Penne pasta with asparagus, lemon, and tomatoes

Bunches of asparagus look irresistibly fresh and appealing in May and June, and lend themselves to grilling, broiling, or pasta primavera. This dish resembles a warm pasta salad, equally vegetables and pasta. I chose penne because it's roughly the same size and diameter as thin asparagus spears, and I cut the asparagus into penne-length pieces to emphasize the effect. Lemon brightens the whole thing up for early summer.

You will want (makes leftovers or can be easily halved):

• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 pound pasta
• 1 tomato
• 1 lemon
• 4 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• parmesan

Begin boiling salted water for your penne. Once boiled, add the pasta and cook until al dente, then drain and set aside.

Wash your asparagus, trim the bottom 1" from the stems, toss in olive oil, and either grill or spread out on a baking sheet to broil 5-15 minutes. I've burned dishes numerous times while broiling, so check on these every five minutes to avoid burning!

Meanwhile, finely chop four cloves of garlic and sauté in olive oil in a large frying pan. Add one chopped fresh tomato and cook until slightly soft, then turn off the heat.

Once the asparagus is no longer stringy, remove from the oven, cool, and cut spears into penne-length pieces. Toss the penne and asparagus into your garlic-tomato sauce, add the juice of one lemon, grated parmesan, and black pepper. Enjoy!

So this is med school

All year I have been able to get by without flashcards, without mnemonics (I think they're silly), with a more holistic, logical approach towards learning as well as lifestyle -- plenty of time to run, eat well, and socialize. Most of the time, anyway. But this week we are getting slammed with microbiology, and it's moving rapidly -- we're already onto immunology! Just two weeks to cover hundreds of species and an entirely new vocabulary. So, I wonder, is this what second year is going to be like? All signs suggest yes.

This new level of intensity means I have to be more focused, which, paradoxically, lends itself to more distinct study breaks, as opposed to a slow, dawdling style of studying. Dinner with friends is a way to retain some humanity in these daunting times. (Am I being overly dramatic? I'm just sensing a shift in the workload and trying to make sense of it.)

Spring risotto. Good food (and ramps) bring people together.

Servings for one person:

• 4 ramps or 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4-1/2 cup peas or other spring vegetable (such as mushrooms or spinach)
• 1/4 lb Arborio or Japanese rice
• 1/2-1 tbsp butter
• ~1 tbsp olive oil
• dash of wine (optional)
• unsalted chicken broth (optional)
• 1/4 cup parmesan
• salt and pepper

On medium heat, melt butter and olive oil in a frying pan, then add the lower half of the ramps (the white and pink parts; or all of the onion). When translucent, add the rice and stir to coat. Add water or stock 1/4 cup at a time, as needed to keep the rice from sticking to the pan, stirring constantly. At some point, add a dash or two of wine. Cook until rice is fully cooked and creamy but still chewy. Just before finishing, stir in the green ramp leaves, the peas, and parmesan, and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle each serving with olive oil and a sprinkle of cheese before serving.

Spring is in the air

All the food blogs are talking about ramps today (ramp pasta, ramp pizza, more ramp pizza) and I'm stuck in the library studying endocrine hormone synthesis. 1) I can't even find ramps 2) I can't even afford ramps 3) you probably haven't even heard of ramps. Happily, we learned about erections and orgasms this morning, which is more exciting than ramps any day of the week.

But I still want to celebrate spring, so here's what I'm making for dinner:

Pasta with asparagus and pesto (amounts for 1 serving):

• 1/4 bunch of asparagus
• 3-4 tbsp basil pesto*
• 1/4 box of pasta
• parmesan

Prep the asparagus as you boil the pasta water: wash, chop off the last inch at the bottom, and then chop into 1-inch pieces. There are a few ways you could cook the asparagus: you could steam it above the pasta water, saute it in a drop of olive oil in a pan, or microwave it for a minute or two it in a bowl with some water at the bottom. Cook until it no longer tastes like raw grass, but still retains its crunch (overcooked asparagus is soggy and a yellower green).

Toss your cooked pasta, asparagus, and pesto together in a bowl or frying pan, then serve with parmesan.

Doesn't that look like spring?

*About the pesto: I make my own in large batches and freeze it into single servings using an ice cube tray (tricks for keeping food from going bad!). The internet is flooded with pesto recipes so I won't include one here.