mini-mania!

have you ever seen fresh baby corn before?

still in the husk. that's something new for me. i've never eaten baby corn that i can recall - it kind of creeps me out. maybe i'll get some next week and take the plunge. very little cooking went on last night, and no blogging, because of a painful dose of capsaicin + nearly healed poison ivy + poor treatment plan. i swear, i'm not a wuss. a little sting doesn't bother me; this was a prolonged, searing burn we're talking about. my pain is your gain. here's what i learned from the whole situation: 1. just because you've never had a bad reaction to a jalapeno before doesn't mean there isn't a nasty pepper out there with your name on it. any individual member of a species of pepper can vary on the scoville scale. don't get cocky! 2. when your poison ivy is almost healed that doesn't mean it's...you know...completely healed. 3. yes, cool water takes away the burn. stay away from the water! the oils can/will spread! resist the momentary relief! 4. either rubbing alcohol or milk works. i'm not sure which, because i poured rubbing alcohol all over my hands, then a few minutes later, soaked them in milk. after maybe half an hour, all was back to normal. baking soda didn't help. 5. it's nice to have a husband who will go get falafel when you're temporarily out of commission. now the question is: how to prevent this in the future? i'm not going to go buy throwaway plastic gloves. any ideas for reusable hand protection?