Saturday, January 30, 2010

Fun in the Most Surprising Places

After several days of being sick, what I really needed today was some fun. Unfortunately, with another anatomy exam coming up on Monday, fun wasn't necessarily feasible (or even desirable, considering that I'm still not feeling 100% better). So, my next task was to find someplace to study other than my room, because it's begun to wear out its usefulness as a productive studying space. Sad, I know. I have yet to study in the Einstein library, but from what I've seen of it, I have a feeling it would wear out very quickly. It's nothing compared to the quirky Rolvaag, where every semester I could find a new nook that felt completely different and refreshing, or the bright and cheery Hustad, where the "new" smell and the large windows all contributed toward re-energizing my desire to study. I had studied at the Fordham library last night (and plan on going there again tomorrow), and I was thinking that a trip out of the Bronx might do me some good, so I came up with a winning solution: going straight to the middle of Manhattan to study at the main branch of the New York Public Library.

Part of the main reading room, which I learned is the length of 2 city blocks!

It was a good choice. The main reading room, where I decided to camp out, was HUGE. I arrived just as the library was opening, at 10 a.m. Throughout the morning, a slow trickle of people gradually joined me in the reading room; by the time I left a few hours later, it was full -- but still, all that could be heard was the delightful ambient noise of fans, pages turning, and the muffled scraping of wooden chairs on the stone floor. Sometime in the middle of it all, I realized I was happy. I was actually enjoying myself. Studying had become less of a task to get done, more of an experience to enjoy along with the hundreds of other people in the room. I'm going to have to do this more often.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

3.5 Sticks of Butter

I don't want to brag too much, but I have to report that the honey and pine nut tart with sweet tart crust (whew, that's a mouthful!) was an unequivocal success. So buttery, sweet, salty -- perfect. Some mouth-watering pictures:

Yummy pine nuts in a gooey, buttery custard...

Warm tart with cold, creamy ice cream...

Along with some decaf French press coffee, a perfect lunch dessert!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Secret Santas

For Christmas, my Einstein friends and I decided to do Secret Santas, since we wanted to give each other gifts but not spend a ridiculous amount of money. Tristan drew my name, and I have to say he is one smart guy, because look at what he gave me:

If you give me a cookbook of Italian desserts, then you'd better believe I'm going to cook you Italian desserts.

Since today is Cat's birthday, I decided to try out my first recipe from this book of incredibly tasty-looking Italian desserts. For my first attempt, I decided to try none other than the dessert on the front cover, Honey and Pine Nut Tart with Sweet Tart Crust.

The crust required the fresh zest of one small orange. I used, for the fun of it, a blood orange...

...which later held up to its name and gave me a tasty, shirt-staining treat.

Custard, made with honey, sugar, LOTS of butter, eggs, and cream, and finally...

...voila! The finished product.

Other than the bizarre divot, it looks and smells as good as can be. We'll see how it tastes later tonight!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Fuzzy

Either my memory is failing, my life has become boring, or I've become so adjusted to New York that things just aren't as in-your-face exciting anymore. Or I've become lazy at uploading pictures onto my computer. Possibly all four. What have I done in the 2 weeks back at medical school?

1. Went to a professional bullriding rodeo. In New York. Weird (but awesome!).
2. Skipped classes to hang out with Dr. Katz at the Englewood Hospital. My roommate made fun of me because I skipped class to go learn more -- and loved it!
3. Helped saw open our cadaver's skull; we'll remove the brain next time. Brain!
4. Baked 2 batches of cookies. My lab partners love me.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm about to go to Buffalo Wild Wings with my fellow Minnesota fans to cheer on the Vikings.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

How to Stay Warm

Northern Minnesota is beautiful any time of the year, and winter is no exception. However, it requires a certain amount of...persistence. To avoid being miserable during skiing and lakeshore exploring, suiting up required the following elements:

- 3 layers of socks
- Snowboots
- Spandex
- Sweatpants
- Snowpants
- 2 long-sleeve shirts
- Long-sleeve hooded shirt
- Fleece jacket
- Heavy winter jacket
- 2 layers of gloves
- Scarf
- Hat
- Ski goggles

...and I am still convinced that ski boots need to have built-in heaters, because I couldn't feel my toes after approximately 1.5 runs down Lutsen in the -20 degree windchill.

But for the views, it was worth it! Some samples:

Enjoying the beautiful (but cold) view of Lake Superior from the top of Moose Mountain

Chilly lake, but not yet frozen

Just because the lake wasn't frozen over didn't mean the surrounding areas were untouched

Bubbly ice

A New Year's sunset

Split Rock Lighthouse: classic

The air was so cold that Lake Superior itself was steaming.