Saturday, January 14, 2012

Sorrel Drink, A local favorite

Today I am making sorrel drink. It is a local favorite in Dominica made from the septal of the roselle plant also called Hibiscus. The recipe is very simple. First you buy some of the sorrel flowers from a lady on the side of the road. If you can pick up some ginger also.


The following ingredients will make 2 litters of sorrel drink.
  • 1lb Sorrel Sepals
  • 1″ of Ginger
  • 5 tbsp Sugar
  • 2 liters of water
Instructions:
(1) Add grated ginger to sorrel sepals then pour 2 litters of water into the pot and bring to rapid boil. While boiling, add your optionals ingredients to the mixture to personalize your sorrel drink if desired.

(2) Allow your sorrel to boil for at lease 15mins, then remove from heat and cover to lock in the flavor.

(3) Allow the sorrel mixture to cool off then use a fine strainer to separate the sorrel juice from the sorrel sepals.

(4) At this point stir the sugar into the strained sorrel juice.

Of course every thing taste better with a little Bacardi rum!

The sorrel juice is know to be high in vitamin C. Locals claim to use it as an antiseptic, prevents diarrhea and scurvy (of course!). But don't take excessive doses because some side effects include:
(1) gastroenteritis, (2) jaw tightness, (3) skin rash, (4) brain damage, (5) kidney damage, (6) heart damage, (7) liver damage

The literature is not in agreement about the toxicity because what makes it toxic is oxalic acid which give the leaves and flowers a sour taste. Oxalic acid, however, is also present in more commonly consumed foods such as spinach, broccoli, brussel sprouts, grapefruit, chives, and rhubarb, among many others.

Anyway, caution to the wind! Bottoms up.

White Coat

Today we recieved our smart coats. The idea is that we will start seeing patients this semester and the coat impresses upon us the responsiblity of professionalism and ethics.

Although it was fun, I am not sure what all the parties are all about because we have not done anything yet. It was only the first week of class. I will reserve the partying for after the first exam I think.


Sunday, January 8, 2012

Friends at De Champs

I have found my bar of choice on Dominica. It is called De Champs and it has the best view of the island. Here are some pics of my friends and I hanging out for a $1 per taco special.


Notice the old school sail boat cruise ship. This part of the island is actually 2 old volcanoes. In between the old volcanoes, in the valley, is Fort Shirley which housed the British garrison in the 1800s.



My Place in Dominica

My apartment in Dominica. It may look nice and similar to a US apartment but it is not. This is not a paradise vacation apartment, trust me. The place is called Silverlining apartments on Moo Cow trail.
http://www.silverliningrental.com/


Notice that the kitchen cabinets are made of white board material so I use a dry erase marker and study while I cook. What you don't get from the picture is the moldy smell my kitchen has. But you get used to it, cough, cough...

My study area is also in the kitchen. The kitchen table is also a dry erase board.

Just a simple bed.

Dominica, I have arrived

My trip to Dominica took two days of travel. I first flew to Antigua to ring in the new year.

The flight to Antigua was really nice, but I began to wonder if the wing was going to fall off. Note the paint coming off the wing.

But once I got past the damaged wing thing, I noticed some amazing islands and reefs down below.




I stayed in The Admirals Inn (http://admiralsantigua.com) which is located in a port where million dollar yachts were ready to party. It is really a nice place that was build in the late 1700's. Because I am a cheap med student I paid the lowest rate possible so they put me in the attic. I guarantee the attic has not changed since the place was built. There was no AC and the ceilings were so low that you could only turn around in the room before you hit your head.


After a late night of taking in the yachts and New Years party, I woke up at 4am to fly to Dominica.  On approach you see that the island is mountainous and not unlike the opening to Jurassic Park. But it is so beautiful!


As we approached the airport the experience was probably not unlike a Vietnam airplane ride (without the gun fire). We flew close to the trees, weaving between mountains when suddenly the airport appeared. The plane takes a dive down the side of the mountain to safely land. I was not worried for a second.



The airport had heavy security....

(This is Fort Shirley on the island)