Cold-weather vegetarian

To continue the theme of beautiful vegetables, last week I bought some baby eggplants and large cherry tomatoes, which have been almost too beautiful too cook. Before putting them under the knife, I took some still life shots.

Like brussels sprouts, roasted tomatoes and eggplant can be made to feel hearty, satisfying that wintry desire for heavy food, without the meat. I roasted these veggies with garlic: the fragrance filled my apartment, and a taste on the spoon revealed tangy, naturally sweet-and-sour tomatoes that melted and coated the eggplant.

Roasted tomatoes and eggplant:

• several baby or japanese eggplants, sliced in half; or one large eggplant sliced about 1-cm thick
• cherry or regular tomatoes, sliced in half
• several garlic cloves, skins on
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• couscous or pasta
• feta or goat cheese and/or fresh herbs as garnish

Preheat the oven to 325 or 350 degrees. In a large baking dish, toss the eggplant, tomatoes, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast 30-45 minutes, tossing occasionally and checking frequently to make sure the tomatoes don't burn. You may want to turn down the heat if you find the tomatoes are cooking faster than the eggplant. 

Serve on top of couscous or tossed with pasta. You may want to add crumbled feta or goat cheese and fresh herbs such as mint, cilantro, or basil for additional flavor.

Transformations II

The other night a friend from home asked me what we're studying these days. "Blood disorders--like bleeding and clotting--and leukemia and lymphoma," I replied. "Blood clots--ew!" was his response.

His reaction reminded me that not too long ago I couldn't have a conversation about a blood clot without feeling sick and faint. And yet without realizing it I've completely changed. We've zoomed in on clots, so that I now think about how you build a clot and how you take one down, almost as if it's construction work. What are the heritable or acquired diseases or drug interactions that impact clotting and bleeding? There's so much more than "clot--gross!" Thank goodness.

For many years I thought eggplant was gross. I didn't like the flavor, texture, or anything about it. Now I love how it's soft and meaty--a great vegetarian substitute!

Barley salad with fall vegetables:

• 1/2-3/4 cup barley, cooked in a rice cooker with 2:1 water:barley
• 6 chard or kale leaves, steamed and chopped
• 1/2 or 1 slice small eggplant, sliced 1-cm thick and roasted in the oven (I used leftovers from this sandwich that I did end up having time to make)
• few cherry tomatoes, sliced small
• feta cheese to taste
• olive oil to taste, about 1 teaspoon

Cook ingredients separately and toss together with olive oil. Enjoy warm or cold!

 

Neither of you scare me now!

Fried green tomatoes

Even I sometimes run out of time to cook. But this doesn't mean that I'm not still thinking about food, that the green tomatoes my friend and editor gave me aren't calling out to me from the fridge. I had some great plans for these beautiful tomatoes before it struck me just how little I knew about chemotherapy for leukemia and lymphoma.

Here is what I would be cooking if I were cooking.

Fried green tomatoes:

• green tomatoes
• 1 egg
• flour
• breadcrumbs
• canola or olive oil
• salt and/or parmesan

Arrange three shallow bowls or plates side by side: flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Slice large tomatoes into 1-cm slices or cherry tomatoes in half. Dip in flour, then a beaten egg, then breadcrumbs. Heat a generous layer of canola or olive oil in a large frying pan; when hot, lay the tomatoes out side by side in the oil. Fry at high heat until crisp on one side, then flip over (using two forks) and fry the other side. Cool on a paper bag or paper towels. Sprinkle with salt or parmesan cheese and serve right away. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

Roasted eggplant sandwiches:

• 1 small eggplant
• 1 tomato
• feta cheese
• bread or pita
• olive oil, salt, pepper

Slice the eggplant and tomato 1-cm thick. Place the eggplant slices side-by-side on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 5-15 minutes, until soft or crispy (as you like it) but not burned. More oil = crispier eggplant. Toast your slices of bread and create a stack of eggplant-feta-tomato slices. Drizzle with olive oil if you're feeling really luxurious. Ah, the combination of textures and sweet-and-sour flavors, mm!

I did toss these into a quick stir-fry -- and yum!

Tricks for when you run out of time to cook: keep frozen soups, chili, ravioli, even prepped veggies in the freezer. Try stir-fries. Stock your fridge with snackable fruits and veggies and proteins such as yogurt and cottage cheese. Hunker down. But you know all this!

Sweet and sour eggplant

The beauty of this version is that it can be made without any special Chinese ingredients (it can be made even here in Guatemala!).

Sweet and sour eggplant:

• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2-1" cubes
• 1/2-1 small onion
• 1 small tomato
• 1" fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• handful of fresh cilantro, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1-2 scallions, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon honey or sugar
• 1 tablespoon (a generous splash) of cider or white vinegar
• lots of black pepper
• two generous dashes of salt
• 1 tablespoon of oil

Toss the eggplant cubes with a generous dash of salt and cover with water in a small bowl. Set aside and soak for at least half an hour (this allows the eggplant to soak up water, instead of soaking up oil later), then drain the salt water.

Slice the onion and tomatoes into 1" pieces. Peel and mince the ginger and garlic.

Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a frying pan or wok at high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a minute until fragrant. Add the onion, tomato, and eggplant. Stirring, add the honey, vinegar, salt and pepper. Continue to cook at high heat. Alternate between sautéing without a lid and adding water by the quarter-cup, then covering to simmer, so that the eggplant cooks through and the vegetables melt together, but the sauce browns. The black pepper should add a good spice without the need for red pepper flakes.

As the pan simmers, chop the cilantro and scallion. When the eggplant is cooked through, toss in the herbs and turn off the heat. Serve hot!

Crunch time

Exam week (or pre-exam week) means snack week. I take one look at a 50-slide lecture on immunoglobulins and decide I can't make it through without the proper hydration and nutritional support (malnutrition makes you more susceptible to infections, does it not?).

I've tried to get healthier with my snacking: quickly sauteed broccoli with soy sauce for salt and crunch, raw veggies or air-popped popcorn for crunch and volume, granola bars or yogurt for wholesome and filling, etc. Here is a recipe for those of you craving cheese and crackers. It requires burning a vegetable, something most of you should be able to do.

Smoky eggplant dip (recipe courtesy of my friend's 86-year old grandmother):

• 1 medium-sized eggplant, whole
• 1/2 red onion
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper
• crackers or toast for serving

In a cast iron frying pan at medium-high heat (no oil), burn the whole eggplant on all sides until the skin is blackened and pulls away from the flesh, which should be soft. (This will likely turn your pan black, so use a cast iron or some pan that you don't mind burning. Turn the eggplant every few minutes to get all sides.) Cool the eggplant, peel and discard the skin, and puree in a blender or food processor along with the olive oil, salt & pepper. Add onion to taste, still in the food processor (too much onion is easily overpowering). Enjoy on crackers.

Better keep studying: Med School Dropouts for a National Health Plan doesn't quite carry the same punch, does it?

(My brain on immunology)

"I cannot responsibly answer this question"

My parents, who are both clinicians, of different sorts, frequently debate how much knowledge one should have before suggesting an answer to a question. There are certain questions (such as, "Daddy, why are there tides?") which they historically refused to answer, and others on which they are happy to speculate ("why haven't we passed gun control yet?").

I have one professor, in his late 70s or early 80s, who seems to revel in the phrase "I cannot responsibly answer this question." Some of my classmates seem frustrated with this answer, perhaps supposing that the professor would be able to answer the question responsibly if he kept up with the latest research. I think, however, that he's trying to be a role model for us, to discourage us from BS'ing when we don't know an answer -- the consequences in medicine, after all, are significant. Yet the key difference is that this elderly gentleman has the confidence and authority to profess ignorance -- whereas we, still unproven and largely incompetent, are going to be spending the foreseeable future getting asked "pimp questions" (pop quizzes) to which we will have to come up with reasonable answers on the spot. You can see how bullshitting seems tempting.

What do I know a little bit about? Cooking. Running at a nice easy pace. Tidying up the apartment. Etc. It's nice to have a few arenas where I feel some confidence, to which I can retreat for a few hours when the facts being thrown at me seem overwhelming.

Here's a nice Sunday evening supper.

Roasted eggplant parm (also simplified from Mario Batali):

• 1 eggplant, sliced into strips or rounds about 1/4-inch thick
• 1 ball of fresh mozzarella, also sliced thin
• tomato sauce, or:
• 1 can tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• few tbsp olive oil
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• basil optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange eggplant slices side by side (not overlapping) on a baking sheet, then brush each one with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip slices over and repeat on the other side. Roast in the oven for 10-20 minutes, until eggplant is soft (some pieces may be crispy) but not burned.

If you are making your own tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a pan, add the garlic, cook for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes until the eggplant is ready.

Layer eggplant: eggplant-sauce-cheese (and throw basil in there if you like) in a smaller pan and bake at 300 degrees until mixture is bubbly. Serve with bread or pasta to mop up the sauce.