what I’m into [march/april 2019]

So it’s the last day of April 2019 and I’m determined to give you guys the run-down of my past two months before crashing into bed. It’s been a pretty crazy last couple of weeks, with visiting my sister in SF, seeing Erin/Nahrie in Chicago and having Ben visit just this past weekend – but full and wonderful all the same 🙂 Here’s a little snapshot of the things I’ve been into lately:

Books

On Faith:

70 Hebrew Words every Christian should know by Matthew Richard Schlimm – been learning a new Hebrew word each day and it’s amazing the depth of insight knowing the Hebrew gives you (if you’d like to know exactly what that insight is, PM me :D)
What’s your worldview by James Anderson – an interactive choose-your-own-adventure guidebook to a critical look at different worldviews
When God talks back by Tanya Luhrmann – an anthropologist takes it upon herself to document and scientifically study people’s experience of God. Super interesting read.
Mere Apologetics by Alister McGrath– always admired McGrath’s writing. This is a good overview that hits the major apologetic topics.

On Nature:

An altar in the wilderness by Kaleeg Hainsworth – On why the human experience of beauty is important and how it connects us to God.

On Cooking:

Bread by Jeffrey Hamelman – The Bible of bread. I had dinner with my friend, whose husband I found out is a baker at Hof Kelsten! We ended up spending most of the night talking about bread, and he recommended I read this book that explains in details the science/technique/art behind the bread.

On Science and Medicine:

Tell me everything you don’t remember by Christine Hyung-Oak Lee – Currently reading this one. It’s a memoir of a writer who loses her memory in a stroke and how she uses writing to heal. Written in Slaughterhouse Five style with time travel and bits of poetry.
When breath becomes air by Paul Kalanithi – I FINALLY got round to reading this one even though everyone’s been talking about it. Needless to say, it did NOT disappoint and I wrote down so many quotes from Kalanithi on what makes a life worth living. Made me think a whole lot more about mortality and how I would like to spend my life.
How we die by Sherman Nuland – Even though Kalanithi mentions Nuland, I actually had it backwards and read Nuland first (which in fact sparked my musings on mortality). While Kalanithi’s is more personal narrative, Nuland’s is more scientific and didactic.

Articles

BrainPickings: Seneca on the shortness of life  – I love BrainPickings and while thinking about mortality, chanced upon this piece. Seneca couldn’t have said it better.
National Geographic Photo Competition – absolutely beautiful!
The Atlantic: Workism making Americans miserable – My sister forwarded this onto me as a reflection on whether or not we tend to find our identity in work and how career goals are in fact driving us into the ground.
Nature In the Classroom: My greatest experiment – decision making in science and life
Slate: No knead vs traditional bread (although I will still ALWAYS knead my bread…)
NY Times: David Brooks on time and Internet cleanses
Suicide survivor Katie Stubblefield gets a new face – after watching this, I literally went to the mirror and thanked God I still had a face…
Medium: 7 rejections – how Airbnb got rejected 7 times. My sis forwarded this to me the week I got rejected from my scholarship.

Videos

TED: on the surprising habits of original thinkers
TED: there’s more to life than being happy
Nature: A video abstract on upconversion nanoparticles in mice eyes causing them to see in the dark! (a fun introduction to the type of technology I’m working on, if you’re ever curious…)
Stanford Med: Neuroscientist Ben Barres on science, creativity and curiosity (very inspiring)

Recipes

Highly successful:

Black Bean Brownies – I finally decided to try my hand at this, although skeptical at first, but man these brownies were dark, fudgy and absolutely amazing. Highly recommend.

Lemon Garlic Rosemary Aioli – This was made with aquafaba. Apparently you blend it up and drizzle oil at the same time. It’s liquid for the longest time until suddenly the emulsification happens and you have a thick mayo-like aioli. It’s magic.

Beetroot black bean patties – Tried this for my coop to go along with the aioli and they were both simple and fast to make. 100% Vegan.

Palak Paneer – Minimalist Baker for the win. Her stuff I always trust, and without fail, this Palak Paneer recipe with tofu instead of Paneer turned out wonderful! Serve with either naan bread, or quinoa/rice.

Hong Shao (Sweet and Sour) Eggplant – I had eaten this in China and always loved it. Trick is to cook the eggplant first on its own then fry it with the rest of the sauces.

Moderately successful:

Vegan rose aquafaba macarons with avocado chocolate ganache: I tried it, once again. If you remember, last time, they turned into entirely flat almond crisps because I didn’t whip the aquafaba for long enough. This time, I whipped it for a long, long time, and cut down on the sugar. As a result, I took the macarons to the other extreme where they were mostly like fluffy english muffin-like cakes with too much structure and not enough crisp (picture below).

Vegan chocolate matcha cheesecake – recipe given to me orally by my lovely friend and vegan baker, Chaity! But if you do want it, ask me personally and I can send it over. The chocolate/matcha flavors weren’t as strong as I would have liked, probably because I was estimating more than measuring 😛

No bake energy bites with goji berries, black sesame, flax, chia and agave – I wanted a quick, no bake, vegan snack to pack with me and apparently energy bites are really easy to make so they became a go-to in this season for me (and my spanking new food processor – thanks mom!) Except I didn’t have a recipe so I was estimating quantities again every time and could never go back to how amazing they tasted the first time I had it.

Songs

Whole Heart by Hillsong (just introduced it to our church this month – love itttt)

Living Hope by Phil Wickham and Brian Johnson (classic)

Highlands (Song of Ascent) by Hillsong (the new People album just came out! :D)

Older by Sasha Sloan (my sis and I listened to this on repeat while we were on vacay)

Highlights

Seeing some of my best friends!

Learning how to articulate the doctrine of the Trinity in our Explaining Faith discussions

Violeta, the organic chemist I’m working with, encouraging me in my research by showing me the chalkboard below with the quote:

Successfully making a latte art heart at my coop!

Celebrating Easter with my sis and mom: teaching Mom how to play Settlers (and subsequently playing three non-stop consecutive games because Mom was so into it), tennis rallies with my sis’ boyfriend, Brendan, soaking in the Californian sun, and trying not to get sick after eating the curry chicken that we left out in the Californian sun for too long (okay, that wasn’t a highlight, but it was a significant part of the trip…)

Otherwise, I’ve been spending my time trying to get a finicky unreactive chemotherapy drug to attach to the carboxylic acid of a photolinker, pondering how to live a philosophically consistent life and also whether or not it’s worth it for me to try making gluten-free sourdough (Mom is really gung-ho about the GF diet now…) as well as figuring out a way to hit the outdoor tennis courts now that they are FINALLY OPEN.

Finally, I’m going to be in NYC May 23-26 for a wedding SO if you’re planning to be in the city, or already are in the city, and would like to hang out, please message me and we’ll find a time! 🙂