Having escaped maternal rejection

It was a wake-up call to recently find myself scribbling "what happens to sperm not ejaculated? do they die?" without a concern in the world other than whether sperm left in the epididymis are phagocytosed after a few weeks and by what. Makes you want to take a hard look in the mirror at what you've become.

Yesterday we learned that maternal white blood cells can recognize fetal blood cells as "foreign" (if they happen to come in contact) and may then develop antibodies against them. The mother "mounts an immune response" against the developing fetus in her uterus -- leading to problems down the road. "The ultimate maternal rejection," as my professor put it.

But my mother loves me, so why not post a simple recipe that she taught me?

Haroset (technically a dish for Passover, but such a good snack...)

• 2 large green apples
• 1/4-1/2 cup walnuts
• ~1 tbsp cinnamon
• ~1/4 red wine (or grape juice; a smaller amount of balsamic vinegar would probably work too)

Chop the apples into 1-cm or less chunks. Roughly chop the walnuts (untoasted). Toss all together. Makes a great snack! I confess that I brought some to school for lunch, wine and all.