Wednesday, February 02, 2005

OK Girls... 12 days to get yourselves organised

The herbs of love As a romantic gesture, offer a bouquet of fresh herbs, each with its own message:
a bouquet of oregano to place your love under the sign of joy (Greece)
a bouquet of rosemary, as with Shakespeare's Juliet, to vow eternal love
a bouquet of marjoram to ensure continued happiness (Greece)
and if you know someone experiencing the distress of love, give them a potted mint plant, said to ease the soul's unhappiness.
Madame de Pompadour seemed to know quite a lot about the subject.Whether for a yes or a no, Madame de Pompadour seems to have the recipe. To increase her own ardour, she would eat a dozen egg yolks beaten with truffles, grated chocolate and celery. or a filet of sole. To maintain her royal lover's vigour, she would make him a celery gratin, and in the morning, some cress soup to revive him after a restless night before he went off to attend to his royal duties.
Favourite dishes of great courtesans and famous seducers Each had a recipe.
Catherine of Russia, urged to provide an heir to the throne, replied "Bring me some caviar, and tonight at supper, send me the best built of my officers."
Diane de Poitiers served eel broth to Henri II
Gabrielle d'Estrées cooked up a bass filet with crayfish
the frisky Henri IV ate a clove of garlic every morning; Victor Hugo preferred onions
the Marquis de Sade aroused his conquests with savory
Casanova prepared a careful blend of quail eggs, anchovies, etc.
While the table offers no shortage of stimulating foods, a fine meal just for two is in itself a wonderful start. As Edward Fitzgerald wrote, "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread - and thou beside me."

1 comment:

Alison said...

On Saturday.