I found myself asking this question (once again) today in Human Health and Disease. What lead to this, you may ask? Well I will tell you: rows upon rows upon rows of various anatomical preparations, sitting in formaldehyde, just waiting for me to study them! So so so cool! Even better, they all had tons of colored pins in them, and each pin identified an anatomical structure, so you could test yourself!
Every time I see things like this (the Bodies exhibit, or medical museums, for example), I realize just how badly I want to be a doctor. Yup, the idea of baking and opening a little bakery is still somewhere in my head, but it gets pushed waaay back on days like today. I mean, how cool is being able to see exactly what is inside of you, how it is all connected, where something could go wrong, and why we evolved how we did? OK, maybe it is only that cool to me. But maybe that means that being a doctor is really what I am meant to do with my life? I am going to go with yes, at least for the moment. (and maybe specifically I should consider surgery? But that I really don't know about yet...)
In other, rather less strange, news... Rachel Spear is the best person in the world! I came home after part 2 of 3 of my Danish midterm today, and my roommate calls out, "You have some mail, its in the kitchen." I never get mail, unless it is something from the Danish government about my visa, CPR card, etc, so I was rather confused. And what is sitting there, but an envelope from my best friend! Pictures, music, and the reminder that I have amazing friends was exactly what I needed! So thank you thank you thank you yotch #1! And you all could be my favorite people too... hint, hint... I like packages, letters, anything!
Last thoughts:
1. I will be home in 55 days (holy crap!)
2. My vegan soda bread needs a little more work before I post the recipe.
3. Yankees in the World Series=happiness! also= more late nights in my future, since games usually start at 2am Copenhagen time. Oh well, totally worth it.
4. TOP CHEF! I totally forgot to post this before, but Natalie Portman, one of my favorite actresses, is going to be on Top Chef this week. And the best part, SHE IS A VEGAN!! Hahaha, I love watching chefs try to cook vegan food, they get so scared!
And of course, my parents are coming on Saturday! Two weeks of vacation, here I come. Just need to get through these pesky midterms...
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Seitan Ropa Vieja (aka "Vampire-Repelling Vegan Tribute to Julia Child")
I saw this recipe on the Isthmus website a few weeks back, and I have been meaning to try it since then. I finally managed to have seitan and a bottle of red wine at the same time, so I ran out to get the other ingredients, and made this wonderful creation the other night. The original recipe is here. I cut it in half, made a few changes with the spices based on what I had on hand, and added a little extra heat in the form of hot peppers! My cooking times varied too. Here is what I ended up with:
Seitan Ropa Vieja
1 Head of Garlic (yes HEAD, not clove)
Olive oil
1 Green Bell Pepper
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1 Onion
1 Tb Oregano
1 tsp Cayenne
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp. Chili Powder
Salt and Pepper
(feel free to use whatever spices you have on hand)
275 g Seitan, chopped into bite-sized pieces
400 g Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Cup Red Wine (I used an Argentina Malbec, since this is what I like to drink!)
2 Bay Leaves
1 Hot pepper, minced with the seeds (optional, but I think this was an excellent addition!)
1. Roast the garlic. To do this, cut both ends of the head, drizzle it with olive oil, wrap it in foil, and bake it at 375 F (190 C) for about 50 minutes, or until it is nice and soft.
Let it cool so you don't burn your fingers, then pop the individual cloves out, and mash them into a paste (a fork should work fine for this)
2. Start the olive oil heating in a large-ish pot (the whole stew will eventually be in it) over medium heat.
3. Slice your bell peppers and onion.
4. Once the oil is good and hot, add the peppers and onions. Cook until they are soft and starting to brown, around 15 minutes.
5. Add your mashed up garlic and spices. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
6. Add everything else to the pot: seitan (chopped into bite-sized pieces), wine, tomatoes, bay leaves, and hot pepper (unless you are a weeny and not using one). I would suggest adding all the liquid from the tomatoes, otherwise you will need to add some liquid later in the cooking process.
7. Bring everything to a boil, then turn down to medium-low. Simmer for 45-60 minutes (mine as more like 60), partially covered. Add liquid if you need to (but you probably won't). Taste and adjust seasoning as you go!
I ate mine over a mix of leftover quinoa and brown rice, but you could certainly eat it with the grain of your choice!
With any luck, your will look like mine, or better! And by the way, it was completely and utterly delicious! This may be a new favorite!
Seitan Ropa Vieja
1 Head of Garlic (yes HEAD, not clove)
Olive oil
1 Green Bell Pepper
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1 Onion
1 Tb Oregano
1 tsp Cayenne
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp. Chili Powder
Salt and Pepper
(feel free to use whatever spices you have on hand)
275 g Seitan, chopped into bite-sized pieces
400 g Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Cup Red Wine (I used an Argentina Malbec, since this is what I like to drink!)
2 Bay Leaves
1 Hot pepper, minced with the seeds (optional, but I think this was an excellent addition!)
1. Roast the garlic. To do this, cut both ends of the head, drizzle it with olive oil, wrap it in foil, and bake it at 375 F (190 C) for about 50 minutes, or until it is nice and soft.
Let it cool so you don't burn your fingers, then pop the individual cloves out, and mash them into a paste (a fork should work fine for this)
2. Start the olive oil heating in a large-ish pot (the whole stew will eventually be in it) over medium heat.
3. Slice your bell peppers and onion.
4. Once the oil is good and hot, add the peppers and onions. Cook until they are soft and starting to brown, around 15 minutes.
5. Add your mashed up garlic and spices. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
6. Add everything else to the pot: seitan (chopped into bite-sized pieces), wine, tomatoes, bay leaves, and hot pepper (unless you are a weeny and not using one). I would suggest adding all the liquid from the tomatoes, otherwise you will need to add some liquid later in the cooking process.
7. Bring everything to a boil, then turn down to medium-low. Simmer for 45-60 minutes (mine as more like 60), partially covered. Add liquid if you need to (but you probably won't). Taste and adjust seasoning as you go!
I ate mine over a mix of leftover quinoa and brown rice, but you could certainly eat it with the grain of your choice!
With any luck, your will look like mine, or better! And by the way, it was completely and utterly delicious! This may be a new favorite!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Update on life
I know, I know, I haven't written anything in awhile- I'm a bad blogger. But I shall attempt to remedy that with a view stories of recent happenings. And I promise promise promise I will be better!
So, did I mention I was trying out a new cake? Chocolate-Avocado Cake with Avocado Buttercream! Sounds weird and completely inedible, right? Wrong! It actually turned out really well. About a week ago (I know, I haven't written in ages), the "Americans Cooking in Copenhagen" had a cooking night, and we gathered for food, wine, cake, and movies at Brandon's apartment, and this was my contribution:
Pretty much the only decent size pan my roommate has is heart-shaped, hence I have been making many heart cakes and brownies.
The recipe is all over many vegan (and non-vegan) baking blogs. The cake recipe is originally from Vegetarian in the Middle East, and the frosting is from Alton Brown. (By the way, I absolutely love Alton Brown, Good Eats, and actually pretty much anything on Food Network. When I grow up, I want to be him... any suggestions on how to go about doing that?) Any way, I pretty much followed this, but I didn't have that much chocolate to melt, so I just put in a little and added some extra cocoa. It still turned out well! And surprisingly, everyone in the group (all non-vegans) seemed to really like it! I think its a keeper.
So beyond baking... studying, studying, writing, reading... it's almost like I'm in school or something! I guess DIS finally decided to start giving us some work, but it is still nothing compared to the normal workload at home, so I really can't complain. But some of the other programs and classes are getting hit really hard last week and this coming week, so people are panicking a bit. I think we were all lulled into a false sense of security, and now with travel break just a week away, all the professors are pushing to get mid-terms exams and projects done.
And speaking of travel break, my parents get here a week from today! I am really excited to see them and travel for 2 weeks. I think we finally have a basic plan: stay in Copenhagen Saturday to Wednesday morning, then rent a car and see the sights of Denmark, end up back in Copenhagen and take an overnight train to Prague, stay there a few days, take another train to Budapest for a night, then head back to Copenhagen. Yay yay yay!
This is going to be awesome- both the traveling and having a little bit of home here! I have now been in Copenhagen for more than 2 months, and I have less then 2 months before I head home. It might seem bad to say, but I am actually looking forward to going home. I don't know if I will still feel that way when the time actually comes to leave, but at the moment here are my feelings: I have loved my experiences here, but 2 months is enough. I know I am not going to be fully integrated into Danish life in 2 or 4 months, and I miss everyone and everything at home. This has been amazing and I am so glad I decided to study here, but I could happily be done now. I guess DIS has learned this from experience, and that is probably why they schedule a long break for us now. And when I get back from traveling, there will be just a week and a half, then more traveling, this time to London for Thanksgiving, and then just three weeks of finishing up classes, finals, and papers, and then I am home!!! So I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
And I have been having lots and lots of fun here. Last night, Alexis came home for his birthday (that would be my roommate who is currently studying in England for the semester), and we had a surprise party last night. Which meant Mitte and I spent a good part of the day baking, decorating, and cleaning. We made some rather impressive cakes, using fondant and the whole nine-yards!
And this morning was the 350 Climate Change event in Copenhagen. Check out 350.org for more info about the event, but essentially it is an international day for climate action, raising awareness, etc. There are 4500 events in 181 countries, and it is really amazing. A lot of volunteers here have been working like crazy to make it a success, and there were hundreds of people in the rain in Radhuspladsen this morning! It was great!
And now I have work to do, but I promise more updates (and more often) to come!
So, did I mention I was trying out a new cake? Chocolate-Avocado Cake with Avocado Buttercream! Sounds weird and completely inedible, right? Wrong! It actually turned out really well. About a week ago (I know, I haven't written in ages), the "Americans Cooking in Copenhagen" had a cooking night, and we gathered for food, wine, cake, and movies at Brandon's apartment, and this was my contribution:
Pretty much the only decent size pan my roommate has is heart-shaped, hence I have been making many heart cakes and brownies.
The recipe is all over many vegan (and non-vegan) baking blogs. The cake recipe is originally from Vegetarian in the Middle East, and the frosting is from Alton Brown. (By the way, I absolutely love Alton Brown, Good Eats, and actually pretty much anything on Food Network. When I grow up, I want to be him... any suggestions on how to go about doing that?) Any way, I pretty much followed this, but I didn't have that much chocolate to melt, so I just put in a little and added some extra cocoa. It still turned out well! And surprisingly, everyone in the group (all non-vegans) seemed to really like it! I think its a keeper.
So beyond baking... studying, studying, writing, reading... it's almost like I'm in school or something! I guess DIS finally decided to start giving us some work, but it is still nothing compared to the normal workload at home, so I really can't complain. But some of the other programs and classes are getting hit really hard last week and this coming week, so people are panicking a bit. I think we were all lulled into a false sense of security, and now with travel break just a week away, all the professors are pushing to get mid-terms exams and projects done.
And speaking of travel break, my parents get here a week from today! I am really excited to see them and travel for 2 weeks. I think we finally have a basic plan: stay in Copenhagen Saturday to Wednesday morning, then rent a car and see the sights of Denmark, end up back in Copenhagen and take an overnight train to Prague, stay there a few days, take another train to Budapest for a night, then head back to Copenhagen. Yay yay yay!
This is going to be awesome- both the traveling and having a little bit of home here! I have now been in Copenhagen for more than 2 months, and I have less then 2 months before I head home. It might seem bad to say, but I am actually looking forward to going home. I don't know if I will still feel that way when the time actually comes to leave, but at the moment here are my feelings: I have loved my experiences here, but 2 months is enough. I know I am not going to be fully integrated into Danish life in 2 or 4 months, and I miss everyone and everything at home. This has been amazing and I am so glad I decided to study here, but I could happily be done now. I guess DIS has learned this from experience, and that is probably why they schedule a long break for us now. And when I get back from traveling, there will be just a week and a half, then more traveling, this time to London for Thanksgiving, and then just three weeks of finishing up classes, finals, and papers, and then I am home!!! So I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
And I have been having lots and lots of fun here. Last night, Alexis came home for his birthday (that would be my roommate who is currently studying in England for the semester), and we had a surprise party last night. Which meant Mitte and I spent a good part of the day baking, decorating, and cleaning. We made some rather impressive cakes, using fondant and the whole nine-yards!
And this morning was the 350 Climate Change event in Copenhagen. Check out 350.org for more info about the event, but essentially it is an international day for climate action, raising awareness, etc. There are 4500 events in 181 countries, and it is really amazing. A lot of volunteers here have been working like crazy to make it a success, and there were hundreds of people in the rain in Radhuspladsen this morning! It was great!
And now I have work to do, but I promise more updates (and more often) to come!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Pictures pictures pictures!
I got back from my Long Study Tour to Berlin/Poznan this weekend, but I am still tired, so I will give a full update on the trip a little later. Just know that it was awesome and I am in love with Berlin!
But to placate you all for the moment, I started a Picasa account! Now you can see all my pictures, which are on Facebook too, but this might be easier. I will still put some of my favorites in the blog, but this way if you are especially interested, you can check them out!
Here is the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/MalleryO
Alright, dinner time (oh right, I need to post recipes too... remind me!) I think tonight I am going to make an Indian eggplant dish called Baigan Bharta... wish me luck!
But to placate you all for the moment, I started a Picasa account! Now you can see all my pictures, which are on Facebook too, but this might be easier. I will still put some of my favorites in the blog, but this way if you are especially interested, you can check them out!
Here is the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/MalleryO
Alright, dinner time (oh right, I need to post recipes too... remind me!) I think tonight I am going to make an Indian eggplant dish called Baigan Bharta... wish me luck!
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