A man in the kitchen
Yes, that’s right! I absolutely agree: love goes through the stomach. It starts with the light shaking of butterfly wings somewhere within us, growing with every romantic dinner by candlelight, thrives with every jointly prepared meal, brandishes with each strawberry bite from loving hands.
The art of preparing and consuming food talk a lot about us – about our breadth, imagination, the ability to give ourselves, our sensuality. We are not all equal, nor are the circumstances always the same.
In the crowd between obligations, we will usually just cram into ourselves a sandwich, we might even eat a meal under pressure, without even noticing it, but in those special moments, those important, reserved for a loved one and no one else, hedonism should not know about the boundaries. My dear gentlemen, I want to make it clear: a man in the kitchen is an extremely erotic appearance! Of a man surrounded by pots, spices and kitchen utensils, more exciting is only the man in… mmm, but it is a topic for another kind of a column.
Skillfully handling wooden spoons, knives, deftly chopping vegetables, just as easily add expertly selected spices – well, that of a man makes a MAN! You do not believe? There is an example at every step, and to me, this moment comes the picture of Gerard Depardieu in that wonderful movie about a black woman who thinks she’s only left a few days of her life. That big, clumsy, not pretty, not attractive Gerard surrounded by fresh ingredients and copper pots becomes desirable wedding guest with exquisite taste.
And each of you, my dear, who thinks that women belong in the kitchen, is not wrong. The woman is given to admire your skill, steal the occasional bit while a dish is not yet completely over, gently sipping wine and underneath the eyes, looks at how tense your back muscles are while mixing just for her prepared sauce. If you were aware of the aphrodisiac power of the movement of your fingers that put the pasta in the hot water, you would not go out of the kitchen! And we, women, are a grateful audience. Will fascinate us whatever you prepare for us. If it’s framed with love. I often come back to recipes that have a male name in the title and in the subtitle a beloved story – Damil’s tiramisu, Ivica’s salad with roasted vegetables, Šime’s celery soup, lobster on the Tomica’s way, Igor’s catfish perkelt stew…
To be clear – I love to cook! The kitchen is my empire, the centre of my home, the place around which the family gathers, just as once our ancestors gathered around the fireplace. In the kitchen, our favourite dishes are made, and in it, I cook happily for my children and friends. But here and there, without a big plan, HE walks in my kitchen. He interleaves it with its footsteps, spices it with the smell of his body, catches me with his magic potion… and that’s it. If I were a painter, I would paint a canvas with lots of red and gold, if I were a poet, I would write an ode to a man in the kitchen. Thus, I can only say once again that it is true: love really has a lot to do with the stomach.
TEXT – Karmela Vukov Colić
Mussels, in his way
The true connoisseur will bring from the market a kilogram of freshest mussels. The mussels outer walls need a good scrub with a brush. In the bowl, combine 1/3 cup lime juice, a drop or two of good olive oil, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of fish stock and finely chopped lemongrass, 2 tablespoons of coriander and a little chilli pepper (wash your hands well afterwards and do not caress your lover before that!). Leave the sauce aside for ten minutes so the flavours can combine. (In the meantime, you can pour two glasses of good red wine.) Put mussels in a wide pot and cook them in a small quantity of boiling water, just enough to be slightly opened. (If some remain closed, throw it away. The unopened shells are like introverted people. You never know what sorrow they hide.) Place open shells on a tray. In each add a teaspoon of prepared sauce. Now you are ready to enjoy. Thus prepared mussels, are most delicious when you feed each other. I wish you to enjoy your meal and have an unforgettable pleasure.
