Classes Begin

Classes began on the 22nd this week. I'm officially a graduate student! It's weird though, it doesn't yet feel like it. I'm taking classes, just like I did as a senior. I'm teaching labs... just like I did as a senior. It feels more like a continuation of everything I did in undergraduate, just slightly harder, rather than a completely new experience. Is this how it's supposed to go? Maybe the "I'm a graduate student" feeling will catch up to me when I find a research adviser and begin work on my thesis.

In other news, since everyone's back in town, all of the gaming stuff is starting back up again. Last week I hung out with a bunch of old friends from SPS (Society of Physics Students) and played Twilight Imperium. We played for about 10 hours, which included an hour of going over the rules and about half an hour for a dinner break. It looks like a super complex game right when you're starting, but after a while the rules click and you're able to go through turns much faster; part of the reason we played so long was because several of us were first-timers. Also, no one was taking the objective to end the game, so we just kept building armies. Still, very fun. I recommend checking it out if you can get the group and the time.

Qualifying Exam

My friend Tom was puzzled when I described the application process to a graduate program in physics. We send in our application, they look at our application, and they accept or reject us. Then they invite us to open houses so we can decide which of the schools to which we were accepted we'd like to go. Apparently, other programs have interview steps in the middle where they can still reject you based on how you impress them in person.

Nope, we have none of that in physics. Instead, we have a qualifying exam right when we get to school. This exam is basically a souped up version of the Physics GRE, with long-response questions instead of multiple choice, so you're given much harder questions.

The test is given over two days, in two sittings of three hours each. This year, it's Monday 1:30pm-4:30, and Tuesday at the same time. Each day you're given four questions; one mechanics, one E&M, one quantum, and a grab bag question which can be over any of the previous three or something else, like statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, or relativity. The test is there to ensure you've adequately learned everything from your undergraduate career, since people are coming into the program from different schools that might pass you with a slightly different understanding of the material.

You get two official chances to pass the exam before the school starts thinking you're probably not cut out for graduate work; if you fail the first attempt, (Purdue at least has these) there are classes that'll shore up whatever section you really needed help with, in hopes that you'll do better the next time around. You actually get three chances at Purdue, since the first one is a "diagnostic" attempt and so doesn't count if you fail (fortunately, it does count if you pass).

So my past few weeks have been spent reviewing basically everything I can from undergraduate physics. Hopefully I'll pass the first time through, but if not I'm sure I'll get it on chance number two, which would take place in January, after I've had a semester of being back in school and in a physics mindset.

Recipe: Tagarat

Serves: 4
Calories: 1408 total, 352 per serving

1 lb beef (low quality is fine here; we used stew meat cubes here) [760 calories]
1 large yellow onion (vidalia also works well here) [60 calories]
3/4 cup white rice (uncooked, this ends up as more) [480 calories]
3 cloves garlic [12 calories]
3-4 dried chili peppers [6-8 calories]
1/2 cup soy sauce (only about half of this will be consumed) [80 calories, 40 in servings]
1/2 cup white vinegar (only about half of this will be consumed) [16 calores, 8 in servings]
water [0 calories]
1 tsp olive oil [40 calories]

This is a family recipe that my father passed onto his children from his college days. He says one of the best things about it is that it's made with the cheapest ingredients, which keeps it very friendly for those on a tight budget. It's great comfort food when you're feeling sick; if you kick up the amount of pepper, it's great at clearing nasal congestion.

Chop and trim the beef into 1 inch cubes. In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil, then break the chili peppers open and put the seeds and husks into the oil. Add the beef and start browning it. While the beef is browning, mince the garlic and add it to the skillet. Once you add the garlic, start chopping up the onion. I prefer cutting it into slices (like you're making rings), then cut lengthwise across the rings into a bunch of strips, plus one more slice across the middle so you end up with a bunch of small slices. Immediately add the onions to the pan as soon as they're chopped. Keep browning the meat and cooking the onions until they're nice and carmelized.

Once that's all done, add the soy sauce and vinegar to the skillet, then add water until everything in the skillet is almost completely covered by the liquid. Bring the broth to a light boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover it. Leave it at a simmer for 20 minutes, but check on it occassionally and stir the mixture so the meat and onions on top get mixed under the broth.

While the mixture is simmering, cook the rice. We always used the rice finishing as a timer for when the tagarat was done simmering; in truth, the 20 minutes is more of a guideline to make sure the meat and onions have soaked up enough flavor, and it can take a lot more heat before getting ruined.

Once the rice is finished, divy it up into bowls (deep bowls are best) and ladel the meat and onions on top. Typically, you end up with enough broth to lightly soak the rice as you're moving the meat and onions; you don't want the rice to be swimming in liquid. However, if you want more, feel free to spoon it out, there should be plenty of broth left at the end once all the meat and onions are out.

Remove the chili pepper husks from the dish before eating; they're not bad for you but they've got a weird texture and taste that doesn't go well with the rest of the dish.

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When I made this with Jill, we prefaced the dish by sauteeing some green peppers and mushrooms. They added nice color and bulk to the dish without adding a big caloric load. We sauteed them before cooking the rest of the dish and stuck them into the microwave until it was time to serve. Keeping things in the microwave to keep them warm is a neat trick I learned from Jill while staying with her this summer. It has great insulation and no air current moving around inside it, so only a little heat radiates away and whatever you leave in there stays mostly warm.

Incidentally, that's why you should listen when microwave dinners say to cook them for X minutes, then let them sit in the microwave for Y more. They're still cooking during that time since the dish stays very hot until you open the door and let the warm air out.

Back to the tagarat though. Oh man, it was delicious. It had been many months since I'd last enjoyed this dish, since my house at college rarely stocked anything resembling staple ingredients like rice and we never cooked for more than one or two people at a time.

Fortunately for the lonely bachelor, tagarat also keeps amazingly well. Just refridgerate it and then microwave a bowl when you're ready to enjoy again, and it's just as good. So go ahead and make a whole recipe, and keep some on hand for when you want a delicious meal without a bunch of effort.

Just check out this delicious bowl (picture courtesy of Jill at DNA and Dessert):