Sex in the Kitchen

Much like Sophia from Golden Girls, I consider myself to be pretty good in at least two rooms of the house; the kitchen and the bedroom. And it's no real big secret that I've been putting it down in the kitchen for years. What many people don't know is how erotic the kitchen can be. With spices, music, and foods that are natural aphrodisiacs, it's easy to make the kitchen a very sexy place if you do it the right way. 

"Kitchen, bedroom, I knew it was a room I was good in." ~Sophia Petrillo

The obvious way to spice things up in the kitchen is to add some spice to your everyday cooking. Unbeknownst to most people, they have a favorite taste or smell that makes them feel some kind of way about what's cooking in the kitchen. Sometimes, it's just a matter of asking them what they'd prefer and other times, it's necessary to use trial and error to find that one special taste. Don't limit yourself to the things that you'd typically think of like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. I was surprised to find out that my husband really enjoys the taste of cumin, which I'd actually never cooked with before. You can bet that I went straight out to the store and bought some as soon as I found out and found more than one dish to add it to just to make him happy. It turns out, cumin (if you've never used it before) has a delicious smoky flavor that is perfect in a lot of vegan and vegetarian dishes like a hearty lentil soup, which is perfect for those cold winter months otherwise known as cuffing season. 

"The key to a man's heart is through his stomach." ~Unknown 

In today's feminist culture where women are encouraged to be bread winners instead of bread makers, this may seem like a horrible lesson to teach a young girl, but I don't see anything wrong with being wise in as many ways as possible! I've learned and taught myself a lot about foods to set the mood by keeping this little quote in mind. Nothing gets an open-minded foodie of any gender ready for "dessert" like a sumptuous meal. One of my favorite Valentine's Day dinners starts with lightly breaded, fried oysters followed by pan seared sea scallops on a bed of angel hair pasta in a white wine sauce, and a mixed greens salad with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Pair it with prosecco so the bubbles make you giggle and hope you have enough in your kitchen to make breakfast the next morning (wink, wink). If either of you actually have room for regular dessert, something chocolatey like warm brownie a-la-mode is simple, yet effective, but a warm apple crumble often does the trick as well especially with the male persuasion...I've found.

"If music be the food of love, play on..." ~Shakespeare  

'Time to seal the deal? The ultimate trifecta is an appropriate combination of ingredients including spices, food, and of course music; because, nothing stirs the soul or warms the loins quite like the right playlist to accompany the evening. Growing up, my parents listened to lots of jazz which, as much as I'd like to pretend like it had no involvement in their sex life so that I can continue to listen to it without thinking about them...together...in that way, was probably one of the many things they used to communicate certain feelings to one another. It was a passion that they shared with each other and, indirectly, with us. As the eldest, I was aware that their date nights often included dinner at their favorite steak restaurant, Gibson's, and a jazz concert. I am happily oblivious to anything that may have occurred after said date. But in all seriousness, meals, music, and making love just go together. Jazz, blues, or soft R&B before, during, and after dinner creates the overall ambiance needed to keep you playing on into the night.

When in doubt, keep it simple. Not everyone is a born chef and not everyone can be. One of my favorite memories about the seductiveness of the kitchen actually doesn't involve any cooking at all, but rather a playful moment with a former beau where, in the heat of the summer, barefoot and too exhausted to cook, we shared a sticky sweet pineapple. As the juice dripped off of our fingertips and into each other's mouths while we fed it to one another, we connected in a way we never had before and never would again; but in that moment, we were satisfied.