Food From the First Semester

Pictures from a few of the many dishes that graced my kitchen this semester.

 Banana chocolate parfait with soy ganache mouse. A great study snack.

 Veg. stir fry with penne. A "I had no time to go grocery shopping and this is what I have in my fridge that is about to go bad" meal. I have a lot of those lately.

 Artichoke hearts, olives, mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes.........mmmmmmmmmmmmm........ and how could I of all people forget the cheese-fresh mozzarella.

 Lobster ravioli with mushrooms and spinach in a white wine sauce.

 Gnocchi in a fiery creamy tomato sauce with zucchini and mushrooms, with freshly grated parmesan.

 Gnocchi and zucchini in a creamy pesto with a fresh crisp cucumber salad on the side to balance the flavors.

 Pasta with a deconstructed greek salad.

 I set the table all pretty :)

 Spicy tandoori fish with penne in a lemon and spinach sauce.

 Grilled tomatoes!!!!

 Shrimp pasta with fresh baby spinach salad.

 Couscous with asparagus, shrimp and corn in a curry sauce.

Swedish salmon dinner in salad form: smoked salmon, fresh cranberries, lettuce, with a honey mustard dill dressing.

Dress Up

So, I am procrastinating right now. For a few weeks I have been wondering about how real this is all becoming. Each day I take yet another step big or small in fulfilling a dream I have had since before I can remember. I recall often playing doctor as a child and though I eventually stopped playing the dreams still followed me. By the dark of the night in the few hours I slept I was transformed simultaneously, into my five year old self as well as the adult I still hope to grow up to be, stethoscope around my neck in a long white coat with Dr. in front of my name and the two coveted letters MD after it. I still have those dreams, but now for the past two months I have dawned my short white coat and started to do the things I used to do when playing doctor as a child. The first time I walked into a room with my white coat on I felt odd to say the least. It was as if I was five again giddy with excitement to be playing doctor, this time though it was even better then when I was five because the patients were real people and not my stuffed animals. Each time since then I have been waiting till the time I walk into a patients room and not feel like a child playing dress up, wondering when this will feel real, but then I wonder if I lost that excitement would I still have the potential to be the type of doctor I want to be.

Not yo mama's grilled cheese:)

Hey so I have no pictures of this because I made it the day before yesterday during hour one of my 30 plus hour haul to study for this latest exam... needless to say it was my salvation in the hell of my own creation. So yes, the reason I needed to spend the weekend with a grand total of 5 hours of sleep over the course of 3 days was my fault. I choose to procrastinate. I chose to volunteer at Mamoday. Now I am choosing to complain...so deal. Thankfully my sleepless weekend did not go to waste I survived the exam and I did well enough. I know at this point you are wondering "When is she going to tell me about this bloody grilled cheese and stop talking about school?"...so I will now take the time to remind you that though this is mainly about food, because food is one of the big things that bring me joy in this world, I am also using this as a venue to chronicle my experiences through school and hopefully my fruitful and prosperous medical career. I am going to continue to stay off the grilled cheese topic for a bit so I suggest you skip ahead if that is all you wish to read about just that. So a part of why I got very little sleep was because I volunteered at Mamoday here at HUH. During Mamoday the cancer center here at the hospital gives free screening mammograms and clinical breast exams to women of the community. They invite some female medical students to go and volunteer and learn how to do a clinical breast exam and then actually DO them with the physicians. This is why I came to this school the clinical exposure, the patient interaction, the accessibility of all the residents. fellows, attendings. ect. at the hospital. So needless to say I had a blast at Mamoday, the doctors were super approachable and willing to teach and let me get involved, it reminded me of why I chose medical school because though in the back of my head it is always there it sometimes get buried behind the stress of learning the biochemical pathway for the digestion of alcohol. In the end Mamaoday was worth the time it took away from studying because it reaffirmed my desire to be here and moreover excel here. That was on saturday, it was that night that I first made the grilled cheese and it was so good I made it again for brunch on sun morning. The ingrediants were simply what I had lying around but they made for a delectable culinary experience, even though I dined with my most near and dear dining companions- my laptops and my notes:)
For each you will need:
2 slices of a sourdough baguette each sliced about 1/2cm thick at a bias so it is about 11cm long.
1/2 oz of reduced fat pepper jack cheese
3 thick slices of a plum tomatoe
1 slice of turkey bacon
6 pinches freshly ground black pepper, cumin, and coriander seeds
chili powder to taste
So first you heat a large nonstick pan and cook the bacon (no extra fat needed). Once the bacon is crispy remove from pan and blot with paper towel. On the same pan place the tomatoes where the bacon was on each tomatoe add a pinch each of freshly ground black pepper, cumin and coriander seeds, cook for about 45 sec and turn and do the same thing on the other side, place on the side. Put the bread in the same pan toast one side lightly then flip and pile on the cheese the bacon and the grilled tomatoes fold the slices and apply pressure with a spatula until the cheese is melted and the bread is nice and toasty.
I know it sounds like a long and drawn out process, but it really doesn't take more than 10 mins. They are not very large so for me one is about snack sized and two for a meal. I have also made it without the bacon they are amazing either way, though you will need to add a spritz of olive oil to your pan if you skip the bacon because otherwise the tomatoes will stick. I hope you enjoy them because I sure do :)
So I know I said no pics but it looks so empty so here's a pic of some sourdough:

Happy Eating!

Its been ages since I updated

So its been rather insane lately with getting sick and a ton of exams and quizzes with the end of the first unit and the beginning of this one.
I have been cooking alot though I have not taken picks of everything most of the stuff has been super fast and easy. Relevant recipes may come at a later date, but I rather doubt I will get around to it.
First we have a tandoori chicken panini with caramelized onions, spinach and brie on sourdough with a maple syrup crust on the outside.

So not the most beautiful pic in the world, but 'twas a delight for all the senses, and it took just about 5 mins to throw together. Food should speak to each and every one of your senses and set blissful firecrackers off in at least a few of them to be worth anything, esp. taste of course. The feel of it in your hand and mouth, the smell of it as you sit down in front of it and the crunch when you first bite into the perfectly toasted sandwich, all come into play in turning it into a delight to consume.
Next we have a super simple which cheddar and shells mac and cheese with broccoli and zucchini. A relatively unhealthy dish is made better and healthier with the addition of vibrant and nutritious veggies.

So this is all I have for now most of this food was made and, of course consumed about a month ago more will come soon perhaps even later this week from more recent meals.

First Sick Day

I never knew how guilty one could feel missing just one day of class. Yesterday I woke up feeling rather miserable and I missed my first ever whole day of medical school, two very long lectures. On the flip side though since I felt guilty for not showing up to lecture that I had a rather productive day as well as getting some much needed rest. I slept so much it was wonderful :) For brunch I had one of my child hood favorite comfort foods masala maggie noodles, they are an Indian instant noodle similar to ramen though the sodium content is less in it. I also make some alterations to make it a bit healthier I add, some type of veggies to it yesterday it was a handful of baby spinach. I also only use about 1/2 of the seasoning packet, that's the nice thing about the Indian spices they are still strong enough even if you only use half.

For dinner I had more energy so I actually cooked. this meal was one of my clean out the fridge meals and it took only about 15 mins. I had lettuce that was gonna go soon so I made salad, it was super simple though b/c the only other vegetable I had for the salad was carrots. With it I made whole grain penne in a mushroom and white wine sauce...the mushrooms were starting to look a bit wonky and my milk was getting old so this was an easy choice.

The salad was super simple and it was dressed with a simple dill honey mustard. Super simple to make equal parts Dijon mustard and clover honey with dill to taste (and till it looks nice dill doesn't have a very strong flavor). The pasta was just sauteed onions, garlic and mushrooms with red chili flakes and oregano (it's also really good with rosemary). To the sauteed veggies I added a splash of white wine, a splash of skim milk and a splash of chicken stock (can easily replace with veggie) and a heaping spoonful of cream cheese. Just toss the sauce with the penne. The pasta has a rich and meaty flavor because of the portabella mushrooms I also added some frozen spinach to add some color to the dish. It was a good dinner to round out a rather productive day.

The first of many

I am a first year medical student and I absolutely adore all food. I believe food should be an experience in its own right, a delight for all the senses. I want so much to be a doctor and I love where I am right now, but food is and always will be a divine distraction from my studies. Here I mean to discuss my trials and tribulations through medical school and the food that gets me through it all.
Today after a rather horrid exam three I came home and made a lovely fast lunch. 

A tandoori chicken and pesto panini with spinach and mozzarella on a whole grain chibatta. I also had with that my first pumpkin spice latte of the season...oh how I do love fall and all the flavors and colors that it brings. I also had a side of spiced plantain chips. It was divine and healthy. In cooking I always look for ways to make things healthier and faster, with all the flavor and more of the original. This was an amazing lunch a fusion of the Indian flavors I grew up with and a classic Italian panini (minus all the oil of course :))
For dinner one of my best friends came to visit... we cracked open a lovely Argentinian Malbec and I made a garden vegetable risotto with turkey bacon.

The wine was crisp and full bodied and it complimented the creamy and delicious risotto beautifully. I have come up with a trick to make a risotto from scratch in just about 15 minutes...I shall write more about this later but for now good night.