Tag Archives: Onion

Comfort Food Monday

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Monday seems to be the least appreciated day of the week, especially in late Autumn. On Monday morning it’s especially hard to motivate oneself to leave the toasty duvet cocoon one has been working on all night. Understandable, all that nightly effort gone to waste! The cold wet weather currently passing by is definitely nothing to be enjoyed outside – a front row seat from under the covers more than suffices.
UNLESS, like today, your alarm wakes you to a Winter Wonderland! YAYS, Winter has arrived! Getting up was so much easier and filled with excitement, mainly because my blind self had to stand right in front of the window to confirm that the white haze I saw upon awakening was actually snow and not some post-cocoon-hallucination. Snowman time! Fireplace time! Ice skating time! Turkey time! Also, warming comfort food time! Comfort food of the day – roasted sweet potato and carrot soup – a delicious alternative to the usual pumpkin. Let me know what you think.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

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inspired by bbcgoodfood

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Soul Food

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Just about one month ago I traded my scalpel for a stethoscope, a neurological tuning fork and an ECG compass. What was I thinking?!? No, honestly, these past weeks have been fascinating to say the least, I finally feel like a true medic. Ok, let’s not exaggerate, I finally feel like I could become one…… somtime….. once I’ve managed to drag myself ashore from drowning in the sea of internal medicine. I cannot believe med school is only 3 years back…. Coming from 2 years of operating fun times, my present job makes me question my memory – do I have retrograde amnesia for literally all of those 6 years spent at school?   Well, I certainly feel like I do. Maybe I should get myself checked out by a neurologist.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the following before:

“What’s the difference between a physician, a surgeon and a pathologist ?

The physician knows everything and does nothing.
The surgeon knows nothing and does everything.
The pathologist knows everything, but always a week too late.”

My current status: ex surgeon, novel physician = knows nothing and does nothing. Sounds about right. Luckily enough, my previous work experience helped me in perfecting the poker face – a very important asset. Who am I kidding, beginnings are always hard – as long as everyone survives along the way one must embrace each step.
The following recipe made my beginning a lot easier – a homey, warming, hearty pumpkin soup. There is nothing better than coming home to delicious left overs which get better day by day. Admittedly, pumpkin is one of my favorite fruits (who would have thought it’s a fruit…weird right?) – perfect to turn into a curried soup or a spiced pie. Also, perfect to carve for Halloween, although that is sadly still on my bucket list. Anyways, for all you professional beginners out there – buy a pumpkin and treat your soul to some (fruity) goodness. Let me know what you think!

The Medic’s Amazing Pumpkin Soup

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Olfactory Geniuses, a.k.a Furry Besties, and a Hearty Culinary Substitute

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Who do you enjoy following most on Instagram (apart from The Medical Gourmet, of course)? Top on my list are The Dogist and Americankennelclub. There is something about the four-legged furry creatures that always manages to brighten my day. I mean, look at the legend below, chilling in Manhattan traffic with no care in the world. Sadly current life logistics don’t allow for my flatmate and myself to have a dog. Maybe I should use a quarter-life crisis as an excuse to commence a dog-walker career :-).

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Smoked Salmon and Spinach Quiche

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Only 6 months until my favorite time of the year! Meanwhile, most boys favorite time of 2106 started yesterday with the European Football Championship in France. Did you watch the opening game? Are you as excited about it as I am? I even have a Swiss jersey ^^.

Ok, who am I kidding, I don’t think I will watch more than 2 games (despite being a retired middle school footballer). But, lucky for us girls, the season of men free evenings has officially started! Time to hang out, catch up on all the face mask – nailart – yoga – wine&dine – gossip evenings you’ve missed out on over the past two years. Now we are talking. Here is a simple, yet delicious, recipe for exactly one of those evenings. Let it bake while your paint your nails, drink some wine and relax.

Smoked Salmon and Spinach Quiche

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So, agreed, probably not the most beautiful quiche you have ever seen, but it was made with all the love

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Balti Chicken Madras, Homemade Chapati and Cucumber Mint Raita

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Here’s a question: Have you ever been accidentally locked in a room somewhere, subsequently had a panic attack because you already pictured yourself dying of starvation in the very near future, and jumped up and down like a frog on crack after finally being found? Last time that happened to me I was luckily not alone – my beloved four-legged bestie kept me company in the tiniest lift on earth for what seemed like forever……. not going to lie, I think I even started crying and calling for my mother…… yeees ok so now we all know I am emotionally unstable, but I was only 12 at this point, ok? Anyhow, after about an hour I was saved and boy I did not set foot into that lift for at least a year.

Now, have you heard of Room Escape? After my childhood experience I never thought I would voluntarily lock myself into a room try to solving puzzles to get out. It was SOOOO MUCH FUN and I recommend you all try it. Don’t worry, it’s nothing like SAW. Although, admittedly, our game-master was pretty creepy – were it not for him I think we’d all still be in there searching for more riddles to solve:-).

As for this recipe, there really isn’t much to say: I love curry, I love raita, and who doesn’t love chapatis??

Balti Chicken Madras, Homemade Chapati and Cucumber Mint Raita

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adapted from Complete Indian Cooking by Mridula Baljekar et al.

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Caramelised Onion, Goat’s Cheese and Thyme Tart

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Every year on the 25th December my mom goes all out for Christmas Dinner: Turkey, Sausage, Sage & Onion Stuffing, Mash, Sprouts, Cranberry Sauce, followed by a traditional Christmas Pudding with an extremely alcoholic sauce. The pudding is usually courtesy of a very close family friend and, as you may know, has to be made two months in advance. As you might remember from a previous post, I actually assisted in the making of the Pudding this year. Of course one can’t just spend a whole afternoon making dessert on an empty stomach – the Chef de la Cuisine decided to whip us Pudding helpers something up for lunch. At first I was very sceptical when the menu was announced. Honestly, I am not the biggest fan of goat’s cheese. Nonetheless I decided to be adventurous and tried the tart – and LOVED it so much that I had to remake it a week later. E voilà.   P.S. The Medical Gourmet’s (mom’s) Christmas Dinner Recipe will follow in a years time…. I got so excited about eating two nights ago I completely forgot to capture the moment photographically. Something for all you out there to look forward to :-).

Caramelised Onion, Goat’s Cheese and Thyme Tart

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