I'm burning up

I would burn down my house if only Denis Leary would come rescue me! The word "hot" is definitely overused, but let's face it: firemen deserve the term! On Rescue Me, the scorching Denis Leary plays Tommy Gavin, an FDNY firefighter struggling to cope with the aftermath of 9-11. He and the rest of the guys at 62 Truck are doing the best they can to come to grips with the tragedy, which means they're suppressing their emotions and thoughts by drinking to excess, talking to ghosts, popping pills, brawling, destroying their families, and getting laid whenever they can. What, you thought they would be noble? As they often say on the show, fuck that!

Rescue Me is one of the best shows on TV. The fifth season begins spring 2009. I watched the previous 4 seasons on DVD in a 2-week binge. To tide one over, there are 10 minisodes available on crackle.com. I'm going through complete withdrawal, having watched every episode available, and all extant video clips in the known universe. God, that Denis Leary is entrancing...mmmmm....

Going green when you're seeing red

As our corn casseroles baked side by side, Bluestem and I drank coffee in her lovely solarium and chatted about menstruation. Yes, everything was cast in a pink glow and in soft focus, and we both wore long flowing dresses and floppy garden hats...

My male readers, please bear with me, and maybe you'll learn something about your dear sisters. We are indeed stronger than you.

There are some things about having my period that really irk me. #1 is having to spend somewhere around $6--$7 for a box of pads, and I go through a box each period, now that I've turned 40 and my female parts are rioting. Pads are wasteful; I don't even want to think about the landfill I contribute to each month. I am not the kind of person who enjoys destroying the environment, but I also want to get through my period with relative comfort and ease, and by that I mean, I don't want to kill anybody. I've thought about using reusable pads, but the thought of washing them over and over doesn't appeal to me. So I continued to buy box after box of Stayfree, literally bleeding my money away.

Then Bluestem told me about the Diva Cup, which is a silicone cup that you insert in your vaginal canal that catches your menstrual flow. In other words, it's a little plastic thingie you cram into your cooch which catches all that icky blood flowing out. It's reusable, it's easy to use (after you get used to it) and it's a green alternative for the red time of the month! I am dying to use it! I ordered one from South Coast Shopping. It was $22.34 including shipping and handling, so I will have recovered the cost in just three menstrual cycles. I can't wait to try it! I will of course blog all about it!

Give thanks for this corn casserole!

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without this corn casserole recipe. My mom started making it many years ago, and we have to have it at Thanksgiving and Christmas or else. One year for some reason we forgot to make it at Christmas, and that was the year we all started drinking heavily and badmouthing one another and it took a double batch of corn casserole the next year to repair our broken family relationships.

Ok, not really. But it is awfully darn good, and I wouldn't be surprised if this corn casserole won a Nobel Peace Prize someday. Here's the recipe:

1/4 C. butter (half a stick)
1/4 C. finely-chopped onion
1/4 C. chopped celery
1/4 C. chopped bell pepper (different colors are pretty!)
2 Tbsp. finely-chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1 C. milk
1 15 oz box of frozen corn
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray an 8x8 baking dish or medium casserole dish. In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add onions, celery, bell pepper, and parsley. Cook until onions are soft. Add paprika and salt. Stir in flour, and keep stirring until bubbly. Slowly add milk, constantly stirring. Bring to a boil. Add corn, stirring constantly. Take off heat and fold in eggs. When thoroughly mixed, pour into prepared baking dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. You may want to undercook if you're planning on reheating it the next day; then it won't be dry. This can be made ahead of time for holidays and potlucks. Double this recipe for double the deliciousness! If you double it, don't increase the amount of salt. Double everything else.

I made a double batch of corn casserole with my dear friend Bluestem, quite the venerable blogger herself. This is the second year we've gotten together to make our Thanksgiving side dishes. We portioned out the corn casserole and baked them together but in two separate dishes, and that worked out beautifully! However, when we set them on the stovetop to cool, one of the dishes was still boiling and bubbling, because we forgot to turn off the element! We were wondering what the hell was going on, and when we discovered the element was turned on, we were shocked! My friend has a new stove and it's hard to remember how to turn it off. Ooops...

As the casserole baked, we sat in her lovely sunroom, drank coffee, and chatted intimately about menstruation. That post coming right up...