Happy Galentine's Day!
Thoughts | Ashley Noh and Ella Bowles
Graphic by Alex Eun, @alex.eun.
What is Galentine’s Day?
Valentine’s Day is traditionally a day to spend with your significant other, but recently, Galentine's Day celebrations have been growing in popularity instead. This February, get together with your gals, or with anyone who’s looking for an atypical spin to a Valentine’s gathering, to celebrate yourself and each other with gifts, dinner, and a fun night together. The best part is that there's no real date on which you have to celebrate! Let your schedule stressors and February 14th cancellations fall to the wayside, and make February your month for loving your chosen family. Though the month is already underway, there's still plenty of time to gather around and share the love.
Find recipes, inspiration, outfits, and what-to-bring lists below, and make your Galentine’s Day happen!
For a night out
Picnic
Weather permitting, a picnic is the perfect gathering for a Galentine’s date. Picnics get you outside with the people closest to you, two de-stressers that can be especially helpful in the darker months of the year. Picnic plans are extremely versatile — whatever you say goes! Any colour scheme, location, food, and drink choices are just fine, giving everybody a chance to contribute their own piece to the event. Picnics can tend to be more of a spring or summer activity, but if your luck and the weather align, they can create a wonderful space for love and all things Galentines-y.
Gallery: https://pin.it/1niCaXj
To wear:
To bring:
Your favourite snacks and drinks
Comfortable blankets and cushions for seating (bring extras if it’s chilly!)
Cards or other games
Speaker
To listen:
Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell
All I Ever Asked - Rachel Chinouriri
Too Late Now - Wet Leg
August - Taylor Swift
Don’t Delete the Kisses - Wolf Alice
Dinner Out
Now that things have opened up again, dining out has a new sparkle to it, feeling like something new. Plus, this way you get to elevate the experience of Galentine’s by having an outing rather than just staying home or going somewhere usual. Much like a picnic, a dinner out is easy to manoeuvre based on folks’ interests — even just within Toronto, there are an incredible amount of great (and reasonable-ish) restaurants across the map to try, so don't fret if you’re a picky eater. Dress up and eat well, because we’re going out to eat this Galentine’s!
Gallery: https://pin.it/7Z1sMRD
To wear:
To bring:
Camera
Your favourite dressy clothes
To listen:
I’ve Got a Crush on You - Ella Fitzgerald
Summer Girl - HAIM
Stormy Weather - Etta James
The Girl From Ipanema - Stan Getz
I Fall In Love Too Easily - Chet Baker
Day at the Museum
Enjoy some history and art at the museum with your friends for Galentine’s day. The beautiful paintings, sculptures, and artefacts make perfect backgrounds for your Galentine’s posts and stories. You don’t need a significant other to show off the love in your life — your time with your friends can be full of it! And while you’re surrounded by history and beautiful art, take the opportunity to read a few of the excerpts to learn about the incredible exhibits. If you’re in Toronto, the Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario are great options, and on Tuesdays, university students can go to the ROM for free! On the U of T campus, we have an art exhibit at University College, and near Toronto Metropolitan University, visit Gallery Aucturas.
Gallery: https://pin.it/9ZvCn8L
To wear:
To bring:
Digital camera
Sketchpad
Pencils
Journal
To listen:
Invisible String - Taylor Swift
The Louvre - Lorde
Andromeda - Weyes Blood
Cherry - Harry Styles
Art Deco - Lana Del Rey
For a night in
Dinner Party / Game Night
No need to leave the comfort of your home this Galentine's Day! Throw a dinner party with all your closest friends and enjoy the warmth and cosiness of home. Outfits and dining options are versatile; it can be a casual get-together or a reason to dress up. For food, everyone can contribute with a potluck-style dinner, or you can order takeout for a no-hassle night. And if you’re in the mood to cook, everyone appreciates a home cooked meal made with love! To really embody the Galentine’s vibe, you can sneak hearts into the food: cut the pizza into a heart, add heart-shaped mozzarella onto the Caprese salad, or plate the sauce into tiny hearts around the plate. All that’s left is to light whatever candles you have on hand to create the perfect Galentine's Day ambience for your dinner party. After your meal, feel free to throw in a little game night with the board games and cards you have on hand.
Gallery: https://pin.it/3wqVDEF
To wear:
To bring:
Camera
Candles
Board Games
Drinks
To listen:
TV in Black and White - Lana Del Rey
Just Like Heaven - The Cure
Sunny - Bobby Hebb
In the Still of the Night - The Five Satins
Tea Party
For a little day party, throw together an afternoon tea. Put any snacks you have around the kitchen onto a pretty dish, and boil up some water for a few batches of tea. If you want to put some more energy into food, you can make finger sandwiches or a cake! To keep the Galentine's Day love alive, you can cut the sandwiches into hearts or even prepare a heart-shaped fruit platter. The table can be decorated with some flowers; place them in vases, or feel free to toss them around the table for a more playful look. Similarly to the at-home dinner party, you can dress up as casually or formally as you want. The vibe can range from cute pyjamas to full-out tulle, lace, and flowery prints.
Gallery: https://pin.it/3V3L8Rk
To bring:
Flowers
Desserts
Camera
To listen:
Melting - Kali Uchis
Softly - Clairo
It Isn’t Real - Fantasy Guys
Les Champs-Elysées - Pamplemousse
Baking Night
Arguably, the best part about Valentine’s Day is getting to bake all of the great sweet treats that exist out there. Even better, they’re usually heart-shaped, making them even sweeter. Gather up a group of friends, decide on your favourite treats (or, if you can't, bake them all) and get at it! There are tons of options out there for all of our vegan friends, so everyone can be included. Plus, isn't baking the treats yourself half of the fun anyway? If you’re looking for ideas, check out the recipes that we’ve included below. This Galentine’s season, make a night of it: switch on the Great British Baking Show, preheat your oven, and get started!
Gallery: https://pin.it/7HTjbD8
Recipes!
These recipes are all vegan, or they have the option to be vegan or not.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Cooking Supplies:
Oven pan with parchment paper
Large bowl
Large spoon to mix
Regular spoon to scoop out peanut butter
Measurement cups
Tip: Use two; one for wet ingredients and one for dry ingredients
Optional: Sifter for flour
Ingredients:
½ cup peanut butter (100% natural is best, meaning no salt or sugar added)
¼ cup maple syrup
⅔ cup almond flour or oat flour (you can also use a combination of both)
½ tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350℉ .
Microwave peanut butter for 30 seconds or until it runs smoothly.
In your large mixing bowl, add the melted peanut butter.
Add maple syrup to the bowl and mix.
Add almond/oat flour to the mix, then add baking soda and salt.
Lastly, add in your cinnamon and nutmeg! Mix thoroughly.
Line an oven pan with parchment paper.
Roll batter into small spheres (1 inch diameter) and place on parchment paper, each ball about an inch away from each other.
Flatten the batter balls with your fingers by tapping lightly with your index finger, and shaping them into circles. They should be ½ cm thick.
Optional: Add chocolate or berries! To do this, tap the centre a little more to create a shallow swell. You can add chocolate to this before baking, or add berries after baking.
Bake for 6 minutes. Let rest for about 8 minutes.
Enjoy!
Carrot Cake
Cooking Supplies:
Oven pan with parchment paper (Note: I use a circular 9” by 2” pan)
Large bowl
Large spoon to mix
Measurement cups
Tip: Use two; one for wet ingredients and one for dry ingredients
Grater
To make your own apple sauce: Blender
Optional: Sifter for flour
Ingredients:
1 cup shredded carrots
¾ cup apple sauce
To make your own: Cut up 2-3 apples into slices and grate, or cut into small pieces and blend.
3 eggs/3 flaxseed eggs
⅓ maple syrup
⅓ cup of any oil
½ almond flour
½ cup oat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
Instructions:
Shred carrots and add to your large mixing bowl.
Add applesauce to the bowl.
If you are making your own: Cut up the apple into slices, grate them into small pieces and blend.
Add eggs, maple syrup and oil. Mix!
Now for our dry ingredients. Add the almond flour and oat flour, as well as your baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Mix thoroughly.
Add oat flour to bowl.
Line a pan with parchment paper (Tip: Wet parchment paper thoroughly to help it take the shape of your pan).
Bake at 375℉ for 35 minutes.
Let cool for 25 minutes. Enjoy!
Optional add-ons:
Roughly cut almonds/walnuts
Roast before adding into batter
Pumpkin and sunflower seeds
Raisins
Substitution: Cut up dates
Instructions for optional add-ons:
Preheat oven to 350℉. Roast almonds/walnuts. For almonds, 10 minutes. For walnuts, 5 minutes.
After finishing preparing your batter, roughly chop almonds and walnuts.
Add almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and raisins to the bowl.
Fold in and bake!
Brownies
Cooking Supplies:
Oven pan with parchment paper (Note: I use a circular 12” by 9” by 2” pan)
Large bowl
Large spoon to mix
Regular spoon to scoop out peanut butter
Medium bowl and fork to mash bananas
Measurement cups
Tip: Use two; one for wet ingredients and one for dry ingredients
Optional: Sifter for cocoa powder
Ingredients:
6 bananas
1 cup peanut butter
¼ cup maple syrup
½ cup cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
Cinnamon to taste
¼ cup chocolate chunks (chopped-up chocolate bar or chocolate chips)
¼ cup roasted almonds
Instructions:
Set oven to 350℉ to roast the almonds for ten minutes, then set the oven to 375℉.
Mash your bananas in a medium bowl.
Add the mashed bananas to your large bowl.
Microwave peanut butter for 30 seconds or until it runs smoothly.
Add the melted peanut butter to the bananas in the large bowl.
Then, add maple syrup and mix.
Now for our dry ingredients: add cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon to the bowl. Mix thoroughly!
Roughly chop the chocolate and the almonds. Fold them into the batter.
Line your pan with parchment paper. (Tip: Wet the parchment paper thoroughly to help it take the shape of your pan)
Bake at 375℉ for 25 minutes.
Let rest for 20 minutes. Enjoy!