lukeli’s posthaven

Well, another month passed, time for another blog post. I'm beginning to realize at this point that I've made the transition from student life to "real world" life. Perhaps most of my colleagues were already in the midst of this transition during medical school, living on their own in apartments, cooking their own food, etc. For my part, having lived in the co-op environment of Phi Rho Sigma during three of the four years of med school, having had most of my meals prepared by Chef Amy at Phi Rho during all four years of med school, and having lived the dorm/fraternity house life at Stanford before med school, I guess I was a little behind on the whole "growing up" thing. I must say, though, I'm quite proud of how I've adapted.

First, there was moving into my new apartment:

[Note to self: queen-sized box spring does not fit inside my car]

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[Boxed furniture = greatest invention ever. This bellhop cart is holding four chairs, a desk, a coffee table, and half of a dining table.]

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Complete with before and after photos:

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[Bedroom: before and after (yes, I realize the bed is still messy)]

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[The IKEA box graveyard. Rest in peace, cardboard and foam.]

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[The finish touch on my housework: a memory corkboard.]

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Then there was the whole learning-how-to-transform-materials-from-raw-products-to-edible-sustenance process.

[My starting point: milk, salami, cheese, and Oikos Greek yogurt. In other words, I had nowhere to go but up in terms of my culinary prowess.]

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To start with, some familiar favorites:

[Fried dumplings, i.e. Chinese comfort food. Déjà vu, perhaps?]

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[Smiley face breakfast, for branching out from my usual scrambled egg routine.]

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After a couple of weeks, I had exhausted my repertoire of microwavable/boilable/pasta-ble foods. That's when I made an amazing discovery. Did you know there's a whole Network dedicated to Food? And did you know that on the website of this "Food Network" are troves of "recipes," i.e. easy-to-follow steps for delicious meals, complete with lists of ingredients and cooking instructions? This discovery has since opened a floodgate of inner Emeril.

First, Paula Deen's Southern Fried Chicken:

[Yes, that is a side salad. Yes, I did feel less guilty eating this delicious, delicious chicken.]

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Followed by Perfect French Toast:

[Oui!]

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And finally, some baking (recipes courtesy of Anne Hoekstra):

[Banana bread and banana espresso muffins.]