i vowed somewhere around the 20th of january that i would post an entry once a week - an apparently lofty endeavor i was only able to carry out for a meager 18 days (173/4 days longer than my efforts to abstain from sugar).
between now and then i've unfortunately been leaving behind an impressing carbon footprint. i shall reconcile this by throwing money at one of those green campaigns. i hopped over the atlantic puddle to spend five weeks in california studying infectious diseases. this was followed by a brief return to italy for two weeks, during which i slammed myself into some work in a psychologically destructive way. Then i straddled another westbound plane, this time headed for mexico. (giddiup). i found this to be the most suitable destination whereby i could wedge myself into a lawn chair for 6 days and pass each consecutive afternoon recovering from the tequila and chilaquiles hangover of the day before. my brain melted faster than the contents of my blended margarita, and after a week i was resurrected.
now i'm back in milan, back to work, and sufficiently regelated. although, i'm not sure if my usual bad attitude has changed, or it's just that spring has sprung over central europe and has cast a new light on this glorious city. Milan has kind of been killing it lately.
Last week in the hospital we had an elderly, grumpy italian man admitted for chest pain. he was 70 something but looked about 113. he was snarky. while visiting him, i said something to one of the other students in english, then looked down at him in his bed and said "mi dispiace per aver parlato in inglese, qualche volta succede perché io sono Californiana." [sorry for speaking in english, sometimes it happens because I am from California]. His gaze softened and he looked up at me and sort of half smiled with his eyes. He then told me in Italian that he had never had an american doctor before, and that he knew only a few words in english. he asked if he could share some of them with me.
"ma certo!" [of course!] i said.
in a trembling and somewhat robotic tone he then dropped a beautifully brazen B-movie bomb on me:
"you are my destiny".
what an adorable little nugget of a human! this reminded me exactly of the tender way i feel every time i eat cake. so this weekend i made a personalized one in a cup with two of my many vices- chocolate and peanut butter. here ya go:
ingredients for you are my destiny chocolate peanut butter mugcake:
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter
1 tablespoon peanut butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter
1 tablespoon peanut butter
directions:
In a large mug, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt).
Add the milk, vegetable oil and peanut butter and whisk until smooth.
Cook in the microwave on high for 1 minute and 10 seconds.
you are my destiny...
