Culinary Seductions

Over the years, I have found that the meaning of food has changed for me. Three years back, you could not find me in the kitchen except to forage for food in the cupboard and refrigerator. Like many couples who are too busy with their jobs, my husband and I both loved to try out new food and restaurants, but hated to have anything to do with the kitchen.

I can say that my experience with food has a lot to do with my experience with life. Life opened up for me at an early age, and I became more in touch with it when my love affair with food began. I learned to be in the moment, slow down, and really enjoy it that I truly appreciated both of them. Every scent, every moment, every taste, and every memory must be savored.

When I was young, Papa and Kuya (older brother) allowed me once or twice to help in the kitchen. However, when they saw that I was using a towel to cover myself to avoid getting accidentally splattered by oil; he decided to just do things by himself.

Papa and Kuya decided to make the kitchen their turf and would not allow me to touch anything. This is the main reason why I do not know how to cook and I am pretty much useless in the kitchen.

When I was a little kid all the way to high school, I was stick thin. However, when I hit college, I put on a bit of weight. Until now, I thank my lucky stars that I lost all of it after I gave birth. But really, I should thank my Mom because I obviously got her genes. My mom would go a size down each time she gives birth to a baby. She started out with a size 8 and by the time she gave birth to my younger brother, she had dwindled down to a size 0. Since 1978 to date, she has remained at size 0. (Yes, I am obviously digressing here.) Some people think I obsessively diet, but the truth is I don't. I'm really picky when it comes to food.

I love to eat and I always admire those who can cook especially if they can prepare the food I want. I love it when someone prepares home cooked meals. Cooking a delicious and honest meal can be as enchanting as eating out in a 5-star restaurant. Passion and creativity in the kitchen make me swoon.

Think about it; food has a power over all of us, especially if you make the effort of cooking a great meal. All things considered, food is about friends, family, comfort, sharing, and pleasurable eating. It can please all of our five senses and open our heart.

It is interesting, but food can really tame the angry and the agitated. You can't be angry very long when you're eating good food, the anger just melts away like butter on a hot skillet. Well, depending on the gravity of the offense... x - (

Eating also stimulates the pleasure centers and releases dopamine. When you are with someone while eating something extra sinful, you tend to associate that person with the food. This is why most people eat chocolate, candy, and cake when they are with their loved ones on Valentine’s Day. Chocolate is known to be an aphrodisiac, all part and parcel of your love cocktail.

If you are presented with a meal that is beautifully made and precisely executed, you will find that it is the secret to unlocking your partner's admiration, respect, and appreciation. All you need is a great meal to make memories that will rekindle uninhibited fires of desire, uncontrollable passion, and inextinguishable sensuality.

People have been using food as a tool for seduction for ages. Awaken your taste buds and create a culinary masterpiece with the correct atmosphere. You may find that a beautifully home cooked meal could be just the key to open the heart and the closing of the bedroom. Yes, a culinary dance of seduction, the modern gastro-sexual meal.

You could say that in my 37 years of life, this is what food means to me:

• Food is poetry. It is playful, assertive, sweet, and irreverent. It can make the worst day in the world all better. We use food as fuel, but it is so much better to see it as more than that.

• If you ask me, food brings people together. You can get together for wine or beer, but it is so much better to get together with food. If you need to talk to someone about something bad, talk about it over dinner. When celebrating, go to a fancy restaurant. It will always bring the best out of everyone, and I truly enjoy this.

• Everyone enjoys food and relates to it on so many levels. Social justice, creativity, and matters of the intellect can all be related to food. There are those who even say that it is the stuff of life.

• Use food to explore and learn about other cultures. Take risks and try something new with food. Love and make memories with food as well.

• When I travel, the smells, textures, and tastes of all the different foods that I experience stay with me. Food when put in the context of a particular country or culture becomes so much more. It is an entire tradition of a place and a people that is so much different from who you are.

• Food is a means of expression. It is social, funny, and fun. You will always find some new flavor to experience, a new cuisine to sample, a new friend to cook for, and a new restaurant to toast to the high heavens.

• Food is fun. It is fluid and keeps changing. It can spark an idea, a conversation, and a completely creative way to experience life.

• Most of all, I find food most unique because it can connect diverse people from all four corners of the planet. It lives in a place between past, present, and the future. Food is a way to escape from the humdrum of life and make it extraordinary--even for just one meal.

2011 Moira G Gallaga©