对于美食爱好者来说 情人节几乎可以是自制的

Another Valentine's Day --- pandemic style --- is almost here.

Some people will be heading to restaurants on February 14 for romantic, but socially distanced celebrations. However, many of us will stay at home, celebrating our loving partnerships as best we can.

One way to make the day feel special is to think about your favorite foods and then add something unusual. Spend more than normal for a better cut of meat, rare spice or sweet treat.

If a high-end steak dinner is your dream Valentine's Day meal, you can bring it home. Porter Road Meats in Nashville, Tennessee, for example, offers dry aged and hand-cut meats. The company's creators are committed to using only humanely-sourced animal products.

But maybe you favor seafood, like lobster! McLoons Lobster Shack in Maine has a Valentine's Day deal for two. The restaurant will provide you with clam chowder, lobster rolls and a heart-shaped blueberry bread pudding. The whole meal will take about ten minutes to put together at home.

You might want the meal-making to be part of the celebration however. Blue Ribbon Sushi, based in New York City, will ship you a do-it-yourself meal kit with fresh fish, expertly prepared sushi rice, seaweed and a bamboo bat for rolling. You can add other foods to this Japanese meal, like caviar, lobster, crispy rice cakes and more.

For morning people, maybe a fancy Valentine's Day breakfast is best. You can improve your eggs with a few pieces of crispy, costly meat, like that from Peter Luger's Steakhouse in Brooklyn. Or check out Bill-E's Bacon from Fairhope, Alabama. It makes thick-cut pieces.

Other high quality cooking ingredients might include special olive oil or balsamic vinegar.

Valentine's Day can also be very simple but still special. Snuggle up and watch a rom-com with your love. Make some popcorn. Makers Stone Hollow Popcorn sell it by the jar or in gift boxes. You can choose from several kinds of corn, including Red, Blue and Lady Finger.

And we cannot discuss Valentine's Day without talking about chocolate. There are several ways to go: You might treat your special people to some fancy chocolates like the imaginative, handmade mice with toasted almond ears from L.A. Burdick company. Or, consider the Colorful Love box from andSons chocolatiers. The treats are almost too pretty to eat.

Midunu Chocolates are made in Ghana, and the sweets are designed to honor African chocolate-making traditions. Try their chocolate tasting kit for four with a flavor wheel, tasting mats and more.

Staying home for Valentine's Day sounds better and better! Let us know if you are planning anything special for this February 14.

I'm Caty Weaver.

The Associated Press reported on this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor.

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romantic - adj. of, relating to, or involving love between two people

kit - n. a set of parts that are put together to make something

fancy - adj. of the highest grade or quality

crispy - adj. pleasantly thin, dry, and easily broken

ingredient - n. one of the things that are used to make a food, product, etc.

snuggle up - phrasal v. to lie or sit close together in a comfortable position

rom-com - n. a movie centered on a funny, love story