This week has been stressful in an unusual sort of way: there's no time crunch, we're not studying any tragic diseases or injuries, and yet preparing to dissect genitalia is stressful. It's unpleasant, and it can't be avoided. Friday evening we unwound a bit by attending "Grand Rounds," a parody show put together by the fourth-years celebrating their four years of med school, with all its pros and cons. The most notable feature was a long, long slide show of students napping at all times in all places: definitely humorous, but a little sad if you think about it. It's daunting to imagine what we have ahead of us, even if much of it is exciting and will bring our class closer together.
Another way to unwind, other than eating high-fat food and drinking and dancing, is to eat fresh and delicious food. Chopping vegetables is cathartic. I hated fennel as a kid, but now I've rediscovered it with a vengeance.
Mario Batali's recipe for fennel and citrus salad (Vitamin C, I just learned, enhances iron absorption in the gut, which is great for preventing anemia!):
- 1 fennel bulb (sold at Trader Joe's in packs of two)
- 1 orange or small grapefruit, or 2 clementines
- juice of 1 lemon
- olive oil
- pepper
Slice the fennel as thin as possible, cutting around the solid white stalk in the middle. Discard the center stalk. Section the citrus: for the orange or grapefruit, you'll have to remove the segments from their casings; clementines are fine as they are. Toss with lemon juice, a drop of oil (too much doesn't taste as good), and pepper.
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