Cooking with Fire: What Makes Food Sexy?

Ask a woman who has been hand-fed plump, perfect, luscious strawberries if she believes in the aphrodisiac powers of food, and you’re likely to get an enthusiastic YES! But ask a scientist about aphrodisiacs, and she will probably roll her eyes.

Indeed, there’s no scientific proof that aphrodisiacs – substances purported to increase sexual desire – do any such thing. But over the course of history, food has always been linked with love. And virtually every food has at one time or another been considered an aphrodisiac. But certain foods, such as oysters, figs, chocolate, asparagus, and peppers, have long been reputed to send the sex drive into high gear.

Aphrodisiac foods heighten or awaken your senses. Take honey. The way it looks, the way it tastes, the way it feels on your tongue. It’s sticky. It’s drippy. It’s sexy.

Want to use food to woo the one you love? Here are some suggestions, but feel free to use your own creativity to enhance and guide you into blissful and explosive encounters.

Give a fig. Figs are a very sensual fruit; in fact, the ancient Greeks ate them at their orgies. You might just slice open a fresh fig, put it on a pretty plate and hand-feed it to your partner. The sensual aspects of the food do the seducing for you. It’s practically guaranteed to work.

Create the right setting. How you serve food is as important as what you serve. You can’t sit under fluorescent lighting, using paper plates, and expect an aphrodisiac to work. So dim the lights. Use beautiful linens and your best china and silverware. And eat in bed, if possible. And, if you drink, a nice wine helps things along.

Match the aphrodisiac to the moment. Love isn’t hot and sexy all the time. Sometimes love is comforting and sweet. Aphrodisiacs are the same way. A mug of hot chocolate can be an aphrodisiac; so can a plate of raw oysters. But both are potent, and both have their place.

Double up. Try to see how many aphrodisiacs you can sneak into one meal. For example, you might serve a generous helping of asparagus at dinner. Add fresh basil (a common, but little-known aphrodisiac) to a garden salad. And then serve fresh figs drizzled with honey for dessert.

Think beyond your stomach. Food with aphrodisiac powers don’t necessarily need to be eaten. In other works, think of other uses for honey and chocolate drippings.

Cook up something together. Preparing food is itself a seduction. Meals from the drive-up window, on the other hand, are not. Taking time to cook for or with someone say “I love you. I care about you. You’re worth my time.” And time is so precious, what bigger turn-on could there be?

When it comes to aphrodisiacs, folklore abounds. Yet some foods that have been used traditionally as aphrodisiacs are rich in substances the body needs to function at its sexual peek. Here comes the geeky food trivia section (or food facts?).

Asparagus: According to medieval lore, boiling and eating this light-green, slender stalk three days in a row will stir “bodily luste” in both men and women. Aside from the obvious phallic implications, practitioners of Chinese medicine consider asparagus a tonic for the kidneys. According to Chinese medicine, it is the kidneys that regulate the libido, suggesting that what is good for the kidneys is good for the bedroom.

Chocolate. The Aztec emperor Montezuma drank 50 glasses of honey-sweetened chocolate a day to sustain his virility. Chocolate is rich in the amino acid phenylalanine, which increases the brain’s level of the neuropeptide phenylethylamine (PEA), a natural amphetamine-like stimulant that may increase the urge to have sex.

Figs. The ancient Greeks and Romans ate them before every orgy. They contain magnesium, a mineral needed to produce sex hormones.

Honey. The word honeymoon was coined in ancient Europe, where newlyweds built up their sexual stamina with mead – honey wine – during the first month of their marriage. Honey provides the body with an easily digested and absorbed source of energy.

Oysters. These shellfish are rich in the mineral zinc, a key ingredient to testosterone production and, hence, sexual performance for both men and women. Zinc is also found in foods not frequently associated with aphrodisiacs such as legumes, pumpkin and sunflower seed, garlic and spinach.

There you have it folks. Married geeks and nerds, do a little experimenting with your spouse. However, I wouldn’t recommend this to single ladies and gentlemen. We don’t need unwanted pregnancies do we?

Movie and a Dinner 2

@ the movies: INCEPTION

Dreams. Death. Idea. Past. Memories. Journey. Concept. Surreal. Puzzle. Architect. Illusions. Forgiveness. Reality. Secrets. Passion. Dimension. Tricks. Allusions. Games. Leonardo Di Caprio. Christopher Nolan.

These words make up a mind-boggling, awesomely-gratifying experience for $15 at the IMAX Theaters. Expect explosives, fight scenes and gadgetry. Expect to be perplexed. Expect to want to watch it again, at least twice in your lifetime.

This movie takes place in the mind – or rather, in several minds at once, as the heroes pursue their prize through dreams within dreams. In fact, by the climax, the action is occurring in at least four separate and simultaneous realities.

I totally recommend this movie. You must be willing to forget your experience with the Matrix Trilogy (Keanu Reeves) and avoid comparing these two.

Kudos to the writer! Such “concept” about dreams has been missed at least in my lifetime. I envy my friends who can retell their dreams. Interpreting these dreams are fun to talk about too. Unfortunately, with me, dreams are forgotten the moment I open my eyes.

@ HONDA-YA Japanese Restaurant

What could best conclude my evening but a hot cup of tea and enjoying some crunchy, mouth-jostling dish – Ebi Tempura. Then put a bowl of edamame, pickled cucumber and grilled Yellowtail in the mix and you have a satisfying post-dinner experience.

My friends and I were impressed with the restaurant’s “new look.” Honda-ya is located in an odd spot off Railroad St. and Azusa Ave. in the middle of an industrial/business area in the City of Industry (SoCal). It is open from 8:00 until 12:30 midnight. I was impressed with how much it changed, from being Izakaya Buffet to Korean BBQ and now an authentic Japanese Restaurant with real Japanese folks dining and drinking, real Japanese sushi chef (and not Mexican) and the surprise – a Tatami room! I was tempted to take off my shoes, sit on the floor and ask our waiter to move us to the Tatami but my two friends stopped me and said, “Let’s do that next time.”

Overall experience is excellent. With two wonderful friends with me, what could ever go wrong?

Movie and a Dinner

I did not mistype the title. Yes, this is not “Dinner and a Movie” as a date would stereotype it. I just normally watch a movie first, followed by picking a restaurant nearby that will culminate or celebrate a wonderful occasion. In this case, there was no occasion; I was just simply “bored”. I would like to talk about the movie first then I’ll tell you the last meal I ate to end this ordinary day. And by the way, I truly am a movie-goer and a food critic. If there’s anything to while my day away, that will be two things… visual entrapments and scrumptious dishes. Okay, let’s start this collaboration.

The Movie: The Last Airbender - Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Here’s the synopsis: “Air, Water, Earth, Fire. Four nations tied by destiny when the Fire Nation launches a brutal war against the others. A century has passed with no hope in sight to change the path of this destruction. Caught between combat and courage, Aang (Noah Ringer) discovers he is the lone Avatar with the power to manipulate all four elements. Aang teams with Katara (Nicola Peltz), a Waterbender, and her brother, Sokka (Jackson Rathbone), to restore balance to their war-torn world.”

Here’s my critique: Totally a must see movie. I don’t care if it did not get great reviews. Who are these movie critics anyway? After waiting for so many months for this movie to come out, several people were dissatisfied and not very happy. Are you kidding me? I was moved! Ok, let me be biased here, I love fantasies. Anything that would temporarily take me to another realm will ofcourse earn two-thumbs up from me. What I specifically loved the most was Noah Ringer (the protagonist/main character). He’s so adorable and I like how he gracefully moves and shows different facial expressions to fit in his character, the avatar.

The Dinner: Norms @ Covina – Tilapia with fruit and salad

The dish: This Tilapia was a mild-tasting, boneless fish fillet lightly breaded, sautéed and served with tartar sauce and fresh lemon. It had garnishings of lettuce leaves and some veggies.

The critique: I totally sank my teeth onto this mouth-savoring dish. The fish was perfectly cooked – soft and tasty. I squeezed fresh lemon on it and dashed it with tartar sauce, then took a bite, uhmmmm I forgot my name for a while. The fresh side salad had a dressing of blue cheese and Italian dressing, which I specifically told our waitress to mix this blend for me.