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.

A green and fibrous feast

Theme of the day: antibiotic resistance. Do not over-prescribe antibiotics! But, wow, the main culprit is not physicians but farming practices. Pump cattle full of antibiotics and it will run off into the environment. Yet another reason to avoid beef.

Instead: finally got my hands on ramps! Perks to being out in the boonies. Found a large pile of them at the Troy farmers market for $3 a bunch (that's half a bunch pictured below), still available even as the market was closing up for the day. Added a couple to a quiche yesterday and thought they made a huge difference.

To take a page out of my dad's cookbook, tonight's dinner were those eagerly-anticipated ramps, combined with English peas and spaghetti, alongside artichokes. The star of the dinner ended up being those artichokes, cooked up by my friend Travis according to his mother's recipe. (At one point we were each on the phone with our parents, asking for cooking tips.) We ate them slowly, leaf by leaf, after the pasta as a sort of drawn-out summer dessert.

Artichokes steamed with garlic:

• 1 artichoke per person (available nearly year-round at Trader Joe's)
• 1 clove of garlic per artichoke
• olive oil, salt, and pepper

Slice the stems and tops off of the artichokes so that they resemble flowers. Slice up each clove of garlic and stuff slices in between the artichoke leaves. Place the artichokes upright in a large pot (with a lid) and fill the pot with 1-2" of water. Drizzle the artichokes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the lid on the pot, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and steam for 30-45 minutes until tender.

Pasta with ramps and peas (quantities for one person):

• 1/4 box of pasta
• 1/4-1/2 cup of peas or other spring vegetable
• 4 ramps
• ~1 tsp olive oil
• parmesan and black pepper

Slice the ramps, from roots to leaves. Heat olive oil in a frying pan, then add the ramps and peas. Cook for just one minute and turn off the heat. Toss with the almost-cooked pasta and serve with parmesan and black pepper.

Take that, gut flora!

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.