Two Hearts Beet as One

When I was younger, I remember my mother making heart-shaped meatloaf for our family for Valentine's Day.  She says she only did it once or twice, but I seem to remember more frequency than that -- it obviously made quite an impression, with that heart-shaped border of ketchup.  When I moved out of the house and started living on my own, I took up the heart-shaped meatloaf as a yummy, simple, and slightly odd way to celebrate the holiday, and I've been making heart-shaped meatloaf semi-regularly for Valentine's Day for years.
This year, however, with sickness in the house and lots of appointments and errands, I didn't have time to make meatloaf.  Instead, I made:

That's right -- heart-shaped beets!  I sliced them thin, steamed them, and then used a cookie cutter to cut small hearts out of the beat slices.

These were fresh, local beets and they steamed up soft and sweet (oh, so sweet!).  They were quite a success and may become a new favourite Valentine treat. 
(And just think of all the clever "heart + beet" valentine quips that could be developed. Two hearts beet as one!)

Valentine's Day isn't just about beets and meatloaf, though, and for those of you who need more post-Valentine's cheer, here are some beautiful roses Mr. Madley brought home for me.

Aren't they lovely?  And if you need your holiday chocolate fix (I know I did), check out last year's post (worth every single bite).


*Mr. Madley suggested the title for this post.