GUT FLORA symbolizes the symbiotic, microbiotic community that helps maintain balanced nutrition, keeping us humans healthy and well despite adverse circumstances. This community often gets tagged as nonessential, tucked away, and unremarkable –if not entirely unmentioned. Similarly, we often neglect essential processes like creativity, which nonetheless festers or flourishes deep within, and fail to recognize how much we need them until we begin to feel unwell or unbalanced.Â
This publication is a micro-movement in wellness, serving to highlight and celebrate this diverse, essential community of creativity that keeps humans in medicine. We believe that promoting creative movement will help us maintain the richness of our lives in and out of medical school and foster vital connection to each other in the (bodily) process. We welcome you to share the micro-moments of joy and suffering of medical students, and join in all of the ineffable viscera and inchoate ephemera in between. After all, life is beautiful and messy – and we prefer it to the alternative. We welcome submissions of creative work of any kind! If you are interested in contributing, please submit it to gutfloramag@gmail.com
I PASSED MY TEST!!
Michael Bucholz
Together – Arno Cost & Norman Doray SOS (feat. Aloe Blacc) – Avicii Another Night (feat. Matluck) – Mike Williams There’s No Way (feat. Julia Michaels) – Lauv Better with You (feat. Iselin) – 3LAU & Justin Caruso Tokyo Nights – Digital Farm Animals, Shaun Frank & Dragonnette
Pilot with a Fear of Heights – Felicity All of Your Heart – Odd Mob True Feeling – Galantis Innocent (Brightside Remix)* - Danny Padilla Make Me Move (James Roche Remix) [feat. Karra] – Culture Code Here With Me (feat. CHVRCHES) – Marshmellow *original
SOPAPILLA
CHEESECAKE
Photo by Sun Choi Original recipe by AllRecipes
Recipe adapted by Kevin Chin Ingredients: 16 oz cream cheese, softened 1 ½ cup white sugar (can sub with brown) 1 tsp Mexican vanilla extract (can sub with regular vanilla extract) 2 (8 oz) cans refrigerated crescent rolls 2 tsp ground cinnamon (I usually just eyeball it) ½ cup room temp butter
K e v i n Cit)h i n ¼ cup honey (eyeball
Directions:Â Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray/oil (I usually just grease with olive oil). Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together ½ cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares.
SWEAT SUIT CINDY THAUNG fabric sculpture
1
4 7 2 3
5
6
Arabic Breakfast
Dina Sharhan
1
Tabouleh: levantine finely chopped salad with fresh herbs, lots of olive oil, lemon juice and cracked bulgur.
2
Nabulsi cheese with black seeds and mint
3
Labneh with olive oil
4
Zaatar: dried levantine herb mixed with sesame seeds and often served as a dip with olive oil or used to garnish other appetizers.
5
Onions and Jordanian sumac. Sumac is widely used in middle eastern cooking as a dry rub, marinade, salad dressing or garnish to give any dish a tangy kick and a beautiful velvet finish.
6
Iraqi lablabi: boiled chickpeas served warm with its broth, olive oil and lemon juice. Its a traditional Iraqi snack usually sold by mobile street food carts on cold winter days!
7
Black seeds for garnishing
Bird's the Word Kelley Liao
Last night, while you slept, thousands of birds flew over your roof. It’s true--every spring, birds as varied as meter-tall whooping cranes and centimeter-scale calliope hummingbirds vacate their winter homes in South America and, under cover of night, they head north for the summer.  As magical as avian midnight rambling may be, avid birdwatchers care less about the travels and more about the pitstops. Each morning, those birds need to refuel. When they do, chances are good that a local birder is in the vicinity, spying on them with a long lens from behind a bush.
It’s like Pokémon hunting. Ovenbird? Veery? Roseate Spoonbill? These can’t be real animals--but they are, and they have the looks to match. While the drab Warbling Vireo may not excite you, the Blackburnian Warbler’s flame-colored paint job will.
The green represents a cold front, and the spots of blue are actually birds traveling in front of the cold front in the early hours of the morning.
The first time one of my friends came birding with me during spring migration, he swore he saw a parrot--until we confirmed it to be a brilliantly blue Northern Parula. Looking for a fancy word for red? Birds have you covered. There’s the Vermillion Flycatcher, Scarlet Tanager, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Are you into bold birds but prefer deathmetal to pop? Look for the White-faced Ibis. Its eyeliner and decidedly goth color scheme might just make it your spirit animal. One of my personal favorites is the Swainson’s Thrush--and not just because its chubby outline and spotted chest bear a passing resemblance to Totoro. Its upward spiraling song is always beautiful to hear. No matter the color, there’s a bird for you, and Spring is the best time to see and hear their most brilliant displays.
Birding scales in difficulty. The more you pursue it, the harder it gets. Once the shock-and-awe of warblers ceases to raise your heart rate, you can move on to a more challenging tranche. The usual progression is to hop from warblers to sparrows, then on to shorebirds, and finally attempting gulls--yes, like seagulls--since an understanding of both their age and current molt stage is required before a positive identification can be locked in. And don’t forget to learn your Empidonax Flycatchers! This genus appears at first glance to be the same bird copied and pasted a dozen or so times. They can often be differentiated only by their song. Let’s hope they’re feeling talkative! If you want to give birding a try, act fast. While many of the same species will pass us again on their way south for the winter, their plumage will be duller, and they’ll avoid singing if they can. After all, it’s always a little sad to leave summer behind--even for the birds.
Try your hand at some birding right here in Bryan, Texas! These species have all be spotted at some point or another during spring migration:
UNTITLED JONATHAN LUTGENS oil painting
DO YOU WANT TO READ SOMETHING ABOUT MEDICINE?
no, i need to avoid burnout
yes, i'm a gunner with some humanities mixed in?
no, cold hard facts only
what will you be sipping on while you enjoy your break?
of course!
coffee or tea read the book first, or watch the movie?
Internal Medicine
something stronger
you're probably soaking up the sun, right?
you want to get sad? there's no sunlight in LL study rooms..
duh...
crying is therapeutic
no, i only cried during ID
i'm not a psychopath
movie...
Scrappy Little Nobody When Breath Becomes Air
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Little Fires Everywhere
You
Pet Semetery
Internal Medicine by Terrence Holt Real life cases that show how Internists think and how they approach disease while also humanizing the people who are suffering from them (sorry, you can never really get away from Humanities). When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanathi This book is SAD, but wow is it a good one .This quick read was written by a Neurosurgery Resident who found out he had terminal cancer. Kalanithi beautifully examines what it means to be alive and what approaching death is like. A must read for any future doctor. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Anyone who cares about social justice issues will be both moved and frustrated by this true-life story of a black woman whose biopsied cancer cells were sold for millions of dollars, without her receiving a penny. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Soon to be a Hulu series! This is a novel about a "perfect" suburb that gets turned upside down when a single mom moves in with her teenage daughter. Ng explores some hard subjects in this award-winning book that anyone can find something they relate to. You by Caroline Kepnes First off, you're the worst kind of person. You've probably already seen the show but hey you need the refresher before the second season comes out. The book does a lot better job of exploring the mind of a stalker since it is written from his POV. Pet Semetery by Stephen King This one should not be read when you're at the school alone late at night. This is horror at its best and no one does it better than the King himself. What's so scary about childhood pets coming back to life? You have to read to find out. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick Get ready to laugh. A lot. You probably know her from Pitch Perfect, but Kendrick has a true talent for humor. You will be gasping the whole time and saying, "I cannot believe she just said that!" by Luke Hansen
Buns’ Coffee Recipe Sun Choi
What you need:
V60 Ceramic Pour Over Dripper Burr Coffee Grinder (for whole beans) V60 Paper Filters Digital Scale & Timer Gooseneck Kettle Coffee Beans (my favorite is Tandem Coffee)
1
3 2
4
1
Weigh 15 grams of coffee, meanwhile bring 400 g or 14 oz of water to boil. The ideal temperature of the water is 203 F. Let the kettle sit for 30 seconds with the lid on.
2
Grind beans to a medium-fine texture (sea salt).
3
Wet the paper filter evenly in a circular motion. Discard the water.
4
Pour coffee into the cone and tap gently to level the coffee grinds. Place the cone and cup on the digital scale and set to zero.
5
Start your timer and pour a steady stream of water from the center to the outer rim in a circular motion. Avoid pouring on the cone itself. Pour 50 g of water in about 15 seconds. Wait another 15 seconds. Keep the kettle tip close to the coffee grinds for better control.
6
This first pour is called a “coffee bloom.� This critical step is when the coffee degasses and releases CO2.
7
Continue pouring water from the center to the outer rim and back to the center in an oscillating and circular manner. Pour 100 g for a total of 150 g. This entire step should take about 60 seconds. Repeat step 7 to bring the water total to 250 g.
5
6
7
Some tips: The best beans are 1 week after they have been roasted. Lightly roasted beans produce a bright and more acidic flavor (I recommend light to medium roasted single origin beans). Darkly roasted beans produce a dark and more burnt flavor.
This process may seem intimidating, but as long as you have fresh beans, the right grind consistency, and correct water temperature, you’ll have the best tasting coffee of your life!
CHEERS MICHELLE WON handmade ceramic
ALL THE TIME
Sometimes I love you in bits and pieces Sometimes I love you in wholes and fulls Sometimes I love you with long walks and trips Sometimes I love you with a sway of the hips
Sometimes I love you with my eyes and ears Sometimes I love you it brings me to tears Sometimes I love you through anger and rage Sometimes I love you as though with wisdom and age Sometimes I love you with lame jokes and rhymes Sometimes I love you…no wait, it's all the time
Tasfia Rouf
Thank you for enjoying GUT FLORA. We welcome submissions of creative work of any kind! If you are interested in contributing, please submit it to gutfloramag@gmail.com
GUT
FLORA