Sexy Foods

Inspired Recipes Guaranteed to Tantalize Your Taste Buds & Senses

By Gabrielle Veuthey

An aphrodisiac is anything typically used to increase and/or stimulate sexual desire. The inspiration for aphrodisiacs is theorized to have originated from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of sexuality, love, and beauty. The most common form of the legend has it that she arose from sea foam that formed when her father's (Uranus, father of the gods) "member" was cut off and thrown into the ocean. While some people may choose to poke fun at this legend and are out to disprove the notion of aphrodisiacs, many more people, like me, swear by them.

Specific foods and particular scents have long been considered aphrodisiac in nature for one of two reasons, (1) their physical appearance gives the impression of something sexual or (2) they have a physical effect on the body, such as causing an increase in blood flow, an increase in heart rate, or a "flushed" feeling. Armed with that knowledge, here's an aphrodisiac-inspired menu that includes three of my favorite recipes. Before preparing these and sitting down to enjoy them with your significant other though, be sure to set the mood. Candles with vanilla, rosemary, lavender, and jasmine are all natural aphrodisiacal scents and work well to compliment some soft background music. Now let's get to the recipes ...

For Starters:

For an appetizer, you want something that you can eat with your fingers and something that's not too heavy on the palate. Oysters have high concentrations of the mineralzinc, which is why they fall into the aphrodisiac category.

Oysters On The Half Shell:

A very simple appetizer is raw oysters on the half shell.Once the oysters have been thoroughly cleaned and shucked, serve over ice with squeezed lemon and your favorite sauce.

For The Main Dish:

Chili peppers are a favorite aphrodisiac among manybecause of the intense physical reaction and sensation they cause. They produce a strong heat, a sense of euphoria and an increased heart rate in some people. Other spicy foods and certain spices like cayenne pepper can have the same effect.

Spicy Sausage & Peppers:

• 1 pound of lean, spicy Italian sausage
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 small onion, diced
  
• 14-ounce can of organic tomato sauce
  
• 1 medium green pepper, sliced
  
• 1 medium red pepper, sliced
  
• 1/4 cup of chopped jalapeno peppers
  
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil
  
• 1/4 teaspoon of cumin
  
• 1 teaspoon of basil
  
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
  
• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red chili pepper
  
• Salt & pepper to taste

Cut sausage links in 1/4 inch pieces. Coat skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté sausage for 4 to 6 minutes, until nicely browned, then set aside. In a separate bowl, mix minced garlic, onion and peppers, then sauté with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pot over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomato sauce, along with all of the spices and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, then add sausage and simmer for an additional 5 minutes, until sauce slightly thickens. Once cooked, serve over cooked brown rice.

For Dessert:

For those weekends when you must have a little something on the naughty side and you just can't say no to dessert, here's the recipe, and it contains Mother Nature's most powerful aphrodisiac… chocolate! As a result of the effect it has on increasing serotonin levels, chocolate has aphrodisiacal properties and also produces a sense of euphoria and well-being after it's eaten.

Chocolate Fondue:

• 1 Toblerone® bar (3.5 ounces, yellow wrapper)
  
• 1 Toblerone® bar (3.5 ounces, dark wrapper)
  
• 2 to 4 ounces of heavy cream
  
• Thin bamboo skewers (to pierce fruit and for dipping)
  
• Cut fruit, including strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, kiwi or any other fruit of your choice.

Very slowly, melt the chocolate in the double fondue pan, gradually adding just enough heavy cream to keep the mixture smooth. You're looking for the consistency of honey, rather than syrup. If you melt it too fast, or let it get dry, it will get grainy. You don't want that!

Once you have the chocolate melted, use the bamboo skewers to pierce the fruit. Then dip the fruit in the melted chocolate and enjoy fondue as you normally would.

The rest is up to you!

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