Monthly Archives: February 2001

First Bondage: The Story of Ellen

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By Lauri Jean Crowe

She is a woman. She is a faithful wife of seven years. She is a mother. She practices attachment parenting with her infant. She trusts her husband. She can’t talk about what she wants in bed. She’s looked at bondage sites on the internet – over her husband’s shoulder. She is thirty years old. She has a 7 year itch. She likes getting bound. She could be your neighbor. She tells the-vu what she cannot bring herself to say to even her closest friends. She is Ellen. Here is a look at Ellen, unbound:

LJC: When did you first begin experimenting with bondage?

ELLEN: This past year. I think it is part 7 year itch and part just an effort to get my husband more interested in sex. I have a high sex drive and he has not been able to keep up lately. He has a job which really unmans him, exhausts him (80 hour weeks for the last 3 years, and just saps his will.

So, you suggested bondage to help titilate him and get him revved up after those 80 hour weeks?

A while back, I found him looking at bondage sites on the internet. It seemed to excite him and with much chagrin, I can admit, that it piqued my interest a bit. It was an act of courage to tell him that we could try it. I pondered it a long time. What if I did not like it and he did? If he wanted to do it all the time and I didn’t? There were a hundred other “what-ifs” mostly trust issues.

Recognizing all those “what-ifs” I’m assuming you’ve had experience with bondage before?

I had a boyfriend in college who was really into the idea of bondage and domination, but I was too timid (in my younger days) to try it. He pressured me and the relationship broke up. I did not want to risk that. My husband is my primary relationship… still the love of my life after seven years. The stakes were very high.

So, your first real bondage experience was with your husband of 7 years. What sort of bondage have you two experimented with?

He’s into ropes and scarves. I own a pile of silk scarves (have for years for fashion purposes). He is an avid sailor and has studied knot tying (for sailing and general interest). He has done a fair amount of research into Japanese art bindings. We do try to use soft rope because otherwise it leaves marks.

So, you’re the one whose being bound all the time?

I keep promising him that I am going to tie him up some day, but I have not gotten around to it yet. I have yet to figure out what one can do to a man who is tied up that one cannot do to a man who is not tied up. In some ways, I don’t understand what the attraction for tying someone up is.

But you do understand what the attraction of being bound is, don’t you?

I am generally not able to communicate what I want in bed. I just
cannot talk about it. I can’t say the words. I think that, in a way, bondage is freeing for me. I don’t have to do anything, I can just lay back and take it.

No, you don’t have to do anything when you’re bound, but is there anything about you experiences with bondage that make you uncomfortable?

I guess most of what we do is kind of tame. We have played with the pain angle, mainly biting and I admit, it does have its attractions, but the bruises are difficult to explain to my five year old, as are the ropes in the bedroom.

Some of the bondage sites I’ve seen on the internet are very explicit and some are even violent. Are you ever worried that your husband will get too carried away?

(grinning wickedly) I am not afraid. This is my husband, I know he’d never hurt me, well, not unless I want him to. It is a profound expression of our trust for one another. I generally imagine him doing more eclectic things than  he actually does… I cannot say that I actually want him to do those things, though. Fantasy is good… an integral part of the sex act.

How integral is bondage to your regular sex life? Is there a facet of bondage that is regularly practiced in your bedroom?

Some mild bondage is. He will often hold my wrist down or behind me when we have sex. Sometimes I hold his shoulders down, or bite.

How often do you practice more intense sexual bondage with scarves and ropes?

About once a month for the time consuming stuff. We do attachment parenting and have an infant who shares the family bed, so we can’t have fun until she’s asleep. Between the baby and my husband’s heavy work schedule, we don’t have sex much anyway.

Is sex with bondage more orgasmic for you that sex without bondage?

No… not really. It is actually a bit less orgasmic for me. He does not know how to stimulate my body as well as I do… but our love making is a work in progress. We teach each other, we learn from each other.

What advice do you have for other women who are just starting out in the erotic play of sexual bondage?

For a woman, trust is very important. This is not something most women can do with someone that they do not trust. Don’t do anything that makes you really uncomfortable, but be willing to push your limits a little.

Speaking of limits, do you think being submissive in bed puts you at a disadvantage in the relationship?

I tend to be a very dominant sort of personality. I run the kids, the  finance and the house. I have to. He is a sailor and that means he is away. I must be independent. I must be strong. He has never diminished me as a person for being what I need to be, but this gives him an overt way of being the stronger, more dominant one. It’s balance.

So, you would say that bondage has enhanced your relationship with your husband, then?

Though I am the one being tied up, the act binds us together. Men often define themselves by their sexual prowess. We had several years after the birth of my first where I was disinterested. If I did not want him, it was a blow to his self esteem and conversely, if I do want him and I am willing to go to lengths to interest him, it means that he is worthwhile as a man. While I don’t think he thinks in these terms, I can see the change in him. He is less beaten down from work and more the man I fell in love with.

Thanks to Ellen for sharing this very personal look at her experiences with sexual bondage in the security of a stable, seven year relationship with her husband. Hopefully it will help the readers of The-Vu see that erotic bondage is not just a means of control, domination and power, but that it can be an expressive gateway for love. Maybe it will inspire a few of you to invest in some silk scarves and rope :)

(c) December 2000, Lauri Jean Crowe

Lauri Jean Crowe is a freelance writer known for such diverse topics as dreams, sexuality, gardening, health and parenting. She is a freelance writer, artist and designer living in Michigan, USA.

Erotic Play: Biting for Love

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By Lauri Jean Crowe

Teeth gnash. Teeth bite. Teeth mash. Teeth can titillate. The average mature adult has thirty-two of these shining enamel pearls in their moist mouths. I have twenty-four – one for every hour of the day. You see, my jaw just wasn’t big enough to hold them all so I had eight removed as a child. As an adult I value the twenty-four I have; they allow me to masticate and take in all the pleasures of eating, tasting, chewing, and sex. Yes, sex.

There is something utterly primal about being bitten. If it’s a dog or a wolf it can be frightening, terrifying. Even more so when it is a human being with all of societies taboos against cannibalism. When you think of teeth you think of fangs; teeth equal vampires, monsters, nightmares, wild beasts. Teeth are the things which make you close the doors and windows tight at night. But what about the door to the bedroom? What if that sheep in wolf’s clothing suddenly takes a nip at your nipple? Erotic biting can bring all those terrors into your mind and turn them into unimaginable pleasures. That is, unless you’ve already been bitten. Then you can not only imagine, but deliciously recall those moments of intense stimulation.

I remember the first time I was bitten. It was in the early days of my blooming sexuality. I was nineteen and a lover leaned in and bit my nipple at the point of orgasm. It was intense. My first thought was outrage, my next was “ahhhhhhh”, that followed with “I think I’d like more of that”. Unfortunately that lover left almost as quickly as the sensation of that first bite and it wasn’t until I met my husband that biting was again a factor of lovemaking.

He asked permission. I acquiesced. It was an exploration into a realm of intense erotic stimulation I didn’t even know existed except for that one quick bite years prior. He began at the nape of my neck, a quick nip followed by a tongue trailing down my vertebra. Then another bite just along the center of the spine. Then another, down a bit further, always followed by that tongue leading the way to the next delicious bite. When he got to the small of my back, I had climaxed twice already without any form of penetration. That first time had me screaming for more, and screaming with intense pleasure. He went slowly, gently, with soft gentle nips and twists of the tongue.

Since then, much of my body has been privy to his bite. There’s no region I have barred, but there is always a safety net. There is always a point where I can say no. It has been rare that I have wanted to. Intense stimulation is just that, and those of us who enjoy it know that biting can be a passionate discourse into erotica. For those who are just beginning the journey into intense stimulation and erotic biting, you should be aware that certain guidelines need to be set:

1. Have a safety word. Make this word something that you wouldn’t  normally say during sex. Choose the latin name of a flower (gypsophalia) or an everyday object (stove). If the biting becomes more pain that pleasure, or simply too intense you have a safeguard, can scream the word and the biting stops then and there.

2. Know your partner well. Make sure he or she will abide by the safety word. If not, you can be in danger of physical harm. Erotic biting is not something to engage in with a random you picked up at the bar. It entails trust and trust can only be garnered in a more intimate, regular relationship.

3. Go slow. Biting can be dangerous. You should not have open wounds after a session of this form of erotic play, however you may have slight red discolorations which will fade or even bruises depending on how ardent your bitemate is.

4. Recognize that biters usually don’t like to be bitten. Biting back can be a complete buzz kill. Biting is more often than not about control, it is not out and out combat with the teeth.

5. Have a first aid kit on hand with some triple antibiotic and Band Aids. In case your lover gets a bit too vicious, or accidentally breaks the skin in the midst of sexual fervor you should immediately wash the area, apply triple antibiotic and a bandage so that infection doesn’t set it. A human bite can be just as, or even more deadly as one from an animal such as a dog.

On an end note, erotic biting may seem like a safe sex alternative, however the mouth harbors many germs. If you engage in genital biting you run the same risks of STD and HIV infection as if you were penetrated. The mouth often has small tears in the gums or tongue which can easily transmit not only bacteria, but blood, regardless of if you are the recipient of a wound from erotic biting. Be wary, be careful and if you do have your lover bite your clitoris or penis or other sensitive areas such as the nipples be sure that you know your lover’s communicable status which is always a good idea in any time of relationship but especially in those of intense stimulation where control is often a factor. It may be your lovers idea to control the spread of his own disease while getting off on biting you. Dangers exist in any sexual situation. Take precautions. That said, teeth gnash. Teeth bite. Teeth mash. Teeth can titillate. Let them!

Lauri Jean Crowe is a freelance writer known for such diverse topics as dreams, sexuality, gardening, health and parenting. She is a freelance writer, artist and designer living in Michigan, USA.

Losing My Cherry

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By Lauri Jean Crowe

Losing your cherry. This isn’t a matter of it falling off the spoon of your ice cream sundae, it’s about losing your virginity. It’s about the first time you have penetrative sex. It’s about being a teenager or a young adult. It’s about being scared and fascinated and for me it was about curiosity and boredom. I was a late bloomer. Although most of my friends were having sex from middle school on, some of those accompanied by teen pregnancies, I didn’t even think about boys, or girls.

In my first year of college I didn’t think much about sex either. But it apparently thought about me a lot, whispering in the minds of my dorm mates and men at the clubs where I danced with my friends. Finally, at nineteen I decided to “do it”. I’m not sure why, I was just kind of bored and curious – two reasons which aren’t especially good for having sex. I also wanted to see what all the hype was about, and have it over with. The big deal of virginity suddenly became a burden and I wanted it over with. But, having no steady relationship I had no idea how to go about it. I was naive, half the time I didn’t even know that men were interested in me until jealous girlfriends would approach me full claws ready for a fight.

However, one Thursday night I simply had sex. I was at the bar with some of my friends, most of whom were male. Bonz, our resident stoner was there, and Craig the guy who played drums and lived in my dorm, Rick who I played gin rummy with when I was too drunk to care that I didn’t know how, Killer who was so named because he was such a meek and wimpy fellow, and then there was Dave. Dave was the new guy, one of Bonz friends from his fraternity and who liked to dance as much as I did. We had been drinking quarter beers for almost two hours and INXS came on playing “What You Need”. Cheesy as that song was, Dave and I hobbled out on the dance floor and danced to it and suddenly he pulled me down and kissed me. Now, when I say pulled me down I mean literally to the floor because I’ almost six foot two and he was maybe five foot six on tippy toe. Still, it felt good.

We didn’t finish the dance but soon went home because they cut off the quarter beer and we were buzzed enough as it was. In the car, Dave kept flirting with me, pawing at me and when he ended up getting out with Craig and I we just ended up in my room on the daybed kissing. Next thing you know, clothes are on the floor and I realize that my roommate Wendy who’s been watching TV had decided to go into the other room. Poor Wendy, the girl who had so much facial hair she actually had a beard had to be privy to my drunken first lust.

Sex was awkward. He was very short and I was very tall and we were both drunk. Mainly I recall flailing around a lot, laughing and kissing. We at some point ended up in the bathroom because my other roommate Ronda had come back from the bar and couldn’t locate her keys. We let her in and locked ourselves in the bathroom where we somehow managed actual penetration up against the bathroom sink. From that point it was a few thrusts and it was over in seeming minutes although my roommates later told me we made quite a racket for over an hour. It was unprotected sex. When we were finished we got dressed, he gave me his number, promised to call and he left. I went across the hall to play cards with some friends and in the middle of an excellent had of Euchre announced that I had just had sex for the first time.

There were drunk too and thought this was incredibly funny. We laughed about it and I voiced that it was no big deal, and was I missing something because it hadn’t seemed that great although it felt good enough. This brought more laughter. Later all of us dormies were out at a party and I saw Dave. He wondered why I was avoiding him and hadn’t answered his calls. I told him it just wasn’t that great for me. He was stunned and kept asking people for months if I was pregnant or something, because he just couldn’t get why I wasn’t calling him back.

I hope that others out there have had better first experiences with sex and didn’t just do it because they were bored. I hope there still exists the quaint couple who get to be each others first partners and experience the mysteries of sex through sober, loving eyes. For me, it was no big deal which I suppose in some ways worked in my favor. I didn’t become the promiscuous dorm girl that many of my friends did doing everyone in the dorm. I actually held off having sex for almost another year until I was in a loving relationship and that’s when I found what I truly enjoy about sex which is the partnership of the act.

Looking back I don’t regret that first time, but I do wish I had been smarter. I was lucky. I came away from it unscathed, with no sexually transmissible disease; no pregnancy, no after effects except a great game of Euchre which wasn’t uncommon for me anyhow. Others out there aren’t so lucky. If you’re thinking about having sex for the first time, think hard, don’t just think about his hardness or her softness. Think with your mind, not your loins. Sex does have consequences and your first time will no doubt place a certain image of sex in your mind which will hold through in your other relationships. Be careful. Be aware. Be sober. But, most of all don’t give that cherry to the first spoon that comes along ready to taste your forbidden fruits.

Lauri Jean Crowe is a freelance writer known for such diverse topics as dreams, sexuality, gardening, health and parenting. She is a freelance writer, artist and designer living in Michigan, USA.

Italians invade U.S. – Scooters are back!

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By Jeffrey the Barak

In September 2000, in the United Kingdom, there was a nationwide fuel shortage. The roads fell silent as cars and trucks sat around with their engines in hibernation.

However, the British public were already used to gasoline which cost as much as wine, so thousands of them were able to continue upon their merry way astride their motor scooters. Every tree, parking meter and light pole in London seemed to have a scooter chained to it, and the lanes were abuzz with cute little designer items from not only Italy, but also Spain, Taiwan, China, Korea, France, Japan and India.

European Scooter Boys

European Scooter Boys

Motor scooters exist only in fiction for many Americans. Long distances, cheap fuel, and air pollution laws that preclude the use of two-stroke fuel mixtures have rendered them almost permanently into the history books. But now as the century begins in 2001, the scooters are back.

They never completely left. When the two-stroke ban kicked in, the cool scooters (the Vespas) went away and all that was left were the four-stroke, plastic Hondas and Yamahas. Short on style and rather un-cool, they didn’t sell in sufficient quantities to make their presence felt. The re-introduced Italian Vespa line up, however includes a 50cc two-stroke that actually passed the pollution test and is legal in California.

Thanks to Piaggio, the parent company of Vespa, Americans can again buy scooters that are cool and un-embarrassing to be seen upon. It’s a retro thing. The only stumbling block to a takeover of the streets is the difficulty of obtaining a motorcycle license. In the United Kingdom, a car license lets you ride a 50cc scooter. In the U.S. you have to go and take a test. And that’s a real hassle for Americans who are used to impulsively buying a vehicle such as a car, and legally driving it off the lot.
On the last Saturday of 2000, the-vu visited Vespa of California Inc., a brand new, beautifully designed showroom in Sherman Oaks (Los Angeles) and talked to helpful sales associate Eddie Alcazar, himself an owner of several scooters including a 1954 Model D Lambretta, a 1967 SX200 and an array of 1978-79 P200 Vespas. He’s owned Vespas from the 50s, 60s and 70s, and has ridden, restored and lived with scooters for eleven years. His first scooter was a light blue 1964 Vespa 90 which he bought at a garage sale for $40 in the late Eighties.


Eddie at Vespa of California

Regarding that two-stroke issue, Eddie explained that California Emission Laws banned the selling of new two-stroke vehicles in the early eighties, and since all the Vespas were two-strokes, Vespa withdrew from U.S. soil. Around 1997 the off-road bikes that burned two-stroke were also banned, outside of racing on a track.

In the new Vespa model line up, the ET4 has a 150cc four-stroke motor, and the ET2 has a 50cc two-stroke motor, which has been retrofitted for the American market to meet American emission standards. Today the scooter, tomorrow the leaf blower?

The two Vespa scooters look identical. Only the badges look different. They are displayed in a showroom that has some serious design behind it. Feeling more like a clothing store than a vehicle dealership, Vespa of California displays and sells Vespas in all colors, clothing, retro-helmets and bags, purses and accessories that would not look out of place on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The showroom has green glass displays that would look respectable in a museum of art and they make espresso and cappuccino for the customers.

2001 Vespa facia

The owner of the Vespa boutique has a collection of bubble-cars and micro-cars and there is a service facility behind the showroom. The new Vespas sell at just under $3,000 for the ET2 and just under $4,000 for the ET4.

In the corner of the showroom is a 1961 Vespa. How do the new Vespas compare to the old? Eddie explains that the main difference is the twist-and-go automatic transmission on the new scooters. While these are easier to ride, only the old models with the clutches allow you to pop a wheelie, and some riders miss that. Wheelie poppers now have to purchase motorcycles. The disk brakes on the new scooters make stopping a much more efficient enterprise, however, so riders can pop a stoppie.


1961 Vespa at home with the 2001 models
What about fuel economy? The 150cc ET4 gets around 55MPG on 92 octane and the 50cc ET2 gets around 80MPG on a mix of 92 octane and two-stroke oil. The frame and the body are stainless steel, not plastic. Steel frames give stability. Eddie says certain colors; such as light blue sell so fast they can’t keep them on the sales floor. He wouldn’t quote an actual figure, but apparently scooter starved Americans are attempting to make up for the temporary absence of scooters on the streets. These things are flying out the door and into the San Fernando Valley.
Outside of Harley Davidsons and Indians, the Vespas are set to become the most accessorized two-wheelers in the U.S. The boutique is full of desirable Vespa accessories. Most impressive are the rigid backpacks, which also provide protection for the spine in the event of an accident. As Eddie shows us the range of body contoured shoulder bags, Vespa mechanic Robert with logo emblazoned overalls emerges from the back of the store. He is not oily, but infuses the essence of racing team into the boutique.

As the photographs for this article are taken a teenage couple scoot onto the sidewalk outside on a seventies Vespa. They look like they’re right out of an Italian movie. Inside the store we meet Jim Cavanaugh and his wife Ronnie, who are looking to buy a pair of Vespas to ride around the Valley on. They are replacing two ugly old Honda 50s. Yesterday they looked at new Hondas and today they are buying two Vespas. It’s the quality and the general beauty that persuaded them. They are lingering over the decision of color. Two red ones or one red and one ivory?

Readers hold on to your wallets however. There are a few things you need to know before you decide to be a motor scooter rider. Firstly, are you prepared to abandon the freeway system and take surface streets everywhere? The 150cc Vespa is freeway legal, but do you really want to be at full throttle with a Ford Excursion as big as an elephant five feet from the back of your head on the interstate?

If you want to be safe on the freeways, you need a real motorcycle capable of 90MPH with a twist of the wrist. It’s the speed and acceleration that can save you in an emergency. Scooters are for surface streets. Designed originally for the narrow and ancient roads in Italian towns, they are safe and comfortable on the boulevards of America, zooming from one red light or stop sign to the next and weaving through the rush hour traffic. The only other safety consideration is wheel diameter. Motorcycles have bigger wheels that can take the occasional pothole without too much trauma, but you have to aim your small-wheeled Vespa for the smoother parts of the street to avoid any explosive losses of control.

We pose retro sales associate Amy for one last shot and then leave in our car, considering if we can get away with buying some Vespas for fun. If a million Brits can do it in their lousy weather, what are we Southern Californians waiting for?

More Vespa boutiques are planned in San Francisco, Miami, Chicago and Houston.

The Vespa web site is at: http://www.piaggiousa.com/

For Love Or Money

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By Leda Meredith

“If you care so much about the money, you must not care about your art.”

That astonishing statement was made by the executive director of a dance company with whom I was about to embark on a six week tour. It was in response to a question I’d asked about when we would be paid while we were on the road. I was trying to take care of the practical details such as how to cover my rent and bills while I was traveling. The last thing I was expecting was an attack on my motivation as an artist!

I wish I could say that this director’s statement was a bizarre exception to the prevalent attitude toward dancers and money, but experience tells me otherwise. The artist-starving-for-their-art myth has lodged in the subconscious of dancers and non-dancers alike.

The fact is that dancers are often willing to work for free, or for less than a living wage, simply because they are desperate for a chance to perform. The logic is that a dancer’s career is short, and one must fill it with as many dances as possible. “There are more dancers than there are jobs” is a common observation.

Imagine that you are going to hire someone whose job requires years of intense and specialized training before they begin to work in their field. Now imagine that this person has, in addition to that training, years of professional experience and comes highly recommended. What would you expect to pay?

Would you pay an architect less because they happened to love designing buildings?

Within the dance world, one often hears that there is a lack of funding for the arts. Is there? Paintings sell for millions of dollars, Broadway shows sell at $60 a ticket, and more than a few film actors will be receiving residual payments for their performances for years to come. And let’s not forget that the ubiquitous Nutcracker continues to support dance companies whose other, perhaps more interesting, concerts lose money.

I’ve also heard that the reason funding for dance continues to dwindle is because dance doesn’t provide an “essential” such as food, shelter, or military defense. I know for a fact that people are willing to spend money on “non-essentials”. A designer dress can sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars. An interior decorator can charge more per hour than any dancer would dream of asking. And I would argue that dance has the potential to provide something profoundly essential – if you value your heart and spirit, two parts of a human being that are rarely factored into today’s economics.

I confess that I’ve postponed writing this article for many weeks because I don’t have any immediate solutions to offer to these issues. But sometimes it is helpful simply to begin raising the questions.

Three things seem clear to me: dancers need to begin valuing their work, we need audiences that are moved and delighted by dance, and the dances that will move and delight them.

As a performer, Leda Meredith’s career spans contemporary dance, classical ballet, and theatre. Her performances have taken her to twenty-five countries on four continents. She has been a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre II, Edward Villella, Manhattan Ballet, Dances Patrelle, and others. She was a company member of Jennifer Muller/The Works for over seven years, and originated numerous roles in the repertory. She returned as Artistic Associate Director for the company’s 25th anniversary season in 1999-2000. Her piece Lullabye Lane, premiered as part of Jennifer Muller/The Works’ 25th anniversary season at the Joyce Theater in New York. With original music by composer James Sasser, Lullabye Lane marked their seventh collaboration. They recently completed the full evening work Small Talk At The Volcano. In Spring 2000 she co-created a cabaret style piece entitled All About Angels and Eggs, with Michael Jahoda and Maria Naidu at Dansatelier in Rotterdam. Other choreographic credits include works for Malaparte Theatre Company, the Gene Frankel Theatre in New York, Dixon Place, Peridance International, the Hatch Saturday Series, First Fridays at Five, and the Arts on the Hudson Festival.
She is a returning guest instructor for the Henny Jurriens Stichting in Amsterdam, Western Washington University; and Dance Loft in Rorschach, Switzerland. Leda is currently on faculty with Ballet Academy East. She has taught as part of the 1996 Iles de Danse in France, and for the Artist’s Trusts International Course in England. In December, 1999 she was guest instructor for Carolyn Carlson’s Atelier de Paris. Other dance programs she has taught for include the California State University at Los Angeles, and Brigham Young University in Hawaii.

Every Kind of Casserole

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By Leda Meredith

Casseroles were one of those things that my mother knew how to make which I somehow never learned. So I invented the useful culinary term “Crumble”, as in, “No, dear, this isn’t supposed to be a tuna casserole – it’s a tuna crumble.”

However, I don’t give up that easily. Reading between the lines of many recipes in old cookbooks, I came up with this basic casserole formula that works very well for whatever ingredients you have on hand. It is especially useful for using up leftovers in an appealing way. I sometimes cook twice as much rice or pasta as I know I’ll need for a meal because I already have plans to turn it into casserole the following night.

This is a classic rich, creamy casserole that holds together well in thick slices. Save the “crumble” for some other night.

For every 9-inch casserole dish you will need:

* 1 cup milk
* 3 eggs, beaten
* 1 cup bread crumbs
* 1 cup grated cheese (cheddar works well)

Butter the casserole dish and sprinkle half the breadcrumbs on the bottom and sides. Fill with layers of cooked pasta, beans or rice alternating with grated cheese and cooked meat and/or vegetables (excellent way to use up leftovers!). Beat together the eggs and milk. Pour over other ingredients. Top with the rest of the bread crumbs. Dot with butter. Cover and bake in a moderate (350) oven for 30-40 minutes until golden on top (you can remove the cover during the last 10 minutes if you like a crunchy top). Serve with a bit of minced fresh parsley on top. This is just as good reheated the next day.

For a rich flavor, mix two teaspoons of Fines Herbes blend or half tablespoon of Verdurette in with the milk and eggs mixture. If your leftovers are on the bland side, dice an onion and saute it in a little olive oil. Include that as one of the layers in your casserole. I choose to leave out salt and pepper and let each person add theirs according to preference.

Vegetables that work well in casseroles include mushrooms, onions, greens (spinach, chickweed, lamb’s quarters, kale, etc.), green beans, cauliflower and broccoli.

Leda Meredith writes about her passions – plants, cooking, dance, theater, travel – and shares the many ways she has found to include them all in her busy urban life.

Leda’s full biography can be found at the foot of any of her many wonderful dance articles here in the-vu.