There is something about walking swiftly through a hallway wearing a lab coat and a badge that makes a person feel really...important. The quick cadence is an essential part of the romance of the whole deal, and I find a long stride to be the most effective way to accomplish this. A long stride makes a person appear more confident, while a short stride with high turnover makes a person look like they are on a desperate trip to the toilet. If you are walking with 3 or 4 others, it is best to slow down to a contemplative wandering pace, and furl ones brow, and lean in while talking in a whisper.
I was playing around in the hallway of the medical center this morning, feeling very impressive in my lab coat, when it struck me. It is a holiday Sunday, and I am at work doing research. The reality of my status sink in deeper when I began noticing that many of the other graduate students and post-docs were also present. One even brought her husband, who sprung out of his chair when we walked into the break room and bashfully rushed out into the hall. As we were leaving I noticed that he was standing with his nose 4 inches from a poster on the wall, he stood remarkably still embodying the pain of his shyness.
I get like that too, sometimes.
The other student I was working with said that he calculated his hourly wages based on how much he actually comes in, and figured that some weeks he makes only a few dollars an hour. What is the real payoff, I wonder, to doing research. Is it status, the hope of a lucrative future, the mental engagement, the drive to prove ones intellectual prowess, or maybe it is strictly some sort of faith that the universe contains discoverable secrets, secrets that it will offer to those who seek.
While the Christians go to their Easter morning services, the scientists offer their prayers to the God of research. I am not sure what I believe about science, but personal experience has shown me that it is much better to be committed to what I am doing, than to torture myself with thoughts about doing other things.
As I stood in the checkout lane at the only open grocery store in town, the checkout guy began making small talk,
"You planning on cooking something this Easter?" He was in his mid 20's, long and lanky, and he positioned himself in a stance of cool apathy. I looked blankly at him. "...because, I'll tell you that the chicken you are buying costs 7 dollars, but just for today you can get an already roasted chicken for 5.95, cause it's Easter. "
"Um, no thank you, I would rather cook"
He looked at me in shock.
"I have a cooking blog and the whole point is that I actually cook something so that I have a recipe to post every night."
"oh, is that what you do for an occupation?" He asked.
"I wish. No I am a grad student"
The very idea that there are people in the world who get paid just to do what I do for a hobby suddenly made me feel extremely jealous and resentful.
I rushed out of the store with my uncooked chicken and reminded myself that I have the most wonderful struggles, and that I am already doing everything I ever hoped to be able to do and more. I have plenty of clothes in my closet, I have a career that entertains my mind, I have hobbies that stimulate my imagination, I have a family that loves me, a partner who both loves and understands me, and I have a perfectly good uncooked free-range, local, organic chicken to put in the oven. The memory of just one day of that is enough richness to last for a lifetime.
Roasted Chicken
I find roasting a chicken to be easier than operating my microwave. Preheat the oven to 375, remove the insides of a small chicken (whatever they include), rinse the bird and pat it dry. Rub the skin with butter and salt, and stuff the inside with fresh poultry herbs (marjoram, rosemary, sage, thyme) and garlic. If you have some string, tie the legs together, otherwise you can use toothpicks to pin them together, or just skip it. Throw the bird into an oiled roasting pan, breast side down, and put it in the oven. Set the timer for 30 min. Remove the roasting pan and flip the chicken over, basting it in butter. Cook for another 20 min breast side up (so that the skin gets crispy on top. When the timer goes off, remove the bird and turn the heat up to 450. Baste and salt the skin. Return to the oven for 10 min more, or to desired brown-ness.
Purple Potatoes
In a separate roasting pan, add
4 purple potatoes, cubed
5 cloves garlic (in the skin, but with the ends cut off)
3 cloves sliced garlic
4 stocks celery, diced
1 sprig rosemary (for aroma)
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 Tbsp olive oil to coat
Cook alongside the chicken, but remove before the oven is turned up to 450.
Boiled Artichokes
On the stove top, after the chicken has been in for 30 min, boil 4 cups of water in a large pot with 1 tsp lemon juice. Add 2 trimmed artichokes (pull off outer leaves and cut off the prickly ends, peel the stem). Cook the artichokes in the boiling water until you can easily pierce with a fork (should be done at the same time as the chicken if you start 30 min after the chicken has been in).
Christina's vote: "A hearty meal"
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