Regretted cheese is bitter, but I like it, because it is my cheese

While braving the aforementioned World's Most Crowded Trader Joe's yesterday, I made the fateful decision to buy feta instead of goat cheese because it was a. cheaper and b. available in a low-fat variety. Well, as of today I began to envision using part of my pleasantly large FreshDirect butternut squash to make a goat cheese, kale, and squash pizza. Oops.



Instead, welcome to the feta and squash and kale and caramelized onion pizza. I roasted the squash with some "yogurt blend" spice that a delightful Persian Jewish friend of mine introduced me to (and gave me a spice canister of!) and that I've been using ever since. It's sort of like a za'atar, minus the salt and plus mint. Despite my lingering regrets in re goat cheese (sorry, Stephen, about the post title), it tasted pretty damn good. I sort of wanted to eat the whole thing, but I saved half for tomorrow. There's also a good amount of roasted vegetables left that I suppose I could mix with barley for dinner tomorrow night. Expect a brief, boring post about that.



Caramelized onions would have gone well with goat cheese, and maybe some fresh rosemary and thyme and a squirt of lemon. Ah, well, that must needs be a pizza for another day and a stockier budget (other expensive ingredient I really want, because it's so damn useful for soup: dried porcini mushrooms. Parmesan rinds would be nice, too).



I didn't bother blogging yesterday; dinner was just a simple curried lentil and (finally, the last of the) chard stew. Protip: Bulking up small portions of lentils and brown rice with lots of chard (or, generally, X protein and Y carbohydrate with Z vegetable) is an excellent way to allow oneself to eat one's fill without overdoing it on the calories. Other protip: There's nothing quite like fresh ginger in a curry. Gives it that extra oomph.

And now, for the reader input: I'm going to see my medical school adviser on Tuesday to ask him about what levels of involvement infectious disease residency programs might expect from first year and beyond. Because I am a shameless exploiter of baked goods who has a touch of the gunner in her*, I've decided to bring him some sort of dessert item. Honey butter caramels dipped in chocolate were considered, but discarded as both too time-consuming (have you ever wrapped 50 caramels in parchment paper? don't) and expensive (heavy cream, honey, butter, etc.). I've narrowed it down to four not-so-fancy-but-perenially-delicious options, as can be seen in the poll now on this blog. Vote away! Things to consider: If you live in Manhattan, you are eligible to receive runoff baked goods.

*Fellow medical students, this is only in the way of trying too hard and being determinedly agog, not sabotaging the rest of you. Then again, I'm not sure which is more annoying.