Blueberry peach crisp and the crazyness of grad school

You might be wondering where I've been... why I haven't posted in almost two weeks or I don't comment on other blogs as often. The answer is grad school. I've spent the past 10 days reading so much daily that I can't keep the headaches away. I still have time to cook, although not so much to take pictures of any baked goods, but don't worry, it'll happen. Maybe less frequently, but this blog is not closing any time soon.

Those of you who read often know that I just started a PhD in Chemistry. I don't really have that many classes, but boy, are they intense or what... Take for instance my class at OHSU, where we have about 100 pages posted the evening before our next class, which are supposed to be read for the class. I feel like hiding my head underground every time it happens. But I can't complain, I enjoy it too much. 

I'm one of those dorky girls who gets a huge kick out of sitting at a seminar and understanding what the professor is talking about. I'm thrilled about understanding relationships between metabolic processes and diseases. But more than anything I love being in a lab more than anything else in the world. 

Now that I'm a grad student, not only do I get to work in a lab, but I also get to teach a lab. I can't put into words how exciting this is. I've been waiting for this moment to come for two years. To be able to show the newbies how to do experiments, how to work in the lab, how to understand the chemistry behind what they're doing. Hopefully this excitement is contagious and my students enjoy the lab as much as I do. 

Even with the large amount of work, I still try to eat decently well, specially for breakfast. Sometimes you're not sure when the next meal is gonna be, so starting the day with abundant fuel seems like the right thing to do. On Saturday, the farmers market takes place at the PSU campus, so I just walk a couple of blocks and find myself surrounded by fresh fruit and veggies. Cold weather seems to have arrived to Portland, but I was lucky enough to find some peaches and blueberries before it did. They went into this easy and wonderful crisp, which would work with pretty much any other fruit and will warm up the cold fall mornings. 

Blueberry and peach crisp

Serves 2

1 peach

1 cup fresh blueberries

2 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons of butter

1 cup of old fashioned oats

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Peel and cut the peaches in big chunks. Mix with the blueberries and the two tablespoons of sugar. Stir it well to coat the fruit and let it sit for about 5 minutes so it releases part of the juices. With your fingers, mix together the butter and oats so they get sticky. Distribute the fruit in two oven-safe bowls, ramekins or container of sorts and cover with the butter and oat mixture. Sprinkle with a bit more brown sugar and bake for about 30 minutes, until the oats are crisp and the fruit is cooked and juicy.