Afternoon Delight: Get Sexy with a Lunch Full of Aphrodisiacs
It’s not too difficult to rev up the sexual engine during the summer months. The air is swarming with hot, heavy air. The twittering of birds and insects buzzes like a whisper in your ear. The scents of musty earth, blooming flowers and wet rain linger low in the atmosphere. Summertime is indeed a hot time. If you’re feeling it this season, you’ll want to try this menu for an aphrodisiac-packed lunch. With these lip-smacking foods, you’ll fall into that hot, heavy, summer trance with your partner in no time—enjoy an afternoon delight that might take you well into the evening.
Cucumber Sandwiches with Chili and Basil
Both chili pepper and fresh basil make these summer sandwiches a sex-inducing entrée. Since the era of the ancient Greeks, basil has been used to keep straying husbands right at home, loyal to their wives—especially in the bedroom. And chili peppers of all varieties are eaten to “spice up” any sexual activities. Dr. Kellogg, inventor of the Corn Flakes cereal brand, even warned consumers to steer away from chilies, as they were known to get the heart pumping, the blood rushing and the body flushed all over. Sold yet?
Ingredients:
1 cucumber, sliced thinly
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ finely minced fresh jalapeno pepper
Dash hot sauce
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
12 slices sandwich bread of choice, crusts removed
12 fresh basil leaves
Method:
1) Whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, jalapeno, hot sauce, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Spread a thin layer of spread on half of each slice of bread. Top half the slices with cucumber slices; top each half with 2 slices basil. Top with other halves of bread, cut into small triangles, and serve.
Wild Mushroom Ragout
In old South Pacific lore, women were said to become full of sexual ecstasy upon foraging on wild mushrooms in the forest. In this wonderfully succulent side dish, a wild mushroom ragout is finished off with shavings of chocolate, which has been known for time immemorial to be a love-inducing nosh.
Ingredients:
1 pound wild mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ cup dry red wine
¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup water
Shaved chocolate, for serving
Method:
1) Pat mushrooms with damp towel to clean.
2) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high; add mushrooms and cook until browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes, stirring, until garlic is barely browned.
3) Add wine, parsley and salt to skillet; simmer 3 minutes. Add water, cover, and simmer until mushrooms release juices, about 4 minutes. Uncover and simmer until sauce is reduced, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately topped with chocolate shavings.
Chilled Ginger Grapes
Grapes are inherently sexual—they conjure up images of Grecian goddesses being fed juicy fruits fresh off the vine, picking them off by the mouth one-by-one. To feed grapes to your partner is to feed them pure sexual fire. Enjoy this light end to the meal that will inevitably lead to just the beginning in the bedroom…
Ingredients:
½ cup toasted nuts of choice, very finely chopped
½ cup cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger
2 cups seedless grapes
Method:
1) Place nuts in a small bowl; set aside. Stir together cream cheese and ginger in a separate small bowl until mixed. Roll grapes in cream cheese mixture to coat, then dredge lightly in nuts. Place on a lined baking sheet and chill until firm. Serve chilled.
Image: Tomas Sobek
