February 14th, known as Valentine' Day is this Saturday and with a little investigating on Wikipedia we read up on the origins.  Several references were made to saints doing kind things for others then meeting their demise, the shift in nature readying to bloom for spring, and awareness of good health. To sum it up, it's an appointed day to celebrate acts of caring and nurturing for who and what surround us.  A day of awareness for ourselves to slow down and enjoy the company and kind words of others.  We like it! In mid-February, what better way to warm the heart than with a cup of tea.  Maybe its not your traditional Valentine's day drink of choice, but it is a wonderful change, and it goes great with chocolate, but then again what doesn't.

While looking around our local Goodness Me, a display caught my eye.  Pukka tea.  Not only is their packaging beautiful, but their Being Pukka mantras are pretty darn inspiring. "Love" is the perfect tea of choice for this week.  A sublime blend of organic rose, chamomile and lavender flowers served up in a heated rock bottom vessel.

It was sampled by tasters young and old, all agreed it was...very lovely. Now that the heart is warmed, nothing tops off the feeling of being cherished more than some home baked goodness.  My little baking buddy had a play-date during the making of these muffins and so I had to manage it solo.  I did however have lots of volunteers confer if it lived up to their recipe title "My Best Chocolate Muffins" from Zerrin at GiveRecipes.com.  We made a few minor changes by replacing the olive oil with coconut oil and instead of sprinkling the top with sugar I opted to add a little salt to the sweet.

Divine chocolate washed down by love.  What better way to spend a morning, afternoon or evening this Saturday... or any day.