Cooking keeps me sane

Today, after a very good but relatively stressful day in a new place, it was such a relief to come home, unpack my groceries, fill three straw baskets with a variety of produce and dried goods, and chop some carrots and zucchini. Order at home and confidence in a task I know how to do well. The challenge of cooking within local constraints is one I can handle and even find exciting.

This morning I took the history and physicals of five pregnant women in for their routine check-ups. I asked three very simple questions, learned to read a urine stick and measure uterine height, and even got to learn and practice using a sonogram. The women were healthy and the history a little too simple for my taste, but overall it was more patient interaction, independence, Spanish, and technology use than I'd had to date.

Carrots and zucchini with cumin:

• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-cm thick rounds (the carrots in Guatemala have so much flavor!)
• 2 medium zucchinis, sliced into 1-cm thick rounds (I used spherical zucchinis instead and sliced them into quarters first)
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp canola or olive oil

Heat oil in a pan with one slice of garlic until the garlic sizzles, then add garlic and cumin. Stir for half a minute, then add carrots and zucchini. Sauté, adding 1/4 water if needed to keep from burning. Cook for just a minute or two so that the vegetables retain their crunch and flavor. I didn't even season with salt and pepper, but you could.