Hockey, Bread, and Medical School

Scott and I have had a quiet couple of weeks, but this past Saturday… everything changed.

First, the quiet bits:

1) Last minute, we were given tickets to an OSU ice hockey game and we had a great time cheering our team against our biggest rivals: Michigan. (dum DUM DUUMMMM…)

The highlight for me came in between periods when the OSU marching band came onto the ice. Scott and I saw the famous “Script Ohio” for the first time:

Unfortunately, we lost the game at the last minute (literally).

2) Lately I’ve been experimenting with my whole wheat bread recipe. I know… nothing new, huh? Well I tried two different tried-and-true recipes and neither turned out very well for me. My personal made-up “recipe”, however, has been working beautifully.

Unfortunately, I eyeball every ingredient but water and yeast… so I’m never quite sure it will turn out. Also, it has way too many ingredients. Who needs egg, applesauce, canola oil, 2 kinds of whole wheat flour, homemade dough conditioner, gluten, water, yeast, and honey in a plain loaf of good whole wheat bread? I’m trying to find a recipe that I can use weekly for many years to come. I don’t think I’ve found it yet! Here’s a picture to show the difference between my “recipe” and my good friend’s recipe:

Here’s a close-up of the difference in crumb. The one on the left was a much more dense loaf, and more moist… almost tacky in texture. The dough was incredibly hard to work with and I ended up adding much more flour than the recipe called for. The loaf still makes great toast.

The one on the left is much more light and airy, but it wasn’t dry. The dough was a breeze to work with and this loaf made great sandwich bread. I think perhaps if I was more familiar with the recipe for the loaf on the left, I could have acheived a better result. I know that recipe has made fantastic loaves of bread, so I have to conclude that my technique didn’t suit the recipe. Here’s one more look at the difference between the loaves. The crust browned nicely on the loaf on the right, but on the other loaf, it’s only brown where I rubbed a bit of butter on it.

3) Scott has finished another unit for Medical School and now he gets to spend long hours in at his desk in the 2nd bedroom studying the renal system. Let’s all say “kidney failure” together now… Amazingly, he is enjoying himself!

To read the breath-taking recap of the exciting events that transpired on Saturday, you’ll have to wait for the next post. Sorry!

News of the Week (September 25 - October 1, 2006)

Well, I took my second test this past Friday. It went moderately well, but I still didn’t do as well as I’m used to doing. The whole process of studying and taking tests in medical school has been a frustrating learning experience for me. I’ve come to realize that I have two choices when it comes to studying:

1. I can stay on campus and study until past 11:00 pm Monday through Friday and then study all day Saturday to get the scores in the high 90s that I want. OR
2. I can come home at a reasonable hour, see my wife for more than ten minutes a day, and continue to get scores in the 80s.

I continue to choose Anne. Still, it’s been hard for me to realize that I have the capability to do better, but that the cost of doing so would be too high.

Only one other piece of news from this past week…

Help me.