Mercimek Köftesi (Red Lentil Kofte)

Food prepared by and shared with friends is my favorite kind. Since starting medical school, I haven't done much cooking with others, mainly because all of my cooking buddies are scattered across the globe. So I was excited this week when a new foodie friend of mine taught me how to make Turkish vegetarian kofte (which paired perfectly with the baba ganoush that I recently posted). I found this kofte recipe especially interesting because the ingredients were all very familiar due to my background with Lebanese cooking, yet I had never tasted anything like it. 

Garlicky Baba Ganoush

I took my Cardiopulmonary II midterm earlier this week, and it just so happens that it was my best exam score yet! After the test, I did something that I've been dreaming about doing for two weeks...something that many of my fellow medical students also enjoy after a long stressful section of studying. Yup, that's right, you guessed it... I went grocery shopping (don't worry, I also went out and enjoyed KC's finest brew later that night)!

Glögg Blög

It may have made more sense to post this BEFORE the holidays. Looking on the bright side... I guess I'm just early for next year. For New Years Eve, I asked my dad (who works at a Scandinavian goods importing company in northern MN: http://www.bergquistimports.com/) to bring home a bottle of a delicious traditional Swedish mulled wine called glögg. Unfortunately, there must have been a run on the stuff and so dad came home with no glögg in hand. I decided to find a recipe and to attempt my own batch from scratch. I found the following recipe online and made a few changes. The final product was perhaps the most delicious mulled wine type beverage I've ever tasted!

Curry New Year

I spent New Years Eve day with two of my favorite people...and my favorite canine. The day was, of course, full of good eats. For dinner, I decided to make a meal that was a favorite for me during my first semester of medical school: curried potatoes and kale with tofu. This dish is pretty simple to throw together in a hurry. The curry spices give off the most delicious aroma, so be prepared!