Ventura County Weekend : TIDBITS : Luring Readers With Recipes for Romance : Ventura’s Gail Hobbs gets to the heart of the matter in her monthly newsletter called The Passionate Gourmet.

Everyone knows the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. But what to put in that stomach is up for debate.

Ventura’s Gail Hobbs, however, is willing to offer some suggestions.

In her new eight-page monthly newsletter, The Passionate Gourmet, the author offers up recipes for romance, with ideas on where and how to have a romantic interlude, and what food to serve for the occasion--to entice both the man and the woman.

“It gives easy-to-make recipes for snacks and gourmet meals, and it gives couples ideas on how to build a little more romance into their lives,” said Hobbs. She said the idea for the culinary romance guide stemmed from her own experiences.

“After we had our 3 1/2-year-old daughter, Katie, my husband and I realized how hard it was to get out and have a romantic life,” she said. “So instead of getting dressed up and going out to dinner, we started preparing food at home, everything from snacks to formal meals.”

Among the recipes featured in the November edition of The Passionate Gourmet are those for Bubbly Beer Bread, Apple-Walnut Stuffing (for the Thanksgiving turkey), Hot and Sweet Cran-Apple Crumble a la Mode, and a Sweet Potato Dream.

Each newsletter includes Don Juan’s Corner (romance and food from a man’s perspective), a guide to romantic getaways by travel writer Bob Carter, and a health and fitness column. Future editions will also include cookbook reviews. For a free copy, call 642-6346.

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So everyone’s going out to buy a frozen turkey tomorrow, right?

It may not seem like the thing to do, a day after gorging yourself on the Thanksgiving fowl. But Jim Mangis, executive director of Food Share Inc., a countywide food bank, thinks Friday would be the ideal day to hit the poultry section of the neighborhood grocery store.

“A lot of places will have specials on turkeys right after Thanksgiving, and people can get one for next to nothing when they shop for groceries,” he said. “We could use several hundred turkeys.”

Mangis said a turkey drive conducted by Food Share that was to have raised 1,000 frozen turkeys by today, netted only several hundred birds. The turkeys were to have been distributed not just for Thanksgiving, but for Christmas and throughout the winter months.

“We had expected to have a lot left over, but we will only be squeaking through Thanksgiving,” he said. “We won’t have any left for the rest of the holidays.”

Each month throughout the year, Food Share serves about 100,000 county residents in need of food. That number jumps at least 15% during the holiday season, said Mangis. Because of the increased need, he said, donations of food need not stop at turkeys.

“We also really could use non-perishable dried and packaged goods, like rice, canned vegetables, canned meats. Things like baby formula are also helpful,” he said. “Obviously people are hungry year-round, but during the holidays I think it’s especially painful.”

Mangis said individuals or businesses planning banquets or holiday parties may contact Food Share to pick up leftovers. Cash donations, which Food Share would use to purchase food, are also welcome.

Call 983-7100 for more information, or bring donations by the Food Share warehouse, 4156 Southbank Road, Oxnard. Hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Leo Smith is a regular contributor to Ventura County Weekend.