Has anything changed?

Back at school, I am amazed at how much everything appears to be the same: social cliques, study habits, daily routine. How did we pick up so smoothly exactly where we left off? We strain to ask each other about summer experiences, but quickly the conversation veers towards apartment redecorating, upcoming dinners out, and lecture content. And yet I get the sense that many people feel changed by their summers, and are keeping that feeling within.

Without much fanfare, they have launched us into second year. Oddly, because there was much more fanfare at the start of first year (the white coat ceremony), this year feels like a significant departure from the past. A series of lectures on the "principles of drug therapy" represents the study of medicine opposed to human biology.

Here's a recipe with a little tweak on the norm, a variation in honor of summer (and my CSA share). My dad, being a food purist in favor of traditional recipes, commented, "What, do you want to eat like you live on a commune?" Despite his objections, the summer squash in this recipe adds a sweetness to the sauce and lightens the dish overall, a nice summer adjustment.

Summer pasta with squash and tomatoes (feeds two):

• 2 cups large macaroni or shells
• 1 medium-sized summer squash or zucchini
• handful of cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• handful of parsley
• parmesan
• 1/2 tablespoon each butter and olive oil
• salt & pepper

Get water boiling for the pasta.

Melt butter and olive oil together in a saucepan. Finely chop the onion and garlic (both peeled), and add to the hot oil. Cook for a minute until fragrant. Chop the squash into 1" cubes (notice a pattern here?) and slice the tomatoes in half. Add the squash and cook for a few minutes until slightly soft, then add the tomatoes. Cook for just a minute and turn off the heat.

Cook the pasta in salted water. Before the pasta is fully cooked, drain most of the water and add the pasta to the saucepan with the sauce. Cook at high heat, stirring constantly, adding pasta water as needed. Stir in chopped parsley and grated parmesan. Serve hot!

+ =

Summer vegetable soup

Back in Albany!

Exciting news: while I was away, I signed up for a CSA (community-supported agriculture) share from the local Patroon Land Farm. This means a fresh load of vegetables each week: beautiful kale, fennel, corn, lettuce, lots and lots of squash and zucchini, etc. For only $100, I will have fresh, local vegetables through October. I like CSA's because they take the decision about which vegetables I need to buy (which, as you might imagine, occupies a lot of brain power) out of my hands. Instead, I am presented with the challenge of how to use different (and abundant) vegetables.

This recipe comes from my friend Sasha's grandmother, the source of many delicious vegetable dishes.

Summer vegetable soup (two small servings):

• 1 large zucchini or squash or several heads of broccoli (really any vegetable you like)
• 4 cloves of fresh garlic
• 1 small onion (I used three large scallions from my farm share instead)
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
• 1-2 tablespoons sour cream or Greek yogurt
• (chicken stock optional)
• salt & pepper

Chop the garlic and onion into small pieces. Heat the olive oil and add the garlic and onions, cooking for a minute, until fragrant. Meanwhile, chop the zucchini into 1" pieces (skin on), then add to the hot pan. Saute over high heat, adding a 1/4-cupful of water (or chicken stock) as needed, until the zucchini is soft, much softer than usual for eating. You should be able to crush a piece using just the back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

Turn off the heat and allow the zucchini to cool. Using a food processor or immersion blender, puree the zucchini entirely, then add sour cream or yogurt to taste. Enjoy warm or cold.

Everything has grown much greener since I left

So much time

A little lesson in community health: the patients here mostly come in complaining of GI distress, rashes, genital discomfort, or colds. Apparently, the main causes of GI distress are ascaris (worms), giardia, or (rarely) amoeba (I don't actually know that that means). The rashes are either fungal, scabies, or reactions to sun or use of laundry detergent as hand soap. The genital issues are fungal infections or STDs. And my "attending" claims that the colds are bacterial in nature.

The main social issues underpinning these complaints, as they have been explained to me so far, are 1) public sanitation related to food and water, and handwashing, 2) personal sanitation as the weather is damp and clothes are washed and changed infrequently, and 3) sexual behaviors aka men cheating on their wives.

Well, those are my oversimplified observations at the end of week one. Yesterday, I got home at 1pm, and having already exercised, and not feeling like reading, I decided upon a cooking project.

Butternut squash ravioli:

This recipe is really from the anti-med school cookbook, because it is relatively time-consuming and benefits from a pasta machine, which is a bit obscure as a household item. However, the ingredient list is short, simple, and cheap, and overall the process took no longer than 45 minutes. If you've ever attended a Chinese dumpling party, why not try an "Italian dumpling party"?

Filling

• 1/2 butternut squash (should make 1 cup mashed)
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• handful of fresh or dried thyme, sage, or rosemary, stems removed and chopped
• salt and pepper
• ~1/2 cup grated parmesan, or to taste

Dough

• 3 cups flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• dash of water as needed

Slice the butternut squash in half horizontally, and then again in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and place face up in a large baking dish. Pour in 1/2 cup of water to surround the squash. Bake at ~400 degrees, adding more water as it evaporates, until a knife or fork slices in easily. Cool in the fridge.

Combine all the ingredients for the dough, kneading until the consistency is solid and stretchy. Roll into a ball and cover in plastic wrap, in the fridge for half an hour.

Using a sharp knife, peel the squash and cut it into 1" cubes. Melt butter in a large saucepan and add the garlic. After a minute, add the squash. Saute until completely soft, adding water as needed to keep from burning. You should be able to mash the squash easily using just the back of a fork. In a large bowl, mash the squash, herbs, salt and pepper, and parmesan. Return to the fridge.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface, using one fist-sized ball of dough at a time while leaving the rest in the fridge. If you have a pasta machine, follow those directions. Otherwise, roll the dough as thin as you can get it with just a rolling pin. Using a glass or round cookie cutter, cut out rounds. Place 1 tsp of squash filling into a round of dough, place another round on top, and knead the edges together to seal. You may need to wet your fingertips with water to get the edges of dough to seal. Store on a floured surface under a lid to keep ravioli from drying out.

Cooking time will depend on how thin your dough is. My ravioli were as thick as periogies and took at least 20 minutes to cook through, although the recipe suggested 12-15 minutes. I served mine with a simple tomato sauce and some freshly grated queso duro.

Overall a success, and now I can say that I've made ravioli from scratch!

Recipe simplified from: here for the filling and here for the dough.