WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY ?
Food as Medicine
by DANIELLE GRAVES
Let ’ s be honest with ourselves . Medical school is so freaking hard . It ’ s not just hard because of the sheer quantity of information that we must know , but because of the gravity of the information . I sit in a lecture hall from 8 to 12 hearing about all the ways that nature is trying to kill us all and memorizing the ways that we can do our best to stop it . Everybody ’ s favorite metaphor is that it ’ s like “ drinking from a firehose ,” but the way I see it ? It ’ s like you ’ re drinking from that firehose but if you don ’ t drink enough water , somebody dies . It ’ s a lot .
When I get done for the day , all I want to do is forget about that firehose for a little while . So , I cook .
When it ’ s just me and my food , everything is simple . Cut vegetables with the rhythmic thwack of a good knife . Simmer them down until they look just right . Add in flavor — a little sweet , a little salt , a little savory , give it a kick if you ’ re feeling like it . Prep the protein , I love lentils , fish and tofu most . How will I present it ? Noodles ? Rice ? Smeared on crispy sourdough with homemade pickled onion ? It doesn ’ t matter , there are no rules . I decide when something is ready , when it tastes good , when I want to keep it or how I want to serve it . Whether it ’ s dal , my mom ’ s lasagna , ramen or toast , my food is my domain to shape however I want .
New flavors are everywhere if you know where to look . My favorite place to look is in the woods . Learning how to forage has unlocked a new relationship with cooking that I never could have imagined . Wood ear mushroom is delicious in miso soup . Wild onion is a lovely garnish . Dandelions taste great battered and fried . Once , my friend and I found a Chicken of the Woods mushroom as large as my head and made the best vegetarian tacos I ’ ve ever had . Foraging for new flavors reminds me that people have been doing this for thousands of years . We ’ re all just working together to figure out what we can eat , just like we solve problems in medicine , one by one . Even better , all of those flavors are out there for me to understand and find with careful study and practice . It reinforces my zeal to learn more kitchen wisdom and fuels my creativity .
I have learned so much through food shared with friends . Through potluck dinners and group laboring over dumplings , I ’ ve learned how to stop measuring my spices and still get the flavor just right . I ’ ve learned how the right amount of char on a tomato can transform a salsa , and that bread , more than flour , needs patience
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