Appetite For Seduction

[clewing]

An interesting article that came in my AARP newsletter. I am into herbal supplements, eating healthy, etc., so this was interesting in more than one way. I enjoy everything on the list except oysters and pine nuts. I'll have to try the pine nuts, but I don't know if I can deal with the oysters......never did like them cooked or raw (but I love other seafood).

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/food/appetite_for_seduction.html

One nice thing to see on this was that even an organization for the older people out there still included information regarding sex. Yea, us!!!

[whiskeywoman]

That is a great article, too bad they had to keep it so short, otherwise they could have made a very long list of all the other foods thought to be an aphrodisiac.

Anyways, I don't blame you on the oysters, I am not a big seafood fan myself.

I can only eat tilapita or shark, and I despise ocean roaches (shrimp)

As far as pine nuts go, meh, it is all a matter of personal preferance.

I am not too crazy about them myself, they have a rather sharp bite to them that I just don't care for.

Anyways, Now you got my mind to wandering, I am off to find some more info.

Thanks

[Tyger]

What a great article!

I gotta agree with Howard on the seafood. I was born and raised in Maine, so I KNOW seafood and love most of it. The keys of seafood Howard pointed out are too true, and to add one of my own, it's how the seafood is cooked. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Lobster, but I CAN tell if they are real Coastal Maine Lobsters or not (they taste salter no matter how they are cooked). And, believe it or not, female lobsters are sweeter than the males. I'd have to actually have one infront of me to describe how to tell which is which, accurately enough. Seafood, IMO, should be boiled or steamed using SALT WATER, even if it's "homemade" salt water. Since they are born and raised in salt water, cooking them in fresh, to me, kills the taste of it.

Just my 2 cents.

[whiskeywoman]

Tyger,

perhaps I should email you for some recipies, my 6 yr old wants to try lobster for the first time.

I swear that girl is gonna put me in the poor house with her eating habits.

For her birthday, I asked her what she wanted for dinner, get this, she asked for steak and shrimp.

Next thing I know she will probably want to try cavier or some other such thing.

[clewing]

As for pine nuts. you can cook the nuts in a frying pan where you have reduced sugar to a taffy like consistency, and it will coat the nuts, so they have a sweeter taste. Or you can wash the nuts, in plain water, strain them, and then put them in a bag with salt and shake them around to salt them, Either way, they are easier to eat.

As for oysters, that is probably always going to be an acquired taste. Same with clams, and mussels. People like to cover them in lemon juice, or maranaro sauce, but I eat them plain, or with a little salt on them. I enjoy the testure and the taste. If they are rubbery, or chewy, I know they are old, and the bar/restaurant is selling bad food. I always let them know when the clams, or oysters are not fresh, because 99% of the people there haven't got a clue how to tell. I am convinced that most people who don't like oysters were given bad, or old oysters, and that they probably would change their mind if they ate fresh oysters off the boats. The same difference applies to all shellfish, and to lobster and crab. There is nothing better than fresh lobster, nor worse than old lobster.

Howard

Thanks for the info on the pine nuts. They sound good with the sugar on them--I'll have to try that. I have to eat many of the nuts I eat raw, as I can't eat peanuts, peanut oil, peanut butter, etc., and most (not all) nuts that are roasted are roasted in peanut oil.

And I'm originally from Florida, so have had some fresh oysters. I could eat them to survive, but they are are not my favorite. I live in Oklahoma now, and my goal is to eventually get back to the coast in Florida. I miss the fresh seafood and the beach. It's a pain being land-locked! But it seems like there is always something keeping us here. Someday.....

[clewing]

Soaking the pine nuts often will remove the bitterness. Then dry them, and either sugar coat, or salt them. As for oysters you might get in the midwest, I found I have to add salt to them to make them palatable. Oyster's rockefeller, which involves adding cooked spinach and butter and cheese as a topping to the oysters on a half shell is also seasoned with salt and pepper, and makes a nice way to eat oysters. Check the Internet for recipes for oysters, clams, and mussels( fresh water clams). I have eaten them in a wine sauce, raw, with seasoning, cooked in cream sauces, pickled, and I am sure other ways that don't come immediately to mind. I just like to eat them raw, but I started eating them raw because of all the squemish people around me who couldn't even think about eating a raw oyster. When I found my brother covering his raw oysters with maranero sauce, I slowly slid an oyster raw into my mouth, rolled it around on my tongue and took my time chewing and swallowing it, just to spite him. Then I actually got to like them that way.

Reminds me of the time I was eating escargot in a small restaurant in Germany. The place was full, and we had to share a table with another GI that we did not now who was eating alone. They had the best escargot, and I always ate it there, but when they brought them out to me, this guys eyes got real big and he said "Are those snails?" I told him yes and proceeded to dig in. He got a little green and left quickly. I felt bad because they had sat us at his table when he was already there, but I didn't allow that to interfere with my enjoyment of one of my favorites!