Cooking Up A Storm

   One of my favorite things to do to relax is to cook.  Oh yeah, and I guess it doesn't hurt I love to eat too.  I love trying new recipes, returning to old favorites, and best of all - EATING IT ALL YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY!  Just kidding, I always share.  Here are some of the fab things I've cooked in the last few months.  Can't wait to cook (and eat) more! In case you are feeling adventurous, or just hungry, I've included the links to some of the recipes.

Homemade bread bowls, Jalapeno corn chowder

Ok, I didn't make this one. Apple cider bar by my cousin, pumpkin cupcake by my sister.

Thanksgiving offerings: Apple pie by BF, rosemary bread by me, blackberry thyme goat cheese ice cream by me.

* Rosemary Bread

* Blackberry Thyme Goat Cheese Ice Cream

Eggs benedict for BF's bday

* Eggs Benedict 

MSFC potluck at my house.  Gruyere herb scones, rosemary bread, and cucumber sandwiches by me

* Gruyere Herb Scones

Beet burgers

Habanero mango hot sauce

* Habanero Mango Hot Sauce

* After posting this, I realized how much cooler it would be if I actually linked you to the recipes! So, I've included the ones that are available online! Unfortunately, some of them aren't online, but if you're DYING to know, I can email you or upload them somehow :)

The Inauguration Of "Cold Hard B*#&$"

    If you read some of my earlier pre-boards posts, you might remember that I promised to reward myself with the ice-cream attachment for my KitchenAid mixer when I finished boards.  I ordered it with just enough time so that it was poetically delivered exactly while I was taking my test.  

    Once my friends and I started to get stand mixers, and we figured they are beautiful pieces of machinery that deserve names, we came up with this fun little tradition of giving them annoying/naughty/provocative names.  It started off with E's mixer, which is a beautiful Tiffany's blue color.  E got the mixer as a gift, and was super excited to use it for the first time, when she came home to find her roommate dirtying it up without even asking her if she could use it.  Her roommate's name was Robyn, so much to E's dislike, we all decided her mixer's name would from now on officially be "Robyn's Egg", since Robyn broke it in.  Next to get a mixer was C, who LOVES pink, so naturally her mixer is pink.  We tried to come up with a name to annoy her, but eventually gave up and came up with "Pink Taco" when we couldn't find one that annoyed her.  Most recently, I was the one to get a mixer, and I chose black to match the rest of my kitchen appliances.  Her name is "Black Beauty", which you can interpret as you'd like.  Finally, in anticipation of my ice cream attachment, we decided that such a big/important attachment deserved it's own name too, and the first thing that came to mind was "Cold Hard B*&$%"!

     The first batch of ice cream turned out pretty good, especially considering we had never made ice cream before.  We made 2 pints bacon/bourbon ice cream!

Meet Black Beauty and Cold Hard B*%$&

Our finished product in Baskin Robbins pint containers I conveniently had

    I probably won't get a chance to make another batch until after I get back from my trip to Peru, but next on my list to make is some sort of strawberry/rosemary sorbet/gelato concoction.  Mmmm, I'll let you know how that goes.

Spreading The Love

    Valentine's Day, to me, is a day of spreading the love, not only to a significant other (if you have one), but also to your family and friends.  To me, it is a day no different than any other day, but a good opportunity to stop and reflect on all of the wonderful relationships you have with others, and how lucky you are to have those people in your life.  

   This year, one of my friends and I decided to bake Pink Champagne Cupcakes from one of our favorite blogs: "Eats Well With Others".  They took a long time, especially after I screwed up the frosting by adding regular sugar instead of powdered sugar.  Oops!  We ended up using the messed-up frosting to make pink cookies, and we just made some pink whipped cream to top the cupcakes.  They turned out quite tasty!    

            

   We then proceeded to make homemade Valentine's Day cards for our friends (I mean, it's not like we had ANY studying we should have been doing, right?!).  We had such a good time; it was so worth missing out on a few study hours.  The absolute best part was when we surprised our friends and delivered our baked goods/cards directly to their doors.  I didn't get pictures of them all, but I managed to get a few of their reactions:

   I think our friends appreciated our Valentine's goodies, and I know we got a lot out of making and giving them.  Who says you can't have a life in med school?!

Rosemary Scones With Lemon Icing For My Partner-In-Crime's Birthday

The other day it was my friend/study buddy/partner-in-crime's birthday, so a few of us surprised her in the morning before class with cake and scones!  I made the scones, and of course I made rosemary ones with a lemon icing.  I tend to make everything with rosemary in it these days.  I got the recipe from good ol' Giada.

Was zesting the lemons and accidentally zested my finger...

Getting ready for the surprise...

SURPRISE!!!!

21 (again)!!!

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot, And Never Brought To Mind

    Another year gone by, another year of my youth spent buried in books, but another year closer to my lifelong goal of becoming a doctor.  Okay okay, so I don't spend all of my time studying.  I try to keep a good balance, and I think I do a pretty good job.  And I still love what I'm doing.  Sometimes I just like to be dramatic.

   2011, overall, was a year of growth and discovery in my personal life, a year of cyclic burn out and energization in my professional life, and a year of prolonging the delay of my future "gratification".  Now that 2011 has come to a close, here is a recap of some of the highlights (and lowlights?):

The year I shadowed OB/Gyn's in jail and in L&D several times, falling even more in love with women's health

The year I went to Vegas with my med school buddies...

... Then went again with my sorority friends...  

... Then went again-again with my sorority friends

And apparently, I just keep wearing the same dress

The year I rode Amtrak all the way from San Diego to Sacramento all by myself

The year I took up a new hobby and ran my first half marathon (the farthest I have run to date)

The year I became a student leader for reproductive rights through Medical Students For Choice

The year I traveled to Baltimore, MD for the MSFC Annual Meeting 

The year my "UCLA relationship" ended (which subsequently allowed me to discover the triple threat of comfort food: egg rolls, shapes mac & cheese, and wine)

The year I tried online dating, and dated a ninja turtle

The year I went on a fantastic Eurotrip with my family

The year I went to Hana's beautiful wedding in Hawaii

The year my grandma scared the crap out of us all when she had her TIA

The year my sister unexpectedly had to have her ICD replaced

The year I helped write and direct a nerdy med school video

The year I rediscovered how much I love to sing

   Well, that sort of sums up a lot of 2011 for me.  I'm excited for 2012: I think it's gonna be a good one. 

A Year Older, Can't Say I'm All That Much Wiser

Sometimes I forget how old I am. It's like I just lose track of time. When people ask me how old I am, I have to pause for a second and think about it. I'm 23 now. And not that I think that is old, but it definitely reminds me of how I signed up to put much of my life on pause while I pursue my dreams. While some people my age are getting engaged, married, having children, buying homes, etc, I am still living off student loans and spend most of my time studying or taking a break from studying. In medicine, we tend to opt for "delayed gratification", putting in all of the hard work now in hopes that someday it will pay off and we will be living some sort of dream life. Well, I really hope life has something special in store for me later on.

You know what... Who am I kidding?! I love my life now! It's just different from other people's, that's all. I am so lucky to be where I'm at - so grateful for the opportunity I have before me. I love where I'm at.

Anyway, for my birthday I had a few friends over for a dessert potluck, and here are some pics!