Five Favorites: Post-Exam-Elation!

last lecture of the semester!

It over! Today is the last day of this semester and my last exam is behind me.  Without diminishing or disrespecting the civil rights movement in any way, I would like to sing out: free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I'm free at last! Thanks for bearing with me during my moments of frustration and complaining. Those last few weeks felt like a sprint at the end of a marathon, but all went well and now....

Well. Now....what? The end of the semester always feels a little anticlimactic. Yes, we go out to celebrate but sometimes crossing the finish line still feels like deflating a balloon. So in an effort to really savor the moment, here are five totally trivial things I will especially enjoy doing again now that these exams are over.

1. Doing Laundry. ie, wearing clothes that are truly clean and not some acceptable approximation of the concept.  I have to say, Karl has been a hero on the home front,  keeping the fridge full, the dishes washed, and the laundry basket below overflowing level while I've been buried behind textbooks. Still, the prospect of extending my wardrobe beyond those last-choice-everything-else-is-dirty options will be a joy.

2. Get moving. While I generally try to squeeze a healthy amount of exercise into an average week, I have to admit it's the first thing that goes when I get busy. I insist on walking/biking to school or the library so that I'm active and out in the fresh air at least twice a day, but I'm excited to really get my sweat on and see how my badly-neglected body does after these weeks at a desk (often slumped over. Sorry,  lower back!)

3. Binge watch shows. Don't even tell me what Olivia Pope is up to right now. Seriously. No spoilers.

4. Cooking and eating something that takes more than 10 minutes to make.  Unlike the early years of medical school, I still eat pretty healthy during exam time, but usually it's something veggy and bulgar/quinoa-y that can be thrown together super quickly. I made the mistake of bringing these delicious cookies with me to the library a few weeks ago and Sophie and I cajoled the guys into baking these amazing brownies for us -- on two different occasions. But other than that, I've been good about eating right lately, despite exam stress. I'm so happy with myself about this -- mens sana in corpore sano, and I feel much better during those marathon study sessions when my body is fueled by real food and not bloated from a salt-and-vinegar-chips binge.

5. Catch up on news. I didn't even know there was a solar eclipse today until it was too late -- that's how out of the loop I am. I can't wait to sit down with my laptop and find out what has been going on in the world since I went into library hibernation. Israeli elections? Some kind of magical, color-changing dress? I am waaaay behind right now!

Look up at the Sky!

Zanna

PS. Five Favorite ways to welcome spring, things about my birthday, and romantic movies!

Coconut and Dark Chocolate Mockaroons

Today, an indulgence. A recipe that is simple and decadent and just plain friggin' awesome. We tend to make these cookies around Christmastime, when the cookie-baking-spirit really abounds, but also about three or four times during the rest of the year just for the hell of it (see above, re: awesome).  Warning-- if you're not a coconut fan, these are not for you. If you're not a chocolate fan, go jump in a lake.  Okay, well, that may just be my personal opinion. I have actually been told by several self-professed non-chocaholics  (incomprehensible members of the human race) that they quite like these cookies because they're not that chocolate-y and have an interesting mix of tastes.  

Coconut "Mockaroons" Dipped in Dark Chocolate
adapted from German baking magazine Plätzchen a long long time ago

Makes ca. 30

Ingredients
150g shredded coconut
200g sugar
the zest of half a lemon, must be fresh, recommend organic
4 egg whites
30g flour
dark chocolate, melted, for dunking
optional but helpful: edible wafers (german: backoblaten) 

Instructions
Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F). Combine shredded coconut, sugar, and fresh lemon zest in a bowl suspended over boiling water for ten minutes, mixing gently with a spoon.  Remove from heat and let cool. Add flour and mix until just combined. Scoop the dough with two small spoons to create mounds about 3 cm (1 inch) in diameter. If you have edible wafers, use them as a substrate for the dough; if not, you may need to add a little flour to help them hold, but only a little. Bake for 15 minutes until barely brown. Melt chocolate (I like to use really dark chocolate, ie. 75-85% if that's not to your taste, anything above 60% does fine too). When 'Mockaroons' have cooled, dunk each about half way into the chocolate. Let the coating cool and harden on a baking tray.Voila, enjoy!

I have kept these in cookie cans and Tupperware outside the fridge for up to a month and they still tasted great! Unfortunately I have no experience trying to freeze either the finished product or the dough, so no advice there.

Look up at the Sky!

--Zanna