Oral Fixations

Food can be foreplay, a wonderful prelude to a night of love. I recommend consuming these aphrodisiacs for your pleasure:

• Almonds, or erotically shaped marzipan
• Arugula, also called “rocket”
• Avocado, referred to by the ancient Aztecs as the “testicle tree”
• Bananas and banana flowers
• Chocolate, quite rightly called “the food of the gods”
• Honey, as the term “honeymoon” came from a bee-sweetened drink served to newlyweds
• Nutmeg, the traditional aphrodisiac for Chinese women; eat enough and you will hallucinate
• Oysters, prized by the Romans for both their effect and their resemblance to female genitalia
• Strawberries, often mentioned in erotic literature
• Coffee, a stimulant for many things
• Garlic, the heat to light the flame of desire
• Figs, another symbol of ultimate femininity; just eating one is a turn-on
• Vanilla, captivating for both its scent and its flavor

Farmer’s Favorite Nettle Soup: Medieval Superfood for Modern Times

Nettles are a farmer’s favorite due to all their usefulness as a healing plant bringing good cheer and for their usefulness in breaking hexes. They are also a green that can be used as you might use kale or watercress. They were regarded and used as a “superfood” by wise women for centuries and are so packed with vitamin A and iron, and they also have a high protein count. They are best harvested when they are young in the springtime. Nevertheless, they are an excellent element in cookery year ’round and have a surprisingly delicate flavor. They are another generous genus, since they sprout up and reseed themselves as true gifts from Mother Earth. Try this old-time recipe and you will be soon be out hunting nettles in the wild so you can enjoy this medieval meal at all times.

• 2 cups rinsed nettles
• 1 cup black-eyed peas, cleaned and soaked overnight
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups yellow onions, chopped
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon celery salt, salt and pepper to taste

Start cooking the presoaked black-eyed peas in a large pan with just enough water to cover them. Once they have boiled, keep them on a high simmer. Keep an eye on them while you sauté the onions and garlic to transparency in the olive oil in a skillet. Add water to the peas as needed and continue simmering them for thirty-five minutes or until the legumes have softened; then add the veggie stock or yeasty water.

Add the softened garlic and onions to the bean pot and simmer on low for twenty-five minutes. Add the nettles to the big pot and cook for a half hour. Season to taste and then share this nurturing soup. Make sure to give thanks to the guardian spirits of the earth for this gift of great greens.

Sara’s Superfood Smoothie

A friend of mine came up with this delicious and nutritious smoothie so her daughter could get “everything” at once. Sara loves it, and so do we!

• 1 banana
• ½ cup strawberries, sliced
• 4 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon liquid chlorophyll
• 1 tablespoon hemp oil
• ½ cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons goji berries, presoaked (optional)
• 1 packet Emergen-C, or another vitamin C powder

If you are using goji berries, soak them for two hours before you make the smoothie.

Blend ingredients until smooth. Add a little more orange juice or water if the consistency is too thick for your taste.

Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Nettle has been used as a healer for untold centuries; it relieves allergies, it is an immune booster, and it can even help with a distended prostate. It is also a superfood and beloved for its nutrients. If you are working with fresh nettles, wear gloves to avoid the stinging. Cooking or drying removes any irritant. Any herb or health food store will have dried nettle both in bulk and capsule form. Make nettle tea by steeping two teaspoons of leaves for ten minutes covered or “take the capsules in recommended doses of 300 to 500 mg twice a day.