Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia

Switching from psychiatry to surgery was definitely jarring. It’s been a long time since I’ve done a physical exam on a patient. First day on ER in the country hospital…

*in the midst of mass chaos*
ER Attending:  Go do a full history and physical on a patient now!
Chef Uy: Touch a patient? What is this stethoscope in my white coat?

But it’s official folks, I did an H&P on a patient  – I’m on my way to being real doc now! Also, I’ve been learning how to present my patients to my upper levels. Alas, I tend to ramble, but so far it’s a work in progress.

It’s crazy how many facts you can learn in medical school, yet still no idea how to apply it. And there’s zero handholding in surgery from your upper levels, unlike the warm fuzzy psychiatrists I had the previous months.

ER Attending: Patient walks in with chest pain. What’s on your differential right now!!
Chef Uy: …heart attack? 
ER Attending: Ok …and what other diseases – name 6 other differentials right now! What labs are you going to order? What about imaging?! What are you going to do with the patient now – admit or discharge?! Any consults? What are you deciding? This is the ER, so there’s no time to waste!
Chef Uy: Halp plz!

Oh man, the overnight shifts are death. I did 7pm to 7am back to back on Fri to Sat and Sat to Sun, sleeping three hours in between. My friend suggested waking up at 4am so you “get tired and nap in the afternoon then start at 7pm fresh.”

Guess what. You aren’t ever fresh when you wake up at 4am that day no matter how much you nap.

You don’t have downtime – it’s 12 hours of straight walking (running, actually). I calculated, if walking one hour burns 150 calories, then walking 12 hours burns 1800 calories. That’s a lot of Ben and Jerry’s I can eat. Hence all this Cherry Garcia ice cream, which I inhaled.

Homemade ice cream is the best way to re-energize myself after a long, long day. Doctor’s orders.

Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia

Ingredients
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
3/4 cup cherries (I used frozen)
1/4 cup dark chocolate chunks

Directions
Heat the milk in a medium-sized saucepan.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar. Slowly pour the hot milk into the eggs, stirring so they cook but not scramble. Return to saucepan; add extract and heat until thick enough to coat back of a spoon.

Remove from heat, scrape into a bowl, and chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.

Freeze the gelato in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In the last 5 minutes when ice cream is nearly ready, add cherries and chocolate chunks