I’d like to introduce you to a new food blogging friend, the beautiful Nusrat Azim from Eye of the Beholder.  We’ve been commenting back and forth for a while and recently she added a post to her blog about shrimp and spinach.   Now normally those two wouldn’t get my curiosity juices flowing but she’d commented on my blog so I returned the favor.  I’m so glad I did.

Nusrat is a storyteller and photographer and a wonderful cook to boot.  In this post she tells us about how she made the 18-hour trek to Melbourne, Australia to go to university.  Lots of people go to university in another country – my stepson went to England – but Nusrat – at 17 and against her mother’s wishes, was going to Australia to homestay with a man she thought was a “smelly 60-year-old sailor dude.”  Doesn’t that leave an image in your mind?

This woman has guts.  A double serving.

Turns out the sailor dude didn’t smell of anything but the ocean, was kind to her and he taught her many life lessons.  You should read her Symphony of Shrimp and Spinach post – I think you’ll like it as much as I did.

She’s married now and lives in Dallas, Texas where she works as an assistant creative director at a magazine.  I asked Nusrat if she’d like to do a guest post on Orgasmic Chef because I think every one of her recipes and photos are orgasmic.  Here’s her post.

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Thanks, Maureen, I’m rather new to food blogging and I look forward to making many new friends.

There is so much sweetness, happiness, beauty and bliss in an inch-long, tiny, cute, juicy fruit! Pop one in your mouth, let it explode in your throat and you’ll feel an unbelievable amount of glee traveling down to your tummy!

My yearning for strawberries is scandalous. Eating Strawberries releases mood-boosting, stress-reducing something from my heart and soul that is shivering…stimulating…relaxing…intoxicating. Pure pleasure. Orgasmic? Oh YES !

For example:

Forget subtlety and manners ! It’s so worth licking in public!

Popsicles made out of fresh strawberry chunks taste so earth-shatteringly good that the memory of that taste lasts for a lifetime! The pleasant chilliness instantly warms up your heart and has this amazing power to bring your shattered, tired self back to life. And the somewhat tart aftertaste will leave your tongue comfortably numb.

Feeling as dry as the Sahara? – Well, that calls for a Strawberry-pops date-night.

* Thinly slice strawberries along with Kiwis. Add whole blueberries, if that makes you extra happy.
* Place chunks gently into pops molds.
* Now pour sugar/honey infused water. Add a drop of rose-water, for a little exotic kick.
* Freeze it for about an hour. When the water is almost frozen, stick the pops-sticks in the molds.

* Freeze over night, serve and smile.

There’s something in my blood that draws me madly to Strawberry drink. The sight of this gorgeous, glittering, fragrant, vibrant, vivacious drink leaves me speechless. Light, crisp, soothing liquid renders me helpless.  A sweet surrender indeed. Strawberry is a love drug. Totally.

*Blend a handful of fresh strawberries, water, sugar/honey and 1 lemon juice.

*Drain. Add more water, sugar, lemon juice if needed. Serve.

A breakfast doesn’t get any healthier, prettier. Gorgeous Strawberries and scattered baby Spinach. You can make it fancier by tossing some toasted almonds and your choice sauce/dressing/vinaigrette.

It’s always a good idea to let Strawberries be your fruit consumption. These sexy little thangs are very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Folate and Potassium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C and Manganese. There’s a bummer though; a single serving contains 12 grams of carbohydrates. This amount will likely not make your blood sugar levels spike! A little sugar straight from Mother Nature wouldn’t harm your body, mind and soul, would it?

-Nusrat Azim

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Thanks, Nusrat, for a lovely guest post.   In Queensland where I live it’s officially strawberry season and all the pick-your-own farms are waiting for me to bend over and pick til my heart’s content so my belly will be full of these wonderful berries.  Folks, visit Eye of the Beholder and get to know Nusrat.  She’s delightful.  Hopefully she’ll get a Facebook fan page, Twitter account, Pinterest account and Google+ account soon so we can follow her all over.