Here are two easy recipes for Valentines Day along with the magickal and alchemical connections that make them so effective. Enjoy!

HOT CHOCOLATE LOVING CUP

600 mil (1 pint) milk
100g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate

Optional extras
Sugar or honey to taste
¼ pint whipping cream
cocoa powder

Preparation

Heat the milk in a saucepan, then add the chocolate (broken into small pieces is best). Stir until the chocolate is melted. Bring to the simmering point and whisk over a steady heat for about 3 minutes. I learned this in Mexico City which, being at 8,000 feet with the consequent lower pressure, tends to skew cooking times a bit and also they used a traditional whisk called a Molinet or Mollinillo which looks a bit like a small wooden pineapple on the end of a stick However an ordinary whisk works perfectly well – just make sure the mixture ends up frothy. Taste for sweetness and add sugar or honey if you wish..

Pour very hot and frothing into mugs or cups, add a dollop of whipped cream on the top and sprinkle with Cocoa powder to taste.

You can use various spices to enhance the drink, or empower it. For example stirring in ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves (Jupiter) and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon (Sun) both related to the Element of Fire along with the yolk of an egg (Moon) during the whisking to a froth process helps build personal Chi energy for those drinking it.


BANANA SURPRISE

Take two bananas per person and, keeping them in their skins, place on a foil covered baking tray. Make two deep cuts lengthways along the bananas and fill with raw cane sugar. Bake for 10 minutes in an oven at 225°F/200°c/gas mark 6. Remove, peel, and place in a warm dish. Scrape the inside of the peels thoroughly onto the bananas and add sauce to taste, ginger or chocolate spring to mind. Then serve to your guest.

There are several variations on this basic recipe, such as placing pieces of dark chocolate in the cuts with the sugar or instead of it, adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, or a pinch of nutmeg to the sugar/chocolate banana filling. However purists insist that it is the sugar that is the solvent for the scopolamine and is the best way to extract it from the skin in liquid form while baking then adding the other ingredients later in the sauce. Experimentation is the best way to work out which way works best for you.

The main aphrodisiac in this recipe is the theobromine from the cocoa in the dark chocolate, hence the comment ‘the higher the cocoa content the better’. The Aztec ruler Moctezuma was alleged to have drunk up to 50 cups a day (!) in order to keep his libido at its peak in order to keep up his royal duties with his harem. There is a sound biological basis behind this because theobromine stimulates the release of penhalemethaline in the brain which is the same substance released when you are in love.

Use them wisely!