Sangria is traditionally made with dry red wine, but there’s no reason you can’t mix it up. Try these two party-sized recipes: a potent Brachetto berry sangria spiked with Cognac, and an authentic sparkling cava sangria that I discovered in Spain.
May 6, 2010The weather was odd this Earth Day 2010, with strong showers and wind alternating with patches of sun. It’s like Mother Nature is bi-polar, or she’s trying to show off all of her stuff in one day. One of the best ways to show your love for the planet and your body is by drinking wine made from organically grown grapes. These wines used to be hard to find, but these days with increased awareness about the dangers that pesticides can pose to the earth, farm-workers and end consumers, there’s lots of choice. One of the best places to find international organic wines online remains The Organic Wine Company and Whole Foods Markets around the country also have a good selection. Read up on all sorts of organic wines at Organic Wine Review.com. I especially like sparkling wines made from organic grapes. My favorite sparkling wines have a sheer and…
April 23, 2010A red orb with all those juicy seeds inside, a pomegranate just suggests fertility and promise. It’s thought to be the tempting forbidden fruit that seduced Adam and Eve in the Bible. In the Greek myth, Persephone was forced to spend half the year in the Underworld after she was tricked into eating a few pomegranate seeds during a visit to Hades. All in all, these myths make the pomegranate a pretty fascinating and tasty fruit. We’ve all gotten word that pomegranates are chock full of healthy antioxidants, vitamins and minerals which scientific studies show can help reduce wrinkles, lower blood pressure and prevent heart disease. Pomegranate is also a great source of folic acid, which is an important nutrient for pregnant women. If you’re trying to get pregnant, it turns out pomegranate can help in that department too. A researcher at the University of California found that pomegranate is…
February 9, 2010It’s so easy to take honey for granted: sweet, cloying and sticky stuff without much personality. But it’s always been one of those foods, along with strawberries and whipped cream that shall we say has plenty of sex appeal. The term honeymoon comes from the Viking tradition of leaving newlyweds alone for a month to get to know each other. They were encouraged to drink lots of mead – wine made from fermented honey – as it was considered an aphrodisiac. Even today, Indian bridegrooms are given honey on their wedding night to increase their stamina. It turns out honey contains boron, a trace mineral that’s important for a number of different body functions including hormone production. Boron helps increase estrogen levels in women as well as testosterone levels in men and women, which is important for libido. Honey also contains B vitamins which play a role in estrogen production…
February 3, 2010Every year as we approach Valentine’s Day, you hear the word aphrodisiac tossed around. Spanish fly, bananas, potatoes, strawberries, chili peppers – you name it – has been considered an aphrodisiac at one time or another in human history. But this year, I decided to research the foods that have a documented scientific effect on arousal. Two foods that just happen to have an actual effect on pleasure and libido (the goal of most aphrodisiacs when you get down to it): wine and chocolate! Come indulge in some of both and pick up some romantic tips on Feb 11 as I team up for a dinner class with LA chocolatier Susie Norris, the author of the hot little book Chocolate Bliss and chef Isabel Cruz of Isabel’s Cantina. I’ll be making cocktails from my book The Bubbly Bar: Champagne & Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion (Clarkson Potter, 2009) and…
January 20, 2010