I’m about to tell you a little something about me that’s going to rock your world and it’s not the fact that I “heart” Valentine’s Day. It’s the fact that I “heart” Valentine’s Day more than any other holiday-get ready for this: even Christmas. That’s right, I love, love, love Valentine’s Day more than Christmas, more than Thanksgiving, more than St. Patrick’s Day (where I make a shameless fool out of my very Swedish self every single year, with my soul-sistahs, right here on Main street, U.S.A.).

Are you wondering just why I love the day that celebrates St. Valentine so? I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and I think it’s because Valentine’s Day is all about love. Period. And I’m not talking about the nauseating Hallmark/Kay Jewelers versions of romantic love that we see on the tellie (you know, “Every kiss begins with Kaaaay”. Gag me). I’m talkin’ ’bout the love for everyone in our precious lives: friends, co-workers, spouses/significant others, parents, children and pets. Because I so firmly believe that what the world needs now, is love, sweet love. Here’s a few people and/or things that I’m really loving up on, this Valentine’s Day:

• I’m loving my mom Carol, way out there on the left coast, for doing such a fabulous job of proof-reading my columns, each and every week, for no money. Because spell check just doesn’t catch everything. (Don’t worry• love you too, dear Grandpa Donald.)

• I’m loving my new blog, Sugar and Spice. Because it adds a whole new dimension to my beloved weekly newspaper column-color photos. And, it’s super creative and super fun. You can check it out, any ol’ time you want, at www.SugarandSpiceAdk.blogspot.com. Hope to see you there. Please put me in your “favorites”.

• I’m loving Old Forge’s own Colden Hippesley. Don’t worry-so does Big Daddy. Colden has saved our lives more than once lately with his computer expertise. Do yourself a favor, if you haven’t already, and give Colden a call (796-8887) anytime you need technical assistance. He is truly da bomb. He has the face of an angel, and the mind of Bill Gates; someday, he shall rule the world-just you wait.

• I’m totally loving this newspaper column. Do you know I’ve been writing it for over three years now? (Hey, where’s my party?) Makes me think I need to put together a cookbook soon, and get rich, rich, rich beyond my wildest dreams. Key word here: dreams.

• And lastly (not because I don’t love a million more people, but because there’s only so much space, and Mart won’t let me take over his column.) I love sweets, even though I’ve sworn off sugar for the rest of the year. And doing very well with that, so far, thankeweverymuch. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have any, now does it? For this very special Valentine’s Day column, I have an incredibly easy and Decadent Sour Cream Chocolate Cake recipe for you-you won’t believe how easy this is, and how fabulous the end result is. Garnish it with some powdered sugar, some chocolate sauce and maybe a few fresh raspberries on the side and you’ve got a very sexy Valentine’s Day dessert. I also am throwing in, once again, my tried and true Valentine Linzer Cookies. I get asked for this recipe so often-so do yourself (and me) a favor, and tear it out. These cookies are pretty special-some treats for your sweets. Happy Valentine’s Day.

DECADENT SOUR CREAM

CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 box Devil’s Food chocolate cake mix

1 package INSTANT chocolate pudding (the small box)

1 cup sour cream (not low fat)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 12oz. bag miniature chocolate chips

Lightly spray a bundt pan. Mix together well all ingredients in a large bowl (do not use a mixer). Pour into bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Cool, then invert onto a cake plate. Garnish with sifted powdered sugar, chocolate sauce and raspberries, if desired.

VALENTINE LINZER COOKIES

Makes aprox. 2 dozen cookies (depending upon your cookie cutter shape)

1 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1 1/2 cups finely ground almonds (a food processor or coffee grinder works well)

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

6 oz. raspberry or strawberry jam

Powdered sugar

Cream butter in a standing electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Add sugar and continue creaming. Add the egg, lemon, vanilla and almond extracts and mix. Mix in ground almonds. Stir together dry ingredients in a bowl and add to mixer; blend. Form the dough into disks, wrap and chill. Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper, to about 1/8” thickness. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut out the base cookie shapes (large heart cookie cutter). Cut out the centers of half the cut shapes with a smaller heart shaped cookie cutter. Re-roll scraps and repeat. Bake for 12 minutes, or until edges turn golden. Cool on wire rack. Heat jam slightly and spread the base cookie shapes with a layer of jam. Place top layer over the bottom, pressing down slightly. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, then fill holes with more jam. Let set slightly before serving.

Please send all recipes or comments to P.O. Box 111, Old Forge, NY 13420, or e-mail them to lnwillard@hotmail.com. You can also find Leslie at her blog, located at www. SugarAndSpiceADK.blogspot.com.