Behold...
...the bounty
The Write Recipe
Hello, Doctor. In this season of giving thanks, you may have mixed emotions. Perhaps you’re working on the holiday. Maybe you’re contemplating the contrast between your professional and personal lives. You could have a patient or colleague who’s showing you what it means to be grateful. Or you might be looking forward to a full plate, a full belly, and full traditions.
Find the bits that make you want to write. Express. Influence. Inspire.
What is your prescription for gratitude?
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I’m happy to help you with your writing project. Get in touch and we’ll make it happen.
Dig into the newsletter for all the ways you can get support for your writing goals.
In This Issue
Building with Words
Bounce
The Tough Stuff
The Sub Track
Getting Acquainted
Spent and Worth
Building with Words
Santa doesn’t have the only workshop in December.
The Doctors Writing Workshop kicks off the month. Get focused and organized feedback on YOUR 1,500 words from the moderator, Maria Simbra, and your peers. This virtual event will be on Sunday, December 7 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Google Meet. The group will be capped at six, so register as soon as possible.
Bounce
In the November issue of DocWriteRx™, read the words of lifestyle medicine physician Dr. Angela Andrews about a unique object and why she has kept it. Her essay will come to your inbox on November 9th.
The Tough Stuff
This month in the primer: some tips on writing about pain, suffering and death.
Subscribe for full access to Writing & Storytelling in Healthcare: the Primer.
The Sub Track
Get your words in an upcoming issue of DocWriteRx™!
Please write 100 to 500 words on one of these topics…
Describe a moment something in medicine became crystal clear to you.
How do you introduce yourself to patients and why?
What was an experience that put you on your professional trajectory?
Feel free to get creative. You may write an anecdote, a short story, or a poem. Go for the gusto.
Upon publication, the author will receive a free premium subscription of Healing Ink™ for one year, an $80 value. That includes all paywalled material and future bonuses in that year.
Click on the button below to submit.
Getting Acquainted
Cottage cheese is having a moment. At least, with me it is.
It all started because of watching videos on Instagram of people making all kinds of yummy treats with this unexpected ingredient. They touted its low-calorie, high-protein powers. As a menopausal woman battling the ever expanding midriff, I thought I’d give it a try.
First, I tackled cottage cheese chips. It looked simple. Flatten dollops of cottage cheese on oiled paper on a baking sheet. Season. Then bake.
In the videos, the chips popped out of the oven with a thin and crispy appearance. The chef, of course, plucked one off and took a hungry bite with a satisfied grin in front of the camera.
I followed every step just as the videos showed. While the edges did crisp up, the middles were a little chewy. The biggest problem was getting them off the sheet. They crumbled more than they peeled, so I ended up with cottage cheese bits and not full chips. A decided “meh.”
Figuring it was beginner’s bad luck, I tried another recipe: cottage cheese ice cream. Cottage cheese + maple syrup + vanilla. Blend until smooth. Add chocolate chips. Freeze.
It was, as the video portrayed, quite easy. As the tub chilled in the freezer, I announced to my family with great excitement that I had whipped up dessert. However, I made the mistake of mentioning the main component was cottage cheese — not my daughter’s favorite.
When it came time to try it, I pried off the lid and dug into the frozen block with a spoon.
It was… heavy. Not a bad taste, but not the expected taste, and definitely a different texture. My daughter wouldn't touch it. My husband was brave enough to try a spoonful, but that was enough for him.
At this point, I’m not sure I’m going to attempt any more culinary adventures with cottage cheese. I’ve concluded it looked too good to be true, which tends to be the case if you even think it in the first place.
And yet… the recipe for cottage cheese pancakes came up in my feed yesterday. My friend, Ann, makes them for her grandchildren, and she swears everyone loves them.
Should I try it? Hmm… Maybe third time’s the charm.
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What unusual ingredient do you use in cooking or writing?
Spent and Worth
“Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils.”
See you next month for the next dose of Healing Ink™.
Check out our sister publication on Substack, Hot Off the Iron.
— Maria Simbra, MD, MA, MPH, Director and Principal of Ironed Words Productions, LLC