Oregon Salmon Patties + Caper Tartar Sauce = Amazing

The title pretty much says it all. Living on a student budget, this recipe felt gourmet and was so scrumptious (and not pasta or a sandwich)! The main ingredients are actually quite simple:

Salmon Patties: canned salmon, sauteed onion, butter, crackers, 2 eggs, dry mustard, & shortening (I left the shortening out. I guess learning about fatty-acid synthesis in Biochem today didn't inspire me to add extra lard--I know butter counts, but it is just SO GOOD and buttery.)

Caper Tarter Sauce: capers, mayo, lemon juice, salt & pepper, and some dried garlic just for kicks. I do admit that capers are the one semi-splurge. I think you can get them on the cheaper side at Trader Joe's. Yet, they bring me so much joy and one little jar lasts so long, that it is well worth it. yum.

PS: Click on Title for link to recipe!

PPS: There was an attempted coup d'etat in Ecuador today. Sounds like "a bit" of chaos. In Portoviejo, where I lived, banks and the shopping center are prey to thieves. There is no active police force right now. BBC tells more here.

i have a pet spider

I have a pet spider. I suppose her name could be Lucille. I know this may be difficult to understand. My desk sits next to a window that has a screen. Outside my window lives Lucille.

Lucille is the size of a large silver dollar. Her black legs have yellow stripes. Possibly this is to alert me that she is dangerous. She is visible usually only when the sun isn't shining. It just started to pour and Lucille seems to feel at home in the dreary weather. If there is a large gust of wind, she holds tightly to her fierce web.

From time to time, I imagine moving Lucille from her window-location. I mean, spiders are a bit creepy. Yet in the hours upon hours of biochem, human development, and anatomy--she is always there. What is a spider's lifetime anyways?

I leave you with a quote from E.B. White's classic Charlotte's Web:

"You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that."
~Charlotte

Perhaps Lucille the Spider and I have some sort of a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship. Hopefully Lucille survies the storm.

"Are you a cuddley sleeper?"--Lessons in Practical Anatomy

I am now three weeks into medical school. Next week is exams. Thus, Labor Day, yes indeed equals a day of laborious studying. Luckily--anatomy of the upper limb does have some practical implications. As Ross points out in the below "Friends" clip, cuddling all night long might sound cute, but there is an anatomical reason that it might not be so comfy. The lovely head of a recently blushing bride often finds its resting place right on the radial nerve of the debonaire husband. Given that the radial nerve innervates your triceps, and all of the extensor muscles of your forearm--this can lead to "Honeymooner's Palsy." (Think painfully flexed elbow and wrist). Oh, hark, what to do?! Don't flip, Ross will gives some pointers on the "hug-n-roll:"

Between the Pages: Life in France, by Julia Child

So, I haven't written in forever (I attribute this to making friends in Ecuador, returning to the USA, figuring out my future, but, most importantly the mysterious breaking of my camera)--I have been enjoying life in Minnesota for the summer.

Recently while in the Boundary Waters (more details to come) Julia Child's memoir My Life in France has allowed me to travel to France and back. Her words led me to laughter, introspection, and deep motivation to follow my passions--all without sentimentality. I liked her voice, hyperbole, and flair. Notable, underlined quotes:

"In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport."

I like this idea of serious creative work...as well as competition. She was ahead of her times, would Julia have liked Top Chef?

"Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."

"Upon reflection, I decided I had three main weaknesses: I was
confused (evidenced by a lack of facts, an inability to coordinate my
thoughts, and an inability to verbalize my ideas); I had a lack of
confidence, which cause me to back down from forcefully stated
positions; and I was overly emotional at the expense of careful, 'scientific'
though. I was thirty-seven years old and still discovering who I was."

So with this inspiration at my heels...I gave my shot at a Julia-inspired meal. I consider this a good use of a family of eager foodie guinea-pigs. The Salade Lyonnaise recipe I found online was a hit. Buttery croutons, greens, oil-dijon vinagrette, topped with a poached egg. This melt in your mouth character may be partially due to the bacon oil--but, hey Julia lived to be ninety-two. So, live it up sometimes, right?



The shining star of the meal was a Coq au Vin over a bed of pasta and accompanied with a side of peas. Coq au Vin--chicken, pearl onions, carmelized mushrooms, bacon bits (of course!), red wine, chicken broth, garlic, herbs. The dish simmered in a dutch oven (which I learned is really a huge covered iron pot). Trick: the best way to peel the pearl onions is to blanch them first.


New cooking terms courtesy of Epicurious food dictionary:
lardons; lardoons--diced bacon or other lard meat.

poach--to cook in a liquid just below boiling point (poached eggs are best done in slightly salted water with a bit of vinegar to help the egg retain shape)

blanch--to plunge food (usually produce) into boiling water briefly and then into cold water, as to stop the cooking process. Firms flesh, loosesns skins, boosts color and flavor. Used for bacon in main dish and to peel pearl onions.

The meal was a hit, I listened to perhaps cliché French music while cooking, mostly from the soundtrack to An Education.

Do I wish I had Julia's final masterpiece cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking? Yes, it seems very romantic to page through it while dirtying the pages with sauces and marinades--but as the "recent" release of Julie and Julia has jacked up the prices of used copies on Amazon to near full price, internet recipes will make due for now.

I leave you with Chef Child's final words from her memoir: "Learn to cook--try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!"

This made me chuckle

Trip to Northfield, MN Econo....hehe

What is New Age Pop? Please appreciate there is no mention of soda ;-)

Aseptic juice....sterile juice, wow that is what I want. Adult juice, is this the beer aisle?

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution! | Video on TED.com

Left me chuckling and pondering the school system and values in education.

Heading to "El Campo"

The gynecologist and me in the room where she saw patients. It was HOT and humid!

This weekend I went along with physicians and volunteers from the CAS Clinic on a "medical caravan" trip to a small town an hour away. A general medicine physician, pediatrician, dentist, and gynecologist saw about 150 patients. I helped assist the gynecologist. Very eye-opening difference between the culture of a small town only an hour away from Portoviejo. It seems that women generally have many children, marry very young, and often are illiterate. The community that received us was very kind--cooking huge pots of rice, soup, and chicken.

Hills around Caña--covered mostly by farms filled with bananas, yuca, cacao, zapote, oranges, corn, and avacado.