See Mistress Cook.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a house where I came home to a home cooked dinner nearly every night. My mother is an amazing cook, to the point where it would leave my friends begging for a dinner invitation. She has a faithful collection of recipes that leave family and friends drooling and begging for seconds. But even after preparing the same dish for the hundredth time, she will refer back to the recipe and to her trusted measuring cups.

Following a recipe was something that never appealed to me (this is probably why I am a terrible baker – that and having to bake without gluten). There is something about following a recipe to the T that takes the magic out of cooking for me. I suppose that I have never really liked being told what to do.

La Domaine Esemar, where I trained as a Dominatrix for five years, prides themselves on both their dungeon AND their kitchen. It wasn’t until I began my training as a dominatrix, that I began to understand that cooking wasn’t necessarily about being a slave to a recipe (and that spatulas had more than one use!)

It was here that I began to become aware of the effect of what I was putting into my body. La Domaine’s kitchen is completely organic and locally sourced when it is possible, ideals that I do my best to maintain in my kitchen. They encourage the slaves and Dominants that go through their doors to be conscious about what they eat and how they take care of their bodies. It was here that I learned of a neighbor’s pig escaping only later to eat it for dinner. Where I learned to harvest mushrooms. Where I partook in a five course ‘Meat and Bordeaux’ soiree amongst many naked folk utilizing ALL of their senses.

Anyone who knows me well enough to have shared a meal with me, knows how much I love to eat, to cook, and to share food with people that I love (and just how much I HATE to do dishes (my dad who is helping me edit this blog will certainly vouch for that)). 

I am a photographer, a writer, a dominatrix and a hedonist, somewhere wherein lies my love for food. I hope through this blog, I will be able to share some recipes, pictures and stories that will encourage you to hit the kitchen, and maybe even the dungeon.

Mistress Alex torturing a slave in the La Domaine Kitchen.

Mistress Collette fondling a slave, while Master R Cooks in the La Domaine Kitchen.

A La Domaine slave roasting chestnuts over a wood burning fire.

Plum, Rosemary, Bourbon Corn Muffins. (Gluten-Free).

A friend sent me a link to the blog Cayuga St. Kitchen, and it is full of some amazing local recipes. 
This is a recipe from the blog that I tweaked (twerked?) to include in season produce that I had laying around from my CSA and bourbon...because, bourbon. I did, however, follow the recipe for the muffins themselves to a T, which I credit to them turning out so damn good. Who knew that the secret to baking was the ability to follow a recipe?

Makes a baker's dozen.
Preparation time: about 15 minutes
Cooking time: about 45 minutes

Plum, Rosemary, Bourbon Corn Muffins:

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
3 tbs locally produced honey (good for local seasonal allergies)
2 cups almond flour (or grind your own almonds!)
1 1/4 cup cornmeal (ground if you don't like textured muffins)
1 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup locally produced honey
1 two inch sprig fresh rosemary
1 plum - diced (can use cherries, berries... etc.)
zest of 1 lemon or orange
shot of bourbon

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line your muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. Combine the sugar and butter in a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy (or use a mixer with a paddle attachment or a nearby slave for this).
3. Add 3 tbs of honey and continue to beat the mixture.
4. In a separate large bowl, mix the corn meal, almond flour and baking powder.
5. Mix in a tablespoon of the polenta mixture with the butter mixture. Now add about one tablespoon of the egg mixture and beat again. Alternate between the polenta mixture and eggs until you have a thick and smoothly blended batter.
6. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full with batter.
7. Bake for 30 minutes. Test with a fork, if it comes out clean, the cupcakes are done, if not reduce heat to 325 and cook for another 15 minutes and test again.
8. While the cake is baking, combine the rest of the honey, the rosemary and the diced plum. Bring to a boil and add the shot of bourbon. Reduce to a simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the alcohol smell begins to dissipate.
9. When the cake is ready, remove it from the oven. Using a toothpick or a fork poke some holes in the tops of the cupcakes. Pour or spoon the honey and bourbon mixture over the cup cakes. Let cool to room temperature and serve. 
10. When serving the cake garnish with lemon or orange zest and decorate with rosemary!

I don't know how something this good can be gluten-free, but it makes me think that if there were a god, she would be merciful. 

Bulgogi and Kim Chi Deviled Eggs with Robin Ardeur.

Robin is a fetish escort, and certainly enjoys the fine dining experience. She shared a story with me of how a client took her out to dinner at a fancy steak house in a private booth, and how she shared with him a golden cocktail, without ever leaving the booth. 

I found Robin Ardeur through Fetlife. I was immediately struck by her side tattoo of a woman with an owl mask (taken from the last scene of 'The Story of O') and contacted her, asking if I could photograph her and feed her Bulgogi. Luckily for me, she said yes.

Bulgogi

1lb thinly sliced rib eye steak

1/3 cup tamari (gluten free soy sauce)

3 Tbl white sugar

1 Tbl sesame oil

3 cloves of minced garlic

1/2 of a medium yellow onion - haled and sliced into moon shaped slivers

2 scallions - chopped both green and white parts

1 carrot - shredded

5 shitake mushrooms, sliced

2 Tbl sesame seeds

1Tsp Siracha

2 pinches black pepper

1/4 tsp minced ginger

1. Whisk all of the ingredients together except beef, onions, carrots and shitake. Once the sugar has dissolved, add beef and veggies and massage the marinade with your hands into each slice of beef. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. 

2. Heat oil in a large pan and fry up the meat and veggies until cooked through.

3. Serve with a bowl of hot rice, a scoop of kimchi and an egg (and an egg of sorts, deviled, fried or poached). I served Robin a Kimchi Deviled Egg.

Nectarine and Ginger Kale Salad with The Stunning Margot Rose.

I met Margot Rose at a party at La Domaine. She and her Master were in the midst of some Puppy play, and I genuinely mistook her auburn hair for the fur of a dark golden retriever. Before the party, we shared both kink and art websites and realized that we had a lot in common.

Margot Rose delighted me by making me this salad and we spent the afternoon talking about the intersection of kink and art.

Nectarine and Ginger Kale Salad:

Salad
1 Bunch Chopped Kale
1 Ripe Avocado - cubed
1 Inch Diced Ginger
1 Diced Nectarine
1/2 White onion - diced

Dressing:
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
1/8 cup olive oil
splash of balsamic vinegar
splash of soy sauce
1 teaspoon agave
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

1. Put kale and ginger in a large mixing bowl. Add the ingredients for the dressing, and massage tenderly with your hands. This helps break down the kale so that it is easier to digest.

2. Add the avocado, nectarine and the onion. Mix and serve.

Bruschetta with SyrinxxMinxx

SyrinxxMinxx is a long time friend from La Domaine, and the only person I have bumped into in my time in NYC, twice. One time at a kinky toy store, and once at what is now my favorite Tibetan food place.

We decided it would be fun to go to the park for a picnic and to feed the birds.

I used local, fresh tomatoes from my CSA, homegrown basil, and a garlic bread from a baguette from the new bakery down the street from me. I had been eyeing these baguettes every time I got coffee at the bakery, and would try to come up with excuses as to why I, a gluten free lass for 5 years, would ever have the need to buy one.

The pastries here look so good, that I once bought my friend a strawberry ricotta muffin just to watch her eat it.

I looked longingly at the baguettes for weeks, sometimes going into the store and not even wanting coffee, and coming with the sole purpose of admiring the baguettes.

When I heard that Syrinxx was coming to town, and being quite the masochist, I knew I would make her a beautiful meal in which I could not partake, and only enjoy voyeuristically.

Tomato Bruschetta:

1 pint cherry tomatoes (I like the rainbow kind!)

small handful basil

small splash of white truffle oil (olive oil will do)

smaller splash of balsalmic vinegar

pinch of salt

SMALL pinch of hot pepper flakes

pepper to taste

1. Half the cherry tomatoes and add the diced basil.

2. Mix white truffle oil, vinegar, pinch of salt, hot pepper flakes and pepper in a small bowl, and whisk.

3. Combine the dressing and the tomatoes, and let sit in the fridge.

Garlic Bread:

1 delicious, amazing looking, glutenous baguette

so much garlic (I used 7 or 8 cloves)

Handful of shredded Parm Cheese

half a stick of butter

salt

pepper

hot pepper flakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Half the baguette.

2. Dice the garlic.

3. Melt the butter in a small pot. Do not let the butter boil, it should be at the point of just finishing melting. Take off the heat and add in the garlic and seasonings. 

4. Brush the butter mixture over the inside of the baguette. Put pieces of the baguette back together, wrap in tinfoil and put in the oven for 15 minutes. Turn oven off.

5. When done, sprinkle Parmesan cheese inside of your garlic bread, rewrap and stick in the cooling oven. (this is a particularly masochistic move on my part, as I am both gluten free and lactose intolerant) 

Serve while warm.

Syrinxx liked the snack, and so did the ducks.

Kimchi with Hal.

Recently, ALL of my ‘vanilla’ friends have been asking me subtly (and not so subtly so) to give bondage lessons, from drunken text requests for ‘tie up fun time’ to serious inquiries about certain knots. It is commonly known, or at least assumed, that if you are my friend, I have tied you up. If I haven’t, we haven’t been friends long enough. Hal is one of the exceptions. Having known her since I was flat chested (yes - there was a time), and knowing her interest, it was an anomaly that I hadn’t tied her.

Hal came to visit me in NY and spend a few days with me for my birthday, because, she is the best. She and I talked a lot about health, eating and living holistically. I decided that she would have to try my version of Kimchi before she left. Kimchi is a great source of probiotics, which are great for intestinal health. I stole this quote from the internet:

‘Kimchi contains the bacterium called lactobacillus kimchi as well as other lactic acid bacteria that are beneficial to our gastrointestinal as well as immune systems. A typical kimchi made with Chinese cabbage, carrot, garlic, ginger, onion and pepper is also high in vitamin A, C, B1, B2, beta-carotene, calcium and iron. Animal studies also suggested that kimchi may be effective against the avian flu virus.’

(http://theconsciouslife.com/top-probiotic-foods.htm) (news to me about the bird flu!)

I make Kimchi around once a week from the contents of my CSA, because what the fuck else do you do with all of that cabbage? The contents of my Kimchi change weekly, depending on what I have in my fridge. I do, however, manage to put kimchi on everything, from tacos to salads to eggs.

For Hal I made a sunny side up egg, on a gluten free bagel with Kimchi and siracha.

Rainbow Kimchi

Part 1:

Half a head of red cabbage
Half a head of nappa cabbage
1 cup salt

Part 2:

three inches of ginger
6 cloves of garlic,
any other hard veggies (turnips, radishes, kohlrabi) shredded
2 shredded carrots
¼ cup hot pepper flakes (or less if you are a baby)
⅓ cup fish sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Part 3:
1 cup water

1/2 cup sweet rice flour

1/4 cup sugar

Part 1: Chop the cabbage and soak in salted water for two hours. Drain.

Part 2: shred all veggies and mix in hot pepper flakes, fish sauce and salt and pepper

Part 3: Bring 1 cup of water, ½ cup sweet rice flour, and ¼ cup sugar to a simmer until thick and gooey, mix everything together.

Put the mixture into ball jars and seal tightly. Do not fill too high, or they will explode! Let stand at room temperature for 24-48 hours and then for 5 more days in the fridge. ENJOY for 2-3 weeks or until the stink goes from good stink too bad stink.

***I would highly recommend doing the intricate bondage before making the egg sandwich, as it is pretty gross cold.

Sweet Curry Lentil Soup with Mistress Mae

This is Mistress Mae. And this week I cooked her a sweet curry lentil soup. I met Mae when I was four and we traipsed in and out of the same schools until we were 18 and went to separate colleges. One of my first experiences with experimental cooking involved Mae, a microwave (we were not allowed to use the stove), brown sugar and carrots. The experience struck me so much, that when I mention Mae to my mom, she brought up the brown sugar microwaved carrots as well.

Mae and I didn’t talk much over the last five years, aside from the occasional facebook post. I remember Mae once commenting on a link I posted on facebook of a photography project I was working on documenting life at the BDSM Chateau where I was training. She wrote, “Where was I when you were becoming fucking AWESOME?” And I wanted to tell her that I had always been awesome, but that I was just shy. When we met up after college, after both finding ourselves living in Brooklyn, she asked what I was doing. I told her that I was working as a dominatrix. She replied with the epitome of nonchalance, “Oh, cool. I was working as a domme last year.”

Mae is a dominatrix AND a vegetarian. Which is something that I had not learned well enough until after cooking this meal for her, and showing her the blog post, to which her only comment was, “CHICKEN BROTH?” Oops. Consent was always something that I had thought about in regards to the dungeon, not the kitchen. As a dominatrix I have learned how to negotiate 'scenes' and I suppose that it is important to negotiate your wants and needs in all aspects of your life, and make your hard limits of ‘meat broth’ be known upfront.

Mae will tell you that you can use vegetable broth in this recipe, and I will tell you what my father told me, “never trust a vegetarian.”

Sweet Curry Lentil Soup

One medium sized sweet potato

Red Onion

3 handfuls chopped Kale

1 cup of green lentils

Chicken Broth / Bouillon

Curry Powder

Paprika

Dill

Bay leaf

Cumin

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

1. Cube the sweet potato, the onion and chop the kale. Heat oil in soup pot on medium, and cook the veggies until the onions are caramelized.

2. Pour chicken broth (or water and chicken bouillon) so it just covers the veggies and they just start to float. Add in 3 sprigs of dill and 2 bay leaves. Wait for liquid to start to boil and turn it to simmer. Simmer veggies for 30 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft.

3. Once soft, turn heat off and remove the bay leaves. Take an immersion blender (or food processor / blender) and blend until smooth. Add in 2-3 heaping tablespoons of curry powder, 1 teaspoon of cumin and a dash of smoked paprika. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Can be served with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream and garnished with a fresh sprig of dill.