A real post, since that last one was more like a note-to-self...

My mood has much improved from yesterday. The writing is still blocked like a mofo, but that can always be improved with drugs.


I have a tooth ache.


Like OW.


:(


I also have no dental insurance, and as a result of this I have not been to the dentist since September 2008. That was the year Mum bought me a dental check-up for my birthday. ("Wow, gee whiz, THANKS A LOT MUMMY." >:0). Mum's dentist (we'll call him Dr. K) is a sadist. But he gives me a discount on his dental services, something that no other dentist will do for the likes of poor penniless me. And also, the prospect of finding another dentist creates a level of anxiety akin to how I would feel if I found out I had intestinal parasites. So I'll stick with Dr. K, even if he could use some improvements in certain areas:

- Like not cancelling my appointment at the last minute (literally - I have received calls from his office half an hour before I was scheduled to be there) so he can go play golf because it's such a nice bloody day that he feels like taking off early.

- Some people do not like dogs. Some people especially do not like very small dogs, so I would really appreciate it if he would not throw his yappy, snappy Bichon-Frise in my lap whilst my mouth is too full of dental instruments to protest. I know Dr K loves his lap dogs (God knows I've seen him carrying them around his office enough times), but I really don't want to admire them or play with them. Really.

- Novocain is a wonderful thing. It would be nice if Dr K could use it next time he plans on yanking one of my teeth out without so much as a friendly warning.

- Radiation causes leukemia. For this reason, it is probably unwise to take 6 x-rays in one visit just because he screwed up the first bunch.

- Dr K's new flat screen tv's are pretty cool, but I wish he wouldn't offer me the remote and then take it away and change the channel (to watch that agent of Satan, Rachel Ray, of all people) just because he doesn't want to watch Law & Order re-runs.

- I can not provide detailed answers about my job/mother/car problems when my mouth is full of dental tools.

- Dr K should be able to judge, from the look on my face when he hands me the bill, that I can not afford a $500 whitening treatment.

- Stop staring at my tits.

Recipe time!

I found this thing called Brussels Sprout Fricassee in New York magazine last year, and I improved it. It was tested on a 5-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy, and both of them ate quite a bit of it. It's a nice recipe for the holidays, I think. You can't go wrong adding bacon to stuff. You can of course make it vegetarian/vegan friendly by omitting the bacon and using a non-butter spread to cook the onions. So here's my version.

You will need:

- Brussels sprouts (about 2 containers)

- Butternut squash (about 3 1/2 cups, or half of a large one)

- broth (2 cans, vegetable or chicken)

- 1/3 cup minced onion

- 1/2 tbsp butter

- salt, pepper, and pumpkin pie spice

- bacon bits (1 to 2 tbsp)

- chopped pecans (1 ounce)

To make it:

- Chop the butternut squash into little cubes, about half an inch thick.

- In a big pan, bring one can of the broth to a simmer, and add the squash cubes. Keep it covered, and stir it every few minutes. You should simmer it for about 15 minutes.

- To prep the Brussels sprouts, cut the stems off the bottom and then chop each sprout in half, longways.

- In a separate saucepan, saute the minced onion in the 1/2 tbsp of butter. Once the onion is a transparent golden colour, add the other can of broth and bring it to a simmer. Then add the sprouts. Stir it occasionally, and cook them in the broth for five minutes.

- After five minutes, add the bacon bits to the sprouts, as well as a pinch of pumpkin pie spice. Simmer for another five minutes, or until the sprouts are cooked but still crunchy.

- Once the butternut squash is tender (after the 15 mins), turn the heat up and stir it a lot to burn off some of the excess broth. 

- After the sprouts are cooked, add them to the pan with the squash.

- Stir it up for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once it's done, you can stir in the chopped pecans, or sprinkle them on the top when it's ready to serve.

I did mine with only one container of sprouts, 1/2 ounce of pecans, and 1 can of broth (because SOMEONE [ahemLittleSisahem] used the other one), so at the end it came to about 633 cals for the entire thing.