TEAM VALENTINE OR TEAM GALENTINE?

Best gallant every day

Restaurant campaigns for Valentine’s Day dinner bookings have been running for weeks. No wonder, because which restaurant is still open on a Tuesday evening?

Galentine

The day before Valentine’s Day, February 13, is Galentine’s Day. Derived from Gal, the girlfriend, the female friend with whom you have been through thick and thin.

The idea of Galentines is to spend a nice evening with the girls and celebrate friendship.

There is no need to use gender-appropriate wording for the English Galentine – of course the day also belongs to celebrating with everyone else with whom you are on friendly terms. It doesn’t matter who is celebrating with whom.

Galentine simply rhymes so beautifully with Valentine and has established itself as a term.

We think Galentine’s Day is a wonderful idea that reminds us that we should be out and about together much more often.

Because without friends with whom you can celebrate but also mourn, with whom you can be silly and sometimes call in the middle of the night to be comforted, life would be unbearably stressful.

Galentine, the more relaxed Valentine

Galentine’s Day is a little easier than Valentine’s Day, because with real friends there is no envy involved and you can style yourself but also decide to choose the dress code “completely relaxed”.

For dinner on Valentine’s Day, on the other hand, cool styling is sine qua non.

Valentine’s Day and the expectations surrounding it have become particularly popular in the USA, Canada, England, New Zealand and Australia. Everyone there has at least an opinion about it, buys flowers, champagne and chocolate hearts or boycotts Valentine’s Day.

Where does Valentine’s Day come from?

There are various theories about this. History and legends speak of several martyrs named Valentine.

One story mentions a St. Valentine who married couples according to the Christian rite in the 3rd century, although the then Roman Emperor Claudius II had forbidden this.

The term Valentine’s Day was first used in a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer (1382) to mark the engagement of the then 15-year-old Richard II, King of England, to Anne of Bohemia, who was the same age:

“For this was on seynt Valentynes Day

Whan every foul cometh there to chese his make….”

“For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day.

When every bird comes there to choose his match…” In modern English.

Poets in many other countries liked the idea of Valentine’s Day and the idea of sending a card or handwritten letter to a loved one on Valentine’s Day was an obvious one.

A beautiful custom, whether written with a fine fountain pen or on an original Olivetti Valentine typewriter.

You can never receive enough words of love. Whether on Valentine’s Day or any other day.

Everything can, nothing must

Many countries have developed their own Valentine’s Day customs. In Korea, for example, singles celebrate a Black Day on Valentine’s Day. Dressed in black clothing, including black nail polish, people get together in a cheerful atmosphere to enjoy jajangmyeon, noodles in black bean sauce.

A wonderful idea, we think, because our wardrobe has a few black pieces and we love risotto nero.

If you fancy it too, the recipe is simple:

You simply add two bags of squid ink (5 grams each) to a standard risotto (for 300 grams of rice for 4 people), which can be found in many delicatessens.

WHOEVER SAYS ART MUST ALSO SAY BASEL

Ideally, combine the black risotto nero with prawns or small squid, which are boiled in hot salted water for 1 minute and then (well drained) seared for about 5 minutes. Fold the finely chopped parsley, the zest and juice of a natural lemon and the squid or prawns into the risotto. Done.

You can read the full recipe here, from our friends at Effilee, whose recipes have never disappointed us.