I’m celebrating Valentine’s Day with some dilated pupils.  Yup, that’s right, it’s time for the eye doctor.

And, no offense to my eye doctor, but no one other than my husband should be getting that close to my pupil.  Especially on Valentine’s Day.

And really, even then, it’s not like he’s getting all intimate with my iris.

Let’s change the subject before this gets any weirder.  Shall we?

It’s easy to make love eyes at these sweet meringues. Which are sweet. And raspberry sauce.  Which is tart.

Sweet and tart.

Here’s hoping your Valentine’s Day is sweet and tart in all the right spots.

And leave your eyeballs out of it. Please.

Vanilla Meringues with Raspberry Sauce

From Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, with slight modifications

Makes: Twelve, 3-inch meringues, Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: Overnight, Oven temp: 150 degrees F

Vanilla Meringue Ingredients

• 6 egg whites
• 4 T coconut palm sugar
• dash salt
• 1 T vanilla
• 3 T arrowroot starch

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees F. Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper and very lightly coating it with coconut oil. Parchment paper is essential for this recipe or the meringues will stick.
2. Measure out palm sugar, arrowroot, and vanilla into their own separate bowls and set aside.
3. Separate egg yolks from whites, placing the whites in a large, very clean bowl.  Discard the yolks.  If a yolk breaks, discard the entire egg.  The fat in the yolk will prevent peaks from forming.
4. Beat egg whites with a dash of salt using a hand blender, until stiff peaks form.
5. Gradually beat in the arrowroot starch, followed by palm sugar and salt until combined.
6. Drop by heaping quarter cup-full onto baking sheets, creating twelve 3-inch meringues.
7. Place in the oven and allow to cook overnight.
8. Allow to cool on parchment before using a spatula to remove.  Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.  They will maintain their crispiness.

Nutrition information:

Serving Size: 1 merengue, Calories: 49,Carbohydrates: 10.2g, Protein:1.8g, Fat:0.0g, Fiber:0.0g

Please note: Nutritional information is not guaranteed and will vary based on the ingredients used.

Raspberry Sauce

From PartTimeHealthNut.com

Ingredients

Makes: Four 1/4 cup servings, Prep time: 10 minutes

• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tsp. coconut palm sugar
• ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 T applesauce
• 1 and ½ tsp. arrowroot starch

Directions

1. In a small pot, over medium heat, simmer frozen raspberries with 1/3 cup water until berries break down and begin to disintegrate.
2. Add coconut palm sugar, vanilla, and applesauce.  Stir to incorporate.
3. Remove from heat and stir in arrowroot to lightly thicken.

Nutrition information:

Serving Size: 1/4 cup, Calories: 76,Carbohydrates: 19.2g, Protein:0.5g, Fat:0.1g, Fiber:2.8g

Please note: Nutritional information is not guaranteed and will vary based on the ingredients used.