Easter in Cambridge, Thanksgiving in Easter

Easter is a Scarlet Day. On such days, those with doctorates and higher degrees from the University of Cambridge wear their festal gowns. In the case of those with PhD's, the gown is still black, but is highlighted with two bold scarlet panels on the front of the gown, running from the neck to the base of the gown. Those with Higher Doctorate degrees, e.g. Doctor of Divinity and Doctor of Science, wear gowns that are completely scarlet, highlighted with a specifically colo(u)red silk lining the inner sleeves and lapel of the gown -- red for Divinity, dove gray for Science, etc. Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera to King's College Chapel, where I lined up for Easter service, and failed to capture the spectacle of Scarlet Day. But, know this: the scarlet of Scarlet Day is very much bright, red, and conspicuous. The Cantabrigian doctors also wear their mortar boards on such days, if they choose. However, academic hoods are not worn on Scarlet Days. Amongst other days designated as Scarlet Days are Christmas, Feast Days, and Degree Ceremony days.

Here's an example of people wearing their festal gowns at Cambridge, taken from the University website (http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/degrees/):

Notice that they are wearing their academic hoods (the pouch-like thing on their back), indicating that these Cantabrigian doctors are entering the Senate House to be admitted to the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Easter does not require the wearing of academic hoods, while General Admission to Degrees, i.e. graduations, days do.

The service was lovely; there was a chamber orchestra accompanying the choir of King's College. In short, the music was divine, bright, and cheerful. I was able to catch the last seat open to University members. The funny thing about this was that, unlike the usual, I did not have a program on my pew. I did not know what was going on for a large part of the service. However, as I sat down half way through the service, I noticed that the person in the seat in front of me was sitting on a program. Unsure whether it was the program that would have been on my pew, I snatched it from under him right as he was standing up for the choir. As luck would have it, it was the Easter Service program. Yet, the morning remained gray and cold, failing to harken the coming of Spring.

Right after service, it was time to set up for the Easter Egg hunt at Peterhouse, where I met up with my fellow committee members Mark and Nicole to hide the eggs in Peterhouse's Scholar's Garden, Deer Park, and Grisborne Court.  However, it should be noted that we got permission from the Graduate Tutor, to only hide them in the Scholar's Garden, away from the daffodils. This same permit also does not allow for alcohol...our solution was to put the Pimm's and Lemonade into a thermos, and proceeded to have "Iced Tea" along with our luxurious Belgian White Chocolate Cake, which is chocolate sponge filled with a layer of whipped cream, a layer of chocolate cream, wrapped in a belgian white chocolate fondant. The day took a quick turn and became fantastically sunny when the Egg Hunt began. Though tourists visiting Peterhouse stole most of our eggs, our spirits were not dampened.
The following pictures will seem familiar, since I had posted them in the MCR gallery earlier (https://www.srcf.ucam.org/peterhousemcr/?page_id=21):

The storm clouds gathered around Peterhouse, threatening our Egg Hunt. 

However, soon as we walked into the Deer Park, the clouds began to dissipate. 

The special egg in its hiding place

Jenny found an egg. She was so surprised.

Erik was frighteningly excited to find an egg. 

Diana was delighted to find the special egg.

Vivian, our Prez, was practically beside himself when he found an egg. 

Jenny, running towards the prize. Watch out for the wall!!!

I'm sure that no bird laid that one. (Picture taken by Natalia)

Cheesey cheese egg in Mark's hands (he's the social secretary). (picture taken by Jenny)

Erik noticed something different about the gate into the Scholar's Garden. Nicole, our Welfare Officer, did too.

Mmmmm, beautiful cake.

The cake is practically a piece of art.

Studying cake....so beautiful and sweet

Group photo. Left to Right: Kelvin, Nicole, Vivian, Jenny, Mark, Cake, Erik, Diana, Natalia

Sugar rush, hitting hard. (Picture taken by Jenny)

Wait a second, that's not tea...it's 'iced tea'.

Deer Park in all its glory.

They ran into the field, in search of Easter Eggs. 

Um, did those daffodils just happen to 'snap off' on their own? Of course they did.

Deer Park in the evening sun.

The Fitz gilded with sunlight.

Sunset in Deer Park marks dinner time!

For dinner, Nicole, Andy, Olivier, Erik, Mark and Natalia came over for Thanksgiving-in-Easter. Sergei, my flatmate, also joined us. Lamb was not cheap at the supermarket, but the turkey was. So, it was quickly decided that a Thanksgiving dinner was in order. This also enabled me to satisfy my craving for a turkey dinner.

A most serious eating affair. Left to Right: Mark, Sergei (in bunny form?), Kelvin, Nicole, Erik, Natalia, Olivier. 

The turkey was first brined in a sagey-clovey brine with vodka in it, then coated with a lemon-herb rub (containing fresh rosemary straight from the garden) right before roasting. The bird was almost perfect: had I taken the bird out 10 minutes earlier the meat would have been perfect, though the meat was still juicy and tender. A wild mushroom gravy and cranberry sauce accompanied the bird.

Before: Awaiting to be roasted. 

After: to almost-perfection.

Only the "crown" of the turkey...the entire bird would have been too much both financially and in terms of amount of food. 

I also baked a loaf of no-knead super multigrain bread, which had a density that even the Germans approved.

Contains rye, whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, yeast, salt, millet, rolled oats, rolled wheat, flax (linseed), pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, and 18 hours to rise. 

There was also freshly made apricot and pecan stuffing,

Ready for the oven, to form a beautiful brown crust. 

scalloped potatoes with cauliflower,

Cheese and cauliflower are so smelly...but this dish was so good!! The cheese sauce is made of locally made cheddar, infused with thyme and rosemary. 

and sauteed kale (sorry, I regret having not taken a picture), and butternut squash pie (couldn't find pumpkin anywhere, so had to find an alternative).

Lusciously spiced and balanced with a touch of whiskey. 

We concluded the evening with scary Japanese "gummy" candy, that started off as powder, in which you drop heavily pigmented liquid into it to form the "candy".

This doesn't look safe. In fact, the packaging, which was all in Japanese, made no mention of it being non-toxic. There were only warnings mentioned, as they pertain to choking on the small plastic bits...not the candy.

Natalia working hard on her gummy. Left to Right: Mark, Nicole, Natalia, Olivier. 

In goes the pigment into the powder. Note that each color has its own flavo(u)r...I forget what they were supposed to taste like, except that the blue was the stereotypical Japanese "soda" flavo(u)r.

 

Olivier is reluctant to taste his airplane. Erik is not confident about it tasting any good. (Picture taken by Natalia)

 

Erik is convinced that the gummy is narsty. (Picture taken by Natalia)

I made this thing, and it tasted terrible. Disturbingly, it was somewhat chewy.

Easter in Cambridge, not bad at all. I look forward to the next one.

Pumpkin Pie in the American Diaspora

A Cantabrigian Thanksgiving, retrospective continued.

This is the beauty that delivered me from the Pumpkin Pie desert in Cambridge. Such sweet goodness.

They laughed at the mention of pumpkin pie. A sweetened squash pie? What is that?! The same attitude primes the supermarkets to be prominently lacking of pumpkin-in-a-can and frozen pumpkin in Cambridge. I searched far and wide and, to my dismay, found neither. There were only fresh pumpkins, and even these were leftovers from Halloween, which is the only time where pumpkin pie is deemed "appropriate" in the local frame of reference.

Above all, some even took this further: by telling me that pumpkins are not for eating, only decoration, i.e. the carving of Jack o' Lanterns. I begged to differ, and engaged in discourse about the varieties of pumpkins, and how some are selected for carving, e.g. the large, watery-fleshed ones classically grown for carving and their seeds, and others, e.g. the small, round sugar pumpkins, are meant for eating. Elaborating that pumpkin can be prepared savory, e.g. in soups and raviolis, or sweet, as in pumpkin pie, precipitated blank stares.

Unfortunately for most of my friends in Cambridge, the poor example at Downing's Formal Hall was the first pumpkin pie that they had ever had. This immediately made clear to me that I had to intervene. The intervention serves a triple purpose: 1) I crave pumpkin pie, 2) I was remiss in the complete absence of pumpkin pie on Turkey Day, and 3) I had to prove that pumpkin pie is, in fact, *good*. Thus, I embarked on my mission to make pumpkin pie in Cantabrigia.

Exacerbating the challenge that many of my fellow Cantabrigians had for pumpkin pie was the fact that I was seeking canned pumpkin to make said pie. Most of them scoffed at the very idea of canned pumpkin. I believe they were reacting to their general unfamiliarity with eating pumpkins and the fact that canned vegetables are usually unpalatable. In their view, it is nothing short of ridiculous that I would look for something both strange and assumed-to-be unpalatable, let alone advocate for the wonders of a pie made from this stuff. I promised to change their minds, even potentially to change their lives with *good* pumpkin pie.

Fortunately, I had foresight and purchased a sugar pumpkin right after Halloween. I steamed, mashed, and froze it in anticipation of my craving for pumpkin. I even tried to roasting the seeds, though I literally burnt them to cinders because I was engrossed in an episode of Battle Star Gallactica when I was doing this. That aside, the frozen pumpkin did the trick -- not did it spare my friends from the horrors of canned vegetables, but provided the necessary ingredient to make what I believe to be one of the best pies on earth.

To change their minds, I posted a general message on Facebook about the availability of pumpkin pie, and made a small party of it. Seven people came over to St. Peter's Terrace, where my flat is, and tasted the thing. To their surprised, they found the juxtaposition of a smooth, spiced, almost-custard-like pumpkin filling with a delicately constructed fine-crumbed crust "very good," if not "delicious." Though I am unsure if my friends are convinced about the goodness of pumpkin, I hope I drove home the message that pumpkin pie, at the very least, is great stuff.

Lastly, as many furrowed brows as I may have received from seeking the whereabouts of canned pumpkin in England, I certainly raised brows by pointing out that I *did* find canned pumpkin in England. Not only did I find it, but it was in the pantheon of luxury goods at Harrod's, one of the most reputable, high-brow, snooty, overly expensive, extravagant stores in Her Majesty's kingdom.

Canned pumpkin is a luxury by virtue of its place in the Harrod's pantheon.

The proof is in the pudding -- a can of pumpkin in the US is often a little more than a dollar. It often goes on sale for 99¢ around Thanksgiving. But, the apotheosis of canned pumpkin, i.e. when it has a place in the shelves of Harrod's, makes its price inaccessibly high. In this light, one needs to ask if canned pumpkin is actually ambrosia, food of the gods? I see a very strong case for this being the case. Food for thought.

Here's how I made my pie:

1 9" pie plate lined with an all-butter crust*, chilled

preheat oven at 425ºF (218ºC)

Pie Filling:

1/2 cup demerara or brown sugar

1/3 cup white granulated sugar

1 generous tsp. mixed spices (in its absence, use 1 tsp. cinnamon, a pinch of cloves, and 1 pinch of nutmeg)

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1 1/2 cup double cream (or "heavy cream" in the American vernacular)

4 egg yolks

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree (or 1 can of pumpkin)

1 cup double cream (very cold)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp granulated sugar

whisk these until you get soft peaks when lifting up your fork/whisk from the mixture.

Whisk yolks with sugars until smooth. Then add spices and other solids, mixing until evenly distributed. Finally, add the liquids, mixing until smooth. Pour into chilled crust. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower temperature down to 325ºF (163ºC) for 30-35 minutes, or when the center of the pie is set. Take out of the oven, and let rest for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve with whipped cream (may be substituted with vanilla ice cream, or maple, cinnamon, butter pecan, caramel or other vanilla-based flavoured ice cream).

*I made the crust with 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp mixed spices, ~400g butter, and 5-7 tsp cold water. I used a fork to "cut" the butter into the flour mixture, until it resembled a course oat meal. Then I added water, little by little, until the dough stuck together. I wrapped it in plastic wrap, and left it to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes before rolling it out to 1/4" thickness to line the pie plate.