Skip to content
Food
Link copied to clipboard

The prescription for stressed med students: Cook and share a meal together

I knew cooking with medical students was going to be worlds apart from teaching 10-year-olds, but I hadn't thought about how it would be the same.

Temple medical students Hena Cebeci (left) and Khea Tan assemble breakfast pockets while Maureen Fitzgerald and Hilario Yankey watch.
Temple medical students Hena Cebeci (left) and Khea Tan assemble breakfast pockets while Maureen Fitzgerald and Hilario Yankey watch.Read moreELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer

I knew cooking with medical students was going to be worlds apart from teaching 10-year-olds, but I hadn't thought about how it would be the same.

Many med students eat doughnuts and bagels for breakfast. Or they skip breakfast when they are too busy or just want more sleep. While some do cook at home, pizza - or noodles or take-out - is frequently in the rotation.

As part of the My Daughter's Kitchen program, which this fall has volunteers teaching healthy cooking to 35 classes of schoolchildren across the region, I am cooking with six medical students for eight weeks at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

These future docs realize the importance of diet to prevent disease as well as the kinds of nutrients the body needs and the foods that provide them, but eating that way is altogether different, especially when class, clinic, or cramming for the next exam command so much time.

These are first- and second- year medical students, and it's clear how busy and stressed they are. Two students dropped the class before it started, and a third asked if she could drop one day before it began.

I suggested to Bushra Anis, 24, a second-year student, that this might be the best antidote to her overloaded schedule: a healthy, hot supper cooked and shared with her classmates.

She decided to come, and she arrived along with five classmates after a day of mind-numbing classes in biochemistry or cardiovascular, respiratory and renal systems.

For our first lesson, we were making the simplest of recipes: scrambled eggs and vegetables stuffed into pita pockets as a breakfast sandwich, with sliced oranges on the side.

I began with an introduction to mise en place, a phrase that might sink in by the final class with the little ones, after weeks of repetition.

These students train at a quicker pace.

"How do you spell that?" said David Pioquinto, 24, a second- year, making a mental note.

"Doesn't it just mean getting everything organized?" Bushra asked.

"Exactly," I said. "If you get all your ingredients chopped, prepped, and organized, it makes the rest so much easier."

Next I demonstrated how to hold a knife and how to make a claw of the hand holding the vegetable to be sliced, with fingers pointing down, to avoid nipping them with the sharp blade.

Mai Stewart, 24, also a second- year, grimaced at the mere mention of a sliced finger: "I passed out the first day in anatomy class," she explained.

"That was you?" said David. "I heard someone did."

"Yes," she said. "I'm so glad it's over."

As we proceeded, Bushra's earlier apprehensions seemed forgotten, as she volunteered to be head chef. "I like being the boss," she said.

David chopped the pepper; Bushra deftly handled the onion; Khea Tan, 21, cracked the eggs. Hilario Yankey, 24, grated the cheese, and Mai cut the pita pockets for stuffing. Hena Cebeci, 23, sliced oranges into quarters. And in no time, the prep was done, the bowls beautifully lined up.

Even though their cooking skills ranged from rudimentary to advanced, none had worked with a cast iron skillet. I sang the praises of that inexpensive workhorse as a good first pan to buy: It's sturdy and won't need to be replaced like the nonsticks. You just have to learn how to use it.

To scramble the eggs, it is important to put the skillet on medium heat, add a little oil, and then wait until the pan is hot, testing with a drop of water. When it sizzles, it's ready.

"You have to get to know both your pan and your stove," I told them.

"I have the same oven. I just turn it to high," said Hilario. "I'm always hungry and in a hurry, and so I cook everything fast."

"The food will get cooked," I said. "But it might taste better if you give it a little more time."

We were cooking a dozen eggs, but since the pan was prepped and hot, none stuck to the bottom. The vegetables were sauteed in a second skillet as the eggs were cooking and the pitas were warmed in the oven. Miraculously, as the eggs were about finished, the vegetables were tender, and we added them. Then we sprinkled in the grated cheese and stirred to just melt it.

Next, Khea and Hena filled the pita pockets with the eggs and veggies as the others set the table.

"Cooking as a group was an interesting experience," David wrote in his journal. "I feel like different sides of people come out when they cook together."

"I really, really loved learning about the cast iron skillet, how to use it to cook eggs and how to clean it," said Hena. "I've always focused on the food, not the tools and of course the tools matter. The food was wonderful!"

"Making a meal was never something that made me feel relaxed the way it does for other people," wrote Khea. "but I'm starting to find that it's a lot of fun."

"I found the first class enjoyable and a relaxing reprieve from med school," wrote Mai. "Also delicious!"

Bushra seemed to be in her element, relaxed, chatty, and happy.

"I'm so glad I came," she said. "I enjoyed cooking as a group and eating a meal together."

Contact Maureen Fitzgerald at mfitzgerald@phillynews.com

My Daughter's Kitchen

Breakfast Veggie Pockets

StartText

Makes 6 servings

EndTextStartText

3 teaspoons olive oil

1 red pepper, washed, seeds removed, and chopped

1 onion, peeled and chopped

5 ounces baby spinach

12 eggs, lightly beaten

Salt and pepper

3/4 cup Colby light cheese, grated

6 whole wheat pita pockets (warmed in

the oven, if desired)

6 oranges, sliced

EndTextStartText

1. Set a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add two teaspoons of olive oil, and tilt the pan to coat the bottom. When a drop of water sizzles on the pan, it is hot enough.

2. Add the red pepper and onions, and sauté until soft, about five minutes. Add the spinach, and sauté lightly until just wilted, about one minute.

3. Remove the vegetables from the skillet. Add the last teaspoon of olive oil. Allow the pan to heat up again. (Do the water-drop test to make sure the pan is hot enough again, or else the eggs will stick to the skillet.)

4. Add the eggs, salt, and pepper, and gently scramble the eggs until nearly cooked. Add the vegetables, stir together, and heat through. Sprinkle the cheese over the egg and veggie mixture. Turn off the heat. Cover the pan while you prepare the pitas.

5. Cut the top off the pitas, and stuff with the egg and veggie mixture.

6. Serve with sliced oranges.

Per serving (not including the oranges): 330 calories, 18 grams fat, 345 milligrams cholesterol, 431 milligrams sodium, 20 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams dietary fiber, 4 grams sugars, 20 grams protein.

EndText