In keeping with the tradition of last year's Valentimes post, I decided to pick up the whisk once again and give it another go! For those of you that didn't know me last year or couldn't be bothered to open the link, here's a quick refresher. I write it as "Valentimes", because I'm not a big adherent to tradition. For me, it's not a particularly special tradition because I feel that love should be celebrated every day. I just use it to poke fun at the festivities and consider it a time to just let loose and be unabashedly ironic.

With the wedding planning and other projects consuming most of my time, I decided to opt for an easier dish this time around. Now, don't get me wrong, simple doesn't mean it's any less. It's rather ironic considering that the main difference since last year is that now we're engaged. ^Woohoo! _Hooray! As many of you know, I'm all about emotions, so you can be sure that I'm giving this one my all!

Even though he hasn't made a food post in quite some time, the format for this is still inspired by the Grand Boom-diggity @meesterboom! Last year, he was just a guy that I found entertaining, but now I'm lucky to count him as a friend in real life. Man, what a difference a year makes! The choice to go no-bake was also inspired by @kiwideb's recent kitchen happenings. Now, while I wasn't able to follow her recipe to the tee, I still took some inspiration from it. So, without further ado... cue the kazoo!

In-gradients

For the base

1 jar of Nutella
1 jar of Creamy Peanut Butter
1 cup of crushed Graham crackers
1 cup of condensed milk
1 stick of unsalted butter

For the topping

1 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 cup of evaporated milk
3/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips
a pinch of sea salt
The Secret Ingredient (to taste)

_{Oooohhhh a secret! What could that be!? When I made the post last year, apparently I was at 62 rep. Now I'm at 66. Wow. I've mentioned earlier what difference a year makes, and apparently for my rep, not so much hahaha! At least my overall perspective has changed, and I think that's more important. Now, let's get uh... Let's do this thing!}

In-struck-tions

A year has passed and I still don't have an oven haha! I gave all of the earning for A Day in the Clouds for @zeppelin's fund, that's why I had almost no earnings for half a year last year. That's okay though, no complaints here. I'm always happy to help whenever I can :D But yeah, the dream of having a STEEM-powered oven is still just that—a dream. With all the other expenses, the oven fund has been put in the... backburner for the meantime.

This year, I decided to create a peanut butter bar (with a twist!) which I affectionately call Decadence Bar because @randomli has been hard at work exercising and getting in shape to fit into her wedding dress. She could use all the energy boost she needs. I mean, she's really committed to it, almost going totally vegan. She's lost considerable weight, and she's on her way to get back to her previously slim bod when we first met (again). So, I decided to make this to fatten her up because I like her better meaty :/

Okay, so first things first, and I can't believe I excluded this step last year, wash your goddamn hands. Or don't, if you prefer things to get durrty. Rawr!

Set the butter aside to let it warm up to room temperature. Let it soften, and don't rush it. Like all great things, it takes time. You can't force it, and you would need to be patient so that you can get it to be how you want it to be.

Next up is we open our only legit dry ingredient for the base. You could buy whole Graham crackers and just crush it on your own, but when I was training to be a software engineer, one of the lessons that were ingrained to us is to not re-invent the wheel. Crushed grahams were a way to avoid the hassle of pounding them on your own, so don't be ashamed to take advantage of the opportunity afforded to you.

Pour it into a bowl, like so:

Then make a hole at the center where you can put the wet ingredients for a more even mix:

Now, while waiting for the butter to melt, let's reassess why we're using the ingredients that we're using.

I prefer to use Skippy for my peanut butter, because I want my fiancée's heart to skip a beat when she takes a bite (and not because of tachycardia).

I decided to mix in some nutella to give it an added flavor kick instead of just straight up peanut butter. Well, I guess you could say that this is nut your average peanut butter bar. crickets Moving on!

I opted to use condensed milk instead of powdered sugar, because we all need some sweetness in our lives. One would argue that we all need something sticky now and again, and I won't argue with said one.

Has your butter melted yet? Wait, what? It has only softened!?

Well, duh! How could anyone expect to melt butter that way? My bad! Light up that match, turn the knob and let's get that stove on. Hmm? You have a conduction stove? Well, alright. Turn it to low heat and let the butter melt away. Be careful not to let it burn, no matter how much Tina Arena wants you to.

Once it's melted, pour it on the hole you made.

Use a wooden spatula to mix it and swirl from the center going out. These next steps are crucial, and I mean this with all the seriousness in the world. You have to follow these next steps exactly or else you won't get the desired result. Ready? Okay.

Add in a dollop of Nutella while you're continually mixing in the butter. Be assertive, but not too forceful. The batter is your friend, and you're only guiding it, not dictating it to where you think it needs to be. I added in about half a jar here, but it's up to you how much you want.

While continually stirring, add in some peanut butter, preferrably the same proportion as the Nutella.

Be careful not to overpower it. Sometimes, this imbalance is unavoidable, and arguments would result from it. Just be mindful of each other's strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly, be compassionate. Let love rule. Open the lines of communication, and be patient when things don't go the way you think it should. Take into consideration how the other person feels and make a compromise. Wait, where was I going with this again? Oh, yeah... Once they're mixed, it's time to add the condensed milk.

I used about a cup, so as to mesh well with the dry ingredients. This was introduced to add some sweetness to it. Even though the Nutella and the peanut butter are already sweet, it's always nice to add in more for flavor.

Slowly add in the condensed milk as you continually stir. We want everything to be balanced so don't just pour everything at once. As mentioned earlier, just like love, you can't hurry it. Since there are no raw ingredients, you can taste as you stir. Go on, I know you want to.

Once everything is mixed well, and you're happy with what you have, line them up on a tray of your choice. I choose to go the sustainable route, so I recycled the tray I used last year (which is code for "I'm a cheap ass mother-shut yo' mouth!). Waste not, want not, or something.

Fill it to about a half or three-fourths of the tray, flatten it then set it aside. Don't mistake that for taking it for granted though. Even though you're comfortable with it, it doesn't mean that you just take it for granted. You have to give it some love whenever you can, let it know that you're not letting the flame between you just die out.

The fun part here is the clean up. Since there are no raw ingredients, I took the liberty of licking every spoon I used. Let's just say I gained a pound or two while making this.

Let me tell you, it seems as if it's just easy, but it took a bit of work to stir. Just like in relationships, even though we think we can just coast on our similarities, we still have to continually work on it to make it as perfect as we can. Even though I didn't work up a sweat, I felt like I put in a good workout.

Now, with these newly ripped guns, let's see what we can do to fill the remaining space.

I decided to use semisweet chocolate to top it off. Semisweet was chosen so as not to overpower the sweetness of my gesture... and the other already sweet ingredients as well. I'm just trying to fatten energize my lady up, not give her diabetes!

Since I've recently talked to my spectacular sis @dreemit about some missing fudge, I decided to create one for my own! To give it a bit of a twist, I decide to go the Mexican chocolate route.

A cup of evaporated milk, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a teaspoon of vanilla extract (yes, it's the same one from last year) and a half teaspoon of chili powder (to give it a kick) go straight to a pan to simmer. I chose to use these different spices, because variety is, well... the spice of life! While it's cooking, place half a cup worth of that semisweet chocolate chip to the bowl. Just before it gets to a boil, take the pan out and pour it on the mixing bowl. Put a lid on it, then let it sit for five minutes. Don't fiddle around with it!

Sometimes, you get into disagreements, and while it's easy to just continue on trying to prove that your point is better, it's best to just let things rest for a bit so that cooler heads can prevail. While you're waiting, you can check out @therealpaul's instructions on how to control a Human World in 3 easy steps. While it's not as easy as this dessert, it's still a very fascinating read.

Once the five minutes are up, use a whisk to stir the chocolate in. After my first try, I discovered that the chocolate seems to be overpowered by the liquid, and the color wasn't what I expected.

That's alright. Sometimes, things don't go as planned. Make some adjustments and then try again. So, what I did was I added in a quarter cup more to the mixture then I prepared a water bath. Once the water boiled, I placed the bowl on the bath and whisked the chocolate in.

Once you achieved your desired color and texture, pour it into the peanut batter. Use a strain to sift out the unmelted chocolate. Add in a pinch of sea salt right at the end.

Now, it's time to add in that secret ingredient! When you're at a certain point in your relationship, you're just positively oozing with the stuff. Trust me, this would make a world of difference. You just can't contain it, and you're on the edge of bursting, amirite gents? ;) Oh get your head out of the gutter! Of course, it's love! Pour in all of the love you have. Every single drop. But, if you want to put in the other stuff, then just be sure that the recipient is inclined to receive. I'm talking about care, of course :/ Of course!

And voila!

Put it in the fridge and let it rest overnight. Just like revenge, this is a dish best served... with a side of bacon (and cold, of course). You can cut it up into pieces the next morning, if you want the bars to be more bite-sized. Thank me later, or now, if you're feeling thankful in advance ;)

Results

Before I took her back to her place, we went out and ate at this Harry Potter-themed restaurant to have a... magical night. As to why I italicized that, I'll leave it up to your imagination.

Not many of you know (and by that I mean, no one among you knows) that my lady is a big pothead. Wait, no. That's not right. A potterhead! Ahem, yes. That's right. I never got into that, but I support her in that as much as she supports me with all my other geeky endeavors. We ate some grub and had our fill of beer. Well... Butterbeer (8.5 BOOMS out 10).

Then, just because we missed South Korea so much, we headed upstairs for some bingsu. No, that's not a euphemism.

That photo was taken around the time @theywillkillyou left a message that's why it's blurred. Hrm, yeah that's right. Not a result of shaky hands at all, no sir. No, sir!

After dessert, @randomli was feeling a bit under the weather, so we skipped the premiere of Black Panther and headed home. Shuri T'Challa, I guess we'll just see you at a later date.

When we arrived at her home, it was time to reveal the surprise. But first, a little precursor. What would a magician be without their wand?

_{Wandering aimlessly but still hella powerful!}

Last year, I gave her a bouquet of french fries. This year, I want her to conjure it on her own. But now it's time for me to whip up some magic of my own! Bibbidi babbidi booya!

As you can see, the time in the car melted the upper layer. I guess you could say I was surprised by that as well. But, that matters very little.

After eating, she still wants to push forward with the wedding so that's a great sign! In her words, she loved it almost as much as she loves me. Since, we're engaged, I finally got more than a high five this time ;) Huzzah! She loved it so much, she conjured up seconds!

_{The rarely seen AYWANTAMORA spell!! :O}

Speaking of which, this Valentimes marks the first and last time we celebrate it as an engaged couple. More importantly, this marks the "one month" mark before the big day! Well, technically 28 days, because February is so short. We still have a lot of things we have yet to complete, and the time is ticking oh so fast. I feel the butterflies fluttering in my stomach. Or, is it, in fact, just the Decadence Bars? I guess we'll see in a few minutes.

_{Care for a little decadence?}

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Let's show @lukestokes.mhth some love by voting him in as a STEEM witness! :D

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_{Join me in my Year of Resilience!}