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.