vacay day 1

My mom and her friend Mrs. Janet spent the night with me on Sunday night, for a little girl time/slumber party (that we of course did not exclude Ben from). We tried out Cuchara, a new restaurant proffering inner-Mexico cuisine, then watched My Girl in our pajamas, all weeping together at the appropriate emotionally demanding parts.

After breakfast on Monday morning, I walked outside to pick up a trash pile in the backyard that I had been eyeing for a few days from my study spot at the dining room table. Still in my pajamas and slippers, I by no means was insinuating the kickoff of any major yard work, thinking I would just casually bag up this mess while Mom and Mrs. Janet finished up their coffee inside. About 3 minutes in, I turn around to find a gloved Mrs. Janet and clogged Myra walking towards me with Martha eyes scanning my back yard and practically saying in unison, “We wanted to clean this up for you as a surprise!” By 10 am, we had purchased a blower, raked and bagged the leaves in the front yard and back, replanted several old bulbs, and were in conversation about ways to start a compost pile behind the garage. You know, just your normal light morning activities on Day 1 of vacation.

Honestly though, I found myself reflective and content during this busy raking, blowing, bagging with these women. I have profound respect for their energy and selflessness and am blessed to have had that modeled to me as a child and now as a semi-adult. I started to remember parts of my rearing that I did not so much care for at the time but am able to see now how they shaped me. Seemingly inconsequential little tasks that imprint a lasting impact on the way I view work and satisfaction today. I remembered my brothers and I being commissioned to my mom’s front garden with woven baskets in hand, knowing only to return with them full of tomatoes.  I remember the prickly furry touch of the tomato plant’s stalk and the way the fallen ones would squish up beneath our barefoot feet. I remember how we would hop from stone to stone, trying not to squash the other little herbs and flowers she had growing in her garden as well. I do not remember at the time thinking that this task was so idyllic, but now with rake in hand and time for my mind to wander, I appreciate the value in those laboring little hands.

After my mom and Mrs. Janet drove away, still with dirt on their jeans, I had a friend and her two handsome children over for pancakes for lunch (brunch if you will, although her kids did not at first grasp the combo of that word). Once again, while we are sitting around the table, just casually brunching and effortlessly shifting between child-talk and semi-adult conversation, my mind swelled with gratitude at the quality of the situation. Are people just out there getting to have these moments all the time?! Everyday surprised by joy at the happenings in their normal day-to-day activities?! I think this vacation week could get very reflective…

Pancakes

I followed the recipe from http://www.thekitchn.com/the-best-pancakes-ever-134328 pretty exactly, only adding some food coloring at the end to make rainbow colored pancakes for the kids...

5 tablespoons of butter


1-1/4 cups flour


1 tablespoon sugar


1 teaspoon salt


1/2 teaspoon baking soda


1/2 teaspoon baking powder


1 egg, separated


1 cup buttermilk


1/4 cup milk


canola oil for frying

Melt the butter and set aside to cool for a little bit.

Meanwhile, put the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine.

In another bowl, add the yolk from the egg and the buttermilk and the regular milk and whisk until well mixed. Add the butter and whisk.

Add the yolk and milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just barely combined. Add the egg white and keep stirring until a thick batter is formed. Do not over mix.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and film with a neutral oil like canola. When the pan is hot, lower the flame a little and drop the batter by spoonfuls. The batter will spread. When bubbles break on the surface, peek underneath a pancake. It should be golden brown. If so, flip with a spatula and cook the other side.

Remove from the skillet when the second side is done and continue on with the remaining batter.

im back. PTL.

Green Enchiladas from Haven.
The ones I made were not this pretty...but whose tasted better?

Hello hello free world! So pleased to finally reunite. 

I am done with my Internal Medicine board exam and can happily say that no one will find me hunched over a book at the dining room table for at least a little while now. Time to play! Time to spend some quality moments with people I love! Time to participate in the household chores again! Ben is so supportive of me during test week, to ensure that we do not both emerge at the end of it smelling like a college boy's dorm room with laundry piled to the ceiling and kitchen looking like it's ready for a dish soap commercial.  Yesterday he even comforted my apologies about being selfish with my time this week by saying "We have our whole lives to help each other." I just looked at him and smiled, full of that "who are you?" type gratitude. 

After the test today, we went to Haven for a hot date with all the other "ladies who lunch" and suave looking business men. I got the green enchiladas pictured above and Ben got shrimp and grits. It felt truly so nice to sit and be present, a task that is normally very difficult for me. I often struggle with compromising my time with others by letting my mind spin its wheels over all the things I think I have to do at that same moment. I am going to work on this Mary vs Martha mentality (which I realize is hardly fair during this week I have off, as I actually have nothing else I am committed to!) but more on that later. 

A few weeks ago, I made some very basic chicken enchiladas and I must say (or goad Ben to say for me) that they were better than the ones at Haven. Yes, that is bold. But make these yourself and be the judge.

Salsa Verde Enchiladas

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 cloves fresh garlic, diced

1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

3-4 cups Mexican salsa verde, divided

1/2 cup cream cheese (or you can use greek yogurt)

2 cups roasted chicken, shredded (you can use a store bought rotisserie chicken if you don’t want to roast it yourself)

1 cup Monterey jack cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

8 six-inch flour tortillas

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and lime zest and sauté for 30 seconds. Add 2 cups of the salsa verde and heat through. Now turn off the heat and stir in the cream cheese (or greek yogurt), chicken and half of the cheese and cilantro.

Pour a thin layer of green sauce on the bottom of the baking dish you want to use. Pour the remainder in a shallow dish and bathe your tortillas in it until they are soft and coated. Take each tortilla (get your hands dirty!) and fill with 3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture and roll it up. Place enchiladas side by side, seam side down in your baking dish. Pour the rest of the green sauce over the enchiladas and top with remaining cheese. Bake about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle on the remaining cilantro and serve hot!

sometimes i forget

Sometimes I forget I have this blog, sitting here waiting for some attention like some forlorn middle child. I cannot believe we are in October. I still feel like it is summer (is it the weather?!) and that I am about to have a real break where I lay out and work out and get on top on the laundry for once in my married life. Oh, but now it is October. And people are decorating their yards with cobwebs and giant inflatable spiders. I'll come up to speed.

Ben had the Greater Houston City Amateur golf tournament this past weekend (a mere 72 holes in all) and has earned himself the spot of the 37th best golfer out of the 8 million or so people that live around these parts (or so I interpret his success). His parents came down for the weekend and indulged us in fine dining (might I endorse Coppa and Reef and of course Tiny Boxwoods) and quality time.

I have my Internal Medicine board exam next Friday so this blogging could go either of two ways: A) I could disappear until next Friday and then post excessively the following week about how much fun I am having and how much I am cooking during my week off (yes i have a whole week off after this rotation!! cheers!!!) or B) I could post excessively next week (which any and all of you should discourage) while I am going partially insane cramming for this exam. Of course there is always option C wherein I "accidentally" shop online and buy the perfect pair of shoes during my most stressful pre-test moment (which always turns out to be a good decision, thank you giant leather wedges preceding Step exam and leopard flats preceding Pediatrics). We shall see.

Korean Beef Tacos

These tacos are goooooood for hungry boys/men/whatever mouths you have open in your home. I made them this summer when my little (actually rather large and muscular) brother Spencer lived with Ben and me for 2 weeks. He shared his work-out habits; we shared our table. 

Recipe fairly verbatim from http://www.mylifeasamrs.com/2011/09/crockpot-korean-beef-tacos.html which I discovered through tastespotting.com (aka food porn). 

For the Cucumber Slaw:


2 hot house cucumber (the wrapped seedless kind)


4 teaspoons rice vinegar


1 teaspoon sugar


2 pinches of salt


crushed red pepper flakes to taste

For the Korean Beef:


6 1/2 pounds (roughly) beef back ribs or short ribs

1 1/2 cups soy sauce


1 2/3 cups packed brown sugar


10 cloves garlic, grated

4 tablespoons grated ginger


6 tablespoons rice vinegar


2 tablespoons dark sesame oil


2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

For the tacos:


small flour tortillas


cilantro


sriracha

For the Cucumber Slaw:
Slice cucumbers as thin as you can get them (I used a mandoline slicer to help, but it's not necessary) and place in a bowl. Add the rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and crushed red pepper; toss to combine. Set aside until ready to use. You can make these the night before if desired!

For the Korean Beef:
 Spray a 7 quart slow cooker base with non-stick cooking spray and add the beef back ribs. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients until combined; pour over the ribs. Cook on low heat for 8 hours. I rotated the ribs on my lunch break and also used a turkey baster to do a quick baste on the ribs with (the majority of the ribs will be submerged in the sauce & juices). When ready to serve, take out of crockpot, remove bones, and shred.

For the tacos:

Warm tortillas in the microwave. Add shredded beef, cucumber slaw, and cilanto. If you are feeling extra frisky, drizzle on some sriracha for a nice kick!

Rosemary and goat cheese mac with roast chicken

Real cooks know how to simmer a liquid when a recipe requires that it reduce by half. Real cooks know that this does NOT mean that you should allow half to boil over out of the pot.

Real cooks have gas ranges, not cooktops. I am sorry if this offends anyone, but it’s simply a well-known fact in the cooking world.  No fair judging anyhow, as I have a cooktop in this new house.

Man, am I glad I am not a real cook.  While making the recipe below for a pot-luck, fate (or inattention) decided for me that I should take a few shortcuts. I suppose I was trying to do too many things at once, but I thought I just glanced away for one second… and a glorious waterfall of cream had cascaded down the sides of the pot and spread across my stove top. My rushed reaction to this mishap was positive, however, as the recipe called for me to reduce the cream by half…and reduce by half I had done! And I still showed up an hour late for the dinner that and I had signed up for the main dish. Good thing for loving/forgiving/hungry friends, eh?

Rosemary and goat cheese mac with roast chicken

1 tbs olive oil

1 pound dried rigatoni pasta

1 quart heavy cream

2 tbs fresh chopped rosemary

3 gloves fresh garlic, crushed and chopped

8 ounces goat cheese

2 cups roasted chicken shredded (from 1 store bought rotisserie)

salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the oil and the pasta and cook according to package directions, about 10-12 minutes.

2. While you are waiting for the water to boil, pour the cream into a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the rosemary and garlic to the cream and bring it to a simmer – be careful not to let it boil over! Allow the cream to reduce by about half (have a glass of wine and be patient).

3. Stir in the goat cheese and chicken and continue cooking till the cream is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.


4. Thoroughly drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the cream sauce. Coat the pasta in the sauce and simmer over low heat for a few minutes. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and serve hot!

pretty lil flops

I would love to exclusively rave about my successes in the kitchen, but let's not forget about the failures. I am labeling these failures only because they failed in their goal oriented task of feeding the husBen....simply because he found them a bit unpalatable. I thought I should still document my efforts, however, because a) these soups are still beautiful and c) some people actually like borscht and/or gazpacho (like me!). 

A few months ago I experimented with borscht...

Now I know dinner is not going to go over well when husBen sees me cooking it and says, “That’s not for me, is it? You know I don’t eat those (beets).”

Oh, did I?

Seriously, who DOES eat beets? I think he was trying to say, “I am sorry, but what shade of normal are you trying to pass that off as?” I pulsed the food processor full of vibrant fuscia soup a few more times as if it would silence him.

If you like beets, this borscht is for you…in fact, if you had come over to my house when I made it, Ben might have tried to send you home with the whole batch.

Just recently, I tried to feed him chilled gazpacho. He took one cautious sip (after an already judging glance down at the bowl of bright green soup in front of him) and honestly/politely let me know that it was so hot that it almost tasted like "nothing." I ate alooot of left over gazpacho that week :)

Recipes (in case you are a fan of either of the "failures"):

http://cooking-books.blogspot.com/2011/08/cold-summertime-borscht.html

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Creamy-Cucumber-Gazpacho-105401

escape from jail...and do better!

Some of my patients lately have been promising big life changes as soon as they get out of the hospital. I suppose the jail like effect of IV lines and nasal cannulas makes a person's mind really crave free movement and personal revolution (as far as their health is concerned anyway). They are going to stop smoking this or that, stop eating this or that, and start exercising for sure.

I keep telling myself as soon as I get off the wards, I am going to start being a better blogger. Not that my following of indulgent family members or friends is the motivating factor (puhleaaasseeee yall must be reading this on your lunch breaks) but I honestly am hoping for some self-improvement through these posts. I have always been a believer in processing through writing, hopefully gaining some insight along the way of my life experiences.

Reflection on a busy life makes me slow down at least as long as it takes me to write about it. This internal effort helps me feel more present in my own steps and not just like I am moving from room to room and face to face on autopilot. Also, I am hoping that beginning to blog again-- thus forcing myself to process my day before I hit the pillow at night-- will allow me sleep more peacefully (and help me quit dreaming about being late to rounds or my patients trying to escape the hospital in the breezy teal gowns).

So here we go. New year's resolution circa 3/4 the year too late. In honor of this toast, I'll raise my glass (of Nutella milkshake) and promise to be a little more....well....present.

Nutella Milkshake with chocolate covered pretzels

2 + cups of vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup + milk
1/4 cup Nutella

Whiz the above ingredients in a blender. It helps if your ice cream is a bit melted. Feel free to add more ice cream or milk in order to achieve desired consistency. Do Not feel free to skimp on the Nutella :)

You can buy chocolate covered pretzels to crush up and mix in this shake or top your shake with a few for decoration. To make your own, just melt down good chocolate (I used El Rey 70% discos, but a Bakers bittersweet would be fabulous too) in the microwave and submerge pretzels in the chocolate. Set individual pretzels on a cookie sheet and allow to cool (to harden) in the fridge.