Braised Anatomy

I thought I’d take the opportunity to talk about composting.  Last July Ari and I started a little pile in the backyard next to our garden, circumscribed it with chicken wire, and left it to stew in its own filth.  We add to it maybe twice a month and really couldn’t be bothered to stir it.  So far the only benefits we’ve reaped are a decrease in the amount of garbage we throw out: some weeks we might sneak a measely walmart grocery bag or two into a neighbor’s trash can.  But hopefully, come late spring we’ll have a little plant fodder for the garden, all thanks to a few simple composting rules.

To give you an idea of things that you can include in compost, see below.  The goal is to feed the compost with a balance of nitrogen- and carbon-based waste to nourish the tiny beasts that live inside the pile.  You want to avoid putting stuff in there that will 1) attract pests, 2) poison you or your garden, or 3) smell up the neighborhood.  There are many guides on composting out there, but here’s the simple truth:  compost needs water, air, and a little TLC.  It’s mostly vegetarian, and matures over time.  And it’s an awful mess right up until the end, when hopefully it’s worth something.  Come to think of it–it sounds kind of like Ari and me in medical school.

This is our indoor compost pile.  During the summer, we had to keep a smaller pile in the fridge to avoid a fruit fly invasion.  But since it’s been cold enough to get frostbite in our kitchen, a standing pile has been okay.

This is our outdoor compost pile.  It looks small, but keep in mind that when I took this picture there was over a foot of snow.

Hopefully you’ll be inspired to start your own compost!  We’ll let you know how ours turns out, if it turns out.  Happy almost-spring!

Ingredients (based on the 101 cookbooks version)

• 2-3 Tbsp oil
• 8 ounces brown mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
• 1/2 cup cabbage, chopped fine
• 1 medium onion, well chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cups cooked brown rice, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 1/3 cup portions grated Parmesan cheese
• For the cornmeal base, use this recipe and chill the cooked polenta in the fridge in an 8×8 pan

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Place the pan containing the polenta in the oven and let it warm up and crisp by itself for 10 minutes.   Add the oil to a large skillet and saute the onions until tender.  Remove from the skillet and use the residual oil to saute the mushrooms and cabbage until tender.  Mix the sauteed vegetables with all of the remaining ingredients (except for 1/3 cup parmesan) in a large bowl.  Take the polenta out of the oven, spread this mixture over it with a spatula, and pack lightly with the spatula or a spoon.  Layer the rest of the parmesan cheese on top, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes.  Garnish with parsley.  The two layers won’t stick to each other very well–I’d appreciate any critiques on the taste and suggestions for better architecture.

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It has officially begun.

I’m writing to you 5 days into my board prep period, and I’m already a little overwhelmed by the amount of information I have apparently forgotten over the past 2 years…but I’m trying to stay optimistic about this! I keep reminding myself, “Just think about how much stuff you’re going to know (and hopefully not forget) at the end of the next 6 weeks!”…and so far, it’s working. I mean, I have yet to drop out of med school, so I’ll count that as a win!

But enough about studying…let’s get a quick update on “real” life.

After last Monday’s exam, Anita and I met up for celebratory lunch at Indian Flame, stuffed our faces until we entered a food coma, and then proceeded home so Anita could pack to leave…and then she left. Now lucky for me, I didn’t immediately enter roommate withdrawal (which commonly presents with crying, sweating, slobbering all over oneself…) because my mom was visiting until Wednesday, but come Wednesday night, it hit me – I won’t get to see my roommate for the next 8 weeks! Maybe that doesn’t sound too long to most people, but when you’re staring ahead at 7 solid weeks of studying, you really need all the friendly support you can get…and 8 weeks seems like a long time to go without a movie night with my roommate (or her delicious cooking).

Just as I was about to enter the slobbering phase of withdrawal, a letter arrived for me in the mail. Well not a letter really…more like an index card with a cleverly concealed treasure map. My BA counterpart had written to tell me she was spending a couple days with her sister, and wanted to let me know she had left a surprise for me. So after wiping the tears from my eyes, and drool off my chin, I set off on my adventure. Granted, the adventure didn’t take me much further than to the second floor of our house, but it was an adventure nonetheless…and at the end of the adventure I found a delicious treat – a can of san pellegrino, which was apparently very excited to see me (it screamed hooray upon my discovering its hiding place). And so I emerged victorious, soda can in hand, and ready to attack the next set of Qbank questions…all thanks to my roommate. So thank you, Anita, for managing to bring me back to sanity from over 680 miles away…

In honor of my orange flavored surprise, I decided to make a dish that will match its color quite nicely – a sweet potato stir-fry. Just a warning, this dish can pack quite a punch…so if you’re not up to the heat, just cut back on the thai chilies and a little on the ginger.

What you need:

• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 3 tbs ginger, minced or grated
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 5-7 red thai chilies, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 3 tbs peanut oil
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 3 cups cooked brown rice

What you need to do:

1. First things first, grate the sweet potatoes. If you’re able to get your hands on a Salad Shooter (check out your neighborhood thift store for the best price) or cuisinart, this will be an easy job. Otherwise, you’ll have to do this with a standing grater.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the garlic, chili pepper and ginger.
3. Add the grated sweet potato and green onions to the frying pan and stir until everything is evenly coated with oil.
4. Cook for 10 minutes.
5. Add the soy sauce and stir.
6. Cook for another 7-10 minutes until the potatoes start to crisp up a little.
7. Serve on brown rice, and top with fresh green onions.
8. Enjoy!

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