Dinner Party

We are so excited that a few more friends have moved into the neighborhood two couples into our very same building in Del Ray! We are having a dinner party tomorrow night to welcome them to the building.  I am pulling out a few old favorites for dinner. Our apartment smells amazing right now.  I am baking the favorite banana snack cake and I made a big pot of chili for the week.

Here is the menu for tomorrow night.
Ina's Asian Grilled Salmon
Creamy Corn Polenta
Arugula Salad
Bruschetta 
Banana Cupcakes

The Barefoot Contessa is my absolute fave on The Food Network and this salmon recipe is to die for. Plus it is SO simple!
1 clove garlic minced
2 tbs dijon mustard
3 tbs soy sauce
6 tbs olive oil

Whisk and spred upon your salmon. Bake or grill until desired doneness is reached. Everyone loves this recipe! I cannot wait to welcome our new neighbors.

Chicken Soup and Oprah

Unfortunately I am sick. I have one of those annoying colds where you head feels like it will explode, your throat feels like it has had a battle with sandpaper and your nose is like a faucet. I am not a very good patient. I hate having to sit on the sidelines. I missed my last day at Washington Hospital Center because I cannot expose the pregnant ladies to my germs. I didn't even get to thank all the great people I worked with for a great month.

Fortunately I have a great boyfriend who stocked me up with tissues, chicken soup, orange juice and Netflix on demand. I officially caught up on more TV than I knew I missed today and have not really left my couch since last night. Kevin had to head to work this afternoon to take care of people who are really sick not just with colds but with things that could kill them.

Now back to the movies and mint tea!

Dyke Marsh and Apple Crisp!

Apple Crisp!

This afternoon Molly and I took a great walk along the Potomac through the Alexandria Dyke Marsh. The weather has finally turned a bit and it is finally cool enough to actually enjoy a walk. It was nice to catch up and enjoy the day. It is amazing how restorative a nice walk can be. After our walk we came back to the apartment and made up a big batch of apple crisp. When Kevin came home from work we made dinner. Scallops, sweet potatoes and salad. YUM. It was a nice way to end the weekend before another long week of work.

The Dyke Marsh

Soup!

Making good soup runs in my family. My grandma made great split pea soup and bean soup. My mom makes the best chicken noodle and white bean chili. My friend Liz from medical school has said my soups are to die for. I really started honing my soup making skills during my frist two years of medical school I would be cooped up in my apartment all day studying and memorizing and warm soup was the perfect study break. Soon my friends and I started studying at each other's apartments making lunch for everyone who came.

Today I am making my version of a Mexican Chicken Soup. It is an adaptation of a recipe from the Healthy Kitchen Cook Book. Get out your chopping knives and get cooking!

Mexican Chicken Soup
1 tbs olive oil
1 white onion chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1 cup carrots chopped
1 - 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 jalapeno peper seeded and diced
1 1/2 cups wild rice not the instant kind
5 cups chicken stock
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts chopped
2 medium potatoes chopped into 1 inch cubes
4-5 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup corn off the cob
1 avocado
1 bunch cilantro
salt to taste
sour cream to garnish

Chop all the veggies. Place the onion, celery, carrots, jalapeno and thyme into the stock pot with the olive oil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the can of tomatoes and the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Add the rice, corn, bay leaf, potatoes and chicken.  Cook for about 40 minutes at minimum. This can be cooked in a slow cooker as well. I usually let mine cook for an hour or more on a low simmer.  The chicken and potatoes should be falling apart Add the fresh cilantro, avocado and sour cream as a garnish to each bowl as you serve. Enjoy!

Pillows!

Last weekend I had the urge to make something for our apartment. Kevin was working and it was a rainy day. I wanted to make some pillow covers for our couch to spice things up a bit. I took a trip to the fabric store and this is what I ended up making. I stitched each pillow by hand since I do not have a sewing machine. Although it was a bit labor intensive, I love the end product. I plan on making some dinner napkins and placemats with the leftover fabric. A machine may be needed in the future but I think these turned out pretty darn great for a first attempt at a sewing project since 8th grade home-ec. class.  I used soft linnen and a cute but not too girly print to spice up the pillows. I must say they add a nice pop of color to our couch. Happy Napping!

The Dairy Godmother

In Del Rey we have The Dairy Godmother a famous custard shop with some serious character. They have a flavor of the day as well as the standard vanilla and chocolate plus some fantastic sorbet and special treats in the treat case. There is usually a line out the door. Barack Obama himself payed a visit to the Dairy Godmother and now there is a chair painted that says, "the president of the United States sat here." We have a few favorite flavors and check out the flavor forecast regularly. My ultimate favorite is Lemon Lavender sorbet. It is amazing. Light, refreshing, the perfect after dinner treat. I also appreciate that they have "kid cones" which are very small perfectly portioned scoops atop a mini cake cone. It makes it easy to have a taste without feeling guilty. We have a pint of Lemon Lavender in our freezer right now. The flavor of the day today is mint oreo. YUM!

A Wedding

I was looking at photos from a friend's wedding and I couldn't help but want to steal all of the pictures! The groom and I went to Ecuador together back in college we haven't been in touch much since but by looking at his wedding pictures I could tell this was the perfect wedding for him! Everything was so beautiful.

Here is the wedding porn.

Linda and Harriett

A friend from college has a beautiful stationary company Linda and Harriett. I absolutely love her stuff. She recently released her 2011 calendar. I cannot wait to get one. I have this year's calendar it was given to me as gift from my dear friend Lizzy. The bottom of each month's calendar can be used as a post card. Liz has taken her company in a different direction now releasing a new project each month. I love following her blog and look forward to seeing what she comes up with each month. Liz and her husband are also expecting their first baby. Now that many friends are starting to have babies I cannot wait to finish up school so I can spend all of my time helping families bring healthy happy babies into the world. Congrats to Liz and John. Head on over to Linda and Harriett and order your 2011 calendar. How cute is August? Love those crabs!

Sex Ed

I have had a few experiences where I am blown away by a patient's ignorance about her own body. I am always most amazed when girls are pregnant and they genuinely have very little idea how they ended up that way. Today I had a patient who was so perplexed by the fact that her urine did not in fact come from her vagina but from an entirely different orifice - the urethra. I gave a whole anatomy lesson to both her and her partner and imagine her surprise when she learned that the baby she was carrying was going to come right on out of that very same vagina. She just assumed that she would have a c-section because she wanted one and thought that was how babies were born. I mean seriously, how is it that we allow our children to become teenagers who do not even know how babies are born or the function of their vagina? No wonder this child ended up pregnant, she had no idea that sex caused babies. Really, this should be part of the basics of education. How can we expect girls to go to college or have jobs if they do not even know how to prevent pregnancy. How can we expect girls to contracept well when they have so little understanding of  their own bodies. Let's get back to the basics.

Virginia Apples and Wine!

As part II of our local Labor Day Weekend, we headed out to Stribling Orchard for some apple picking. I loved apple picking as a child mostly because my mom would make apple crisp, apple pie and apple sauce. Michigan has great apples. When I went to college in Maine there were great apples there too. Now that we live in Virginia we've found a great place to pick apples. We actually met some of the Stribling family when we went to a bed and breakfast for Kevin's birthday last year. It was March but when the mentioned that they had a family apple orchard I knew we'd be paying them a visit come fall. I will be making apple pie tonight!

On the way back we made a quick stop at Aspen Dale Winery at the Barn. It was a beautiful vineyard with  miniature ponies, a huge great dane and beautiful backdrop. It was a perfect spot for a wine tasting. They did a great job and offered a food pairing for each of their wines. Wine and cheese what more could you ask for!

Solomon's Island, MD

We took a day trip down to Solomon's Island, MD. It was a perfect day! We spent the morning at this amazing art museum Annmarie Gardens. This would be a really cool place to have an event. They have great outdoor space and some very interesting exhibits inside. The current exhibit is art inspired by nature. We loved walking around the grounds. They even had this sweet little scavenger hunt for fairy houses. More for the kids but they were really cute and it spiced up the walk a bit.

We then found our way to Solomon's for some crab cakes on the water. The cajun crab chowder was delicious and the crab cake was huge! It was a beautiful day for lunch on the water.

We then set off in search of a beach. We ended up at Calvert Cliffs State Park. We took the 1.8 mile trail down to the beach for a post-lunch nap by the water. There were lots of families at the beach and the water was very nice. We even saw a few crabs who were brave enough to share the beach with the kids and dogs. It was a great day at the beach. I am sure we will be back for another short trip to the beach! Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Applications are IN!

It only took me four days to work up the courage to actually hit submit to apply to residency programs. Kevin and I are back in Fort Washington on a beautiful day and I did it! I have officially applied to 21 residency programs in DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Michigan. We hope to stay in DC and are keeping our fingers crossed that GW or Washington Hospital Center will keep me! It feels crazy to be at this point. There is nothing left to do but wait for offers to interview. I am now one step closer to finishing medical school and starting residency. It has been a long and difficult road - one I would not have been able to do without all of the love and support of my family and friends. I am starting the countdown until March 17th (Match Day) and May 15th my graduation day!

The Daily Puppy

Theodore the Golden

Dana one of my best friends is a true puppy aficionado. She introduced me to The Daily Puppy. It is an amazing source of adorable puppy pictures. I really want one! But the work schedules of an ER doc and a soon to be Ob/Gyn resident are not too puppy friendly. I just have to click, drool, repeat on the Daily Puppy. Here are my two favorites from today. I wish Theodore could just jump right on my lap and give me some soft puppy kisses.

Kayla the Yellow Lab

Sushi!

Some Kanpai treats!

I am on my second day of being up for more than 24 hours straight in the past 5 days. I am fighting the urge to sleep because I want to switch back over to sleeping during the night so I can work during the day. The solution - date night at our favorite Sushi place in the DC area, Kanpai. I used to live one block away from this absolute gem. They owners know my order by heart and area always so happy to see me. I think this might be the one and only place I ever have been a "regular." I was amazed that they were featured last week on Groupon. I scooped that deal up ASAP. It is always amazing to get a great deal on something  you would have bought anyway. I am drooling right now just thinking about the fresh fish and my favorite STTR (Spicy Tuna Tempura Roll). Bring on the pickled ginger, wasabi and eel! Now to get myself off the couch, out of these scrubs and ready for dinner out! YUM! Let's Eat!

Babies Babies and more Babies

I just spent a week working nights on Labor and Delivery at the same hospital that Kevin works. This hospital is a baby factory. On a slow night six or more babies are born. It was so fun to be back doing what I love and getting to be a part of bring little ones into this world. As exciting as the actual delivery is, I also love checking in on the new moms and seeing how they are bonding with their little ones. There are plenty of young teen moms and I had so much fun teaching them the importance of a good swaddle. One mom couldn't get over how quickly her little one hushed up once swaddled tight like a little burrito. I am pretty sure that this will never get old. How can anyone not love bringing new little babies into the world. They are so cute. As exhausted as I am and I am EXHAUSTED, I cannot wait for my intern year to start so I can do this full time. Happy Birthday little ones!