Heart Pounding Romance

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Four Downright Sexy Foods

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Couple in the Kitchen Sexy food doesn’t have to mean oysters. Here are four downright sexy foods that you can easily find, prepare, and they’re not slimy.

Black Raspberries

As a romance author, I know that reading a sexy book can get you into the right mindset for romance. The same result can be found by eating certain foods. Black raspberries have been found to boost your libido and increase sexual stamina. Berry up!

Ginseng Tea

If you’re planning an evening with your man, it can’t hurt to have a bit of caffeine in your system. Late nights are more fun when fatigue doesn’t strike. However, not all caffeine is equal when it comes to your sex drive. Ginseng tea has a multitude of sexy properties. It increases sexual satisfaction and can help prevent or lessen erectile dysfunction.

Saffron

Initially, the idea of saffron as one of the four downright sexy foods had me thrown for a loop. I had never thought of those little red strings of spice in that way. They seemed so innocent, a mere spice. And that’s when it hit me. It made so much sense. Why not turn to a spice when you want to spice things up? Saffron isn’t just any old spice. Pure saffron is actually the world’s most expensive spice. Here are the details: A Canadian review of 150 international studies found that saffron both enhances sexual performance and satisfaction. No wonder Indian guys with their chocolate complexions and white teeth are so damned sexy.

Strawberries

As the saying goes, “First come sex, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage!” If you’re wanting to conceive, fill up on strawberries. They contain lots of vitamin C, which raises sperm count. They also help to improve circulation, which is important for men and women’s sexual satisfaction. For an added sexy twist, coat your strawberries in chocolate, which is known to boost libido.

In a previous post, I wrote about ultimate dating foods. I’d love to hear your meal planning ideas around this list of four downright sexy foods. Feel free to drop me a line. Or, you could always just have a bowl of berries, a cup of tea, sprinkle in some saffron, and see what happens next.

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Date Night Mushroom Risotto

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risotto
Date Night Mushroom Risotto

Date Night Mushroom Risotto is the perfect meal for a romantic dinner at home. If you’ve read my previous post about the ultimate date food, it ticks all the boxes. First and foremost, it’s delicious. It’s also impressive, easy to eat, and won’t leave you with bad breath or bloating. Most important, it’ll leave you wanting dessert.

Ingredients

Here’s your list of ingredients:
1 carton low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
salt and pepper to taste
1 3/4 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

These are the steps to making your Date Night Mushroom Risotto
  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring chicken stock to a simmer. Reduce heat to low.
  2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Next, add 1 tablespoon butter, garlic, mushrooms, bay leaf and thyme. Cook until the mushrooms have softened and are golden, about 4 more minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Remove mixture from the pot.
  3. Continue by melting remaining tablespoon butter in the pot and add the arborio rice, stirring quickly. Cook until the grains are well-coated and smell slightly toasty, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until the wine has mostly absorbed.
  4. With a ladle, add about 1 cup of hot stock. Stirring often, cook until the rice has mostly absorbed liquid. Add remaining stock about 1/2 cup at a time, continuing to allow the rice to absorb each addition of stock before adding more. Stir often and cook until the risotto is al dente and creamy, not mushy. (You might not need all the stock.)
  5. Add the mushroom mixture back into the rice.
  6. Finally, stir in Parmesan and peas then garnish with parsley. Serve warm.

Best Practices

Before launching into cooking, here are some “best practices” to keep in mind when making Date Night Mushroom Risotto.

1. Use hot stock.

Before starting, heat your stock in a separate pan over medium heat. Hot stock will help keep the temperature from dropping each time you add it to the rice. The faster your rice absorbs the liquid, the better your risotto texture will be.

2. Keep stirring.

In “Finding Nemo” Dory always said, Just keep swimming.” Swap that little song for “just keep stirring” and you’ll end up with perfect risotto. Arborio rice is very starchy, so the chances of burning increases. Do not leave it for even a second. Just keep swimming… err stirring.

3. It’s all in the cheese.

You’ll notice that there aren’t a lot of ingredients. Therefore, the quality and flavor of each one is important. Fresh herbs. Fresh cheese. Parmesan from a can doesn’t belong in your date night mushroom risotto.

The whole point of this blog is to offer recipe advice for a sure-fire romantic meal. This is it! Put in the time before he arrives and all you have to do is heat up the risotto. Then, you can heat up the rest of the evening as well.

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