internal rhyme. This exuberant tale, written by Bethany Roberts and illustrated by Doug Cushman, is filled with fun, frolic and just a mouse-ful to tension.

A to Z Wednesday is hosted by Vicki at Reading at the Beach. "V" is this week's letter. I submitted Valentine Mice. Can you think of books with title beginning with the letter "V?" Another favorite of mine is Very Hungry Caterpiller" by Eric Carle.

Moving onto Presidents' Day: Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers.

Lives of the Presidents by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt.