Cheesemaking

Mom and I attempted the long-anticipated activity of cheesemaking today. We made delicious fresh mozzarella.

This is Mom now. Everything about Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable. Miracle" inspired me to try growing and making things. One thing was cheese. A couple months ago,I purchased Ricki's Cheesemaking Kit, as recommended, read the descriptions and instructions a couple dozen times, and then waited until Melissa could come home and play before actually trying it. So glad I waited; we had so much fun, and it turned out just fine. We made three balls, sampled one till it was gone, and tomorrow we're going to make bruschetta and caprese salad with the two we have left. Mmm-mmm.






Melissa again. I ran into the last of the parmesan cheese tonight as I sprinkled it onto my low-fat microwave popcorn. I asked mom, "If we put our mozzarella cheese in the basement, will it get to be parmesan cheese?" She said we'd need to leave it down there long enough and inject the right culture into it, so I plan to put it in the basement for awhile with a nice symphony playing. Mom is 100% on board.

Dad's Birthday

We had an amazing dinner of delectable salmon, spinach and strawberry salad and rice pilaf.
Of course, Dad ate from the "You are Special" plate.
The Reine de Saba cake was for dessert.

Amy picked out an antique map of the Philippines for Dad.

Other presents Dad got.....a book from me called The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese, a physician who also writes novels, a book from Mom that Dad picked out (historical fiction, I think), a car washing by Jon and Jenn, and some nut clusters.

Reine de Saba Cake

For Dad's birthday, I made a cake Mom told me about called Reine de Saba cake. It's made with chocolate and almonds, flour, sugar, eggs. It was a success with Dad and the rest of the fam. I love French cooking, even though it's often buttery. I guess you can't eat it all day every day, but it's such a lovely way to prepare food. I want to try some more recipes from Julia Child. Here are the pics of the cake process.
The eggs.

The chocolate.





Delicious!

The Giant Desk

This is the kind of desk a person needs in medical school. Enough room to spread out computer, books, pens, flashcards, binder....all of the above at once. I'll have to post later when the desk is in that state and all broken in.

The Kind of Happiness You Can Stand On

Okay, that's not a saying. But.....I found this little (medium-sized, actually) rug being sold by a couple that will be moving to Seattle for residency. They were very nice and had a nice apartment with nice furniture. I brought this rug home and set it up under my coffee table, and have been basking in its glow ever since.


Isn't it lovely? It is supposed to be faux-Persian, but it makes me think of the Southwest desert. In reality it's from Ikea, but whatever it is, it makes my apartment feel more home-y. And I haven't been this happy since, well.....since I bought my vacuum cleaner. (see post: The Kind of Happiness You Can Vacuum With)

P.S. You can see the "before" picture in the Apartment Tour blog.
P.P.S. There isn't really a post: The Kind of Happiness You Can Vacuum With

Proudest Day of Med School

Awhile ago during CFM week, we were learning to do Neuro exams on each other with our supervisor, Dr. Fine. It was at this time that I received some unexpected praise far exceeding anything I have had so far in Med School, or may have yet. Unfortunately, the praise was for something I literally have no control over: my reflexes. I guess it could be argued that a person has some control over muscle tone that might have an impact on the amount of response generated by a reflexive muscular contraction, but my muscle tone would not be considered fantastic, especially in comparison with my 23-year-old classmates'. I thought it was a joke the first time Dr. Fine praised my reflexes, but he continued to do it and to have others practice on me, and he seemed genuinely pleased and fascinated by it.


I still wasn't quite sure of how serious he was about it, as he is a rather subtle man, but later in the day, when we met again, he struck up a conversation with me about my "excellent reflexes," in which he asked me about dance and whether I missed it. I was a little taken aback that, still, he was talking about the reflexes. But for a moment, I felt like my old self again. People who know me outside of a "dance" setting have never related to me as those who know me in it. I don't know why. I took it for granted for a long time, as I had simply made it my place in the world. Then, I left it and felt somehow like a stranger again. Until the neuro exam, when I had a brief taste of what it is like to be that self.

A part of me was sad that the most positive response I've elicited from anyone about anything I've done at med school was a reflex, probably related to a former life. But I couldn't help feeling the positivity and basking in its warmth, like the presence of an old friend I loved but ignored during former days.

It was a bittersweet reunion.

Books

Last book I finished: The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker

Last book I am proud to have finished: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Book I will never finish, despite reading it for the rest of my life: Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease

Book I am reading now: The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese

Book I most relate to: Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary