Formal Hall in Peterhouse: Images

Smoked Haddock Kedgeree

There was a recipe for this dish in the British food magazine, Good Food. It is featured as a dish for "festive entertainment."
I decided to give it a shot, especially since smoked fish, in a curry infused rice sounded very good on paper. The recipe called for the use of saffron. In addition to a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and tablespoon of curry powder, I decided not to waste any saffron on this dish; it would have been overpowered. If the argument is that the saffron is to give it color...the curry and cayenne already gave enough color to the dish. Moreover, the original recipe recommended double cream for this dish. I just used 1% milk.

Here are the ingredients I used:
1.5 cups long grain rice
3 cups boiling water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbs curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
3 boiled eggs, yolks pushed through a screen, and whites chopped coarsely
2 tbs butter
3 tbs chopped parsley

for the fish, I used
1 smoked haddock fillet
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp curry powder
5 cracks of pepper

Melt butter in a milk pan, and add spices and rice. Allow to sizzle for about 4 minutes, toasting the rice and the spices. Then add three cups of boiling water, salt and thyme. Cover, and allow to boil rapidly for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to lowest setting, and let sit for another 10 minutes, until all the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, put pepper, salt and curry powder into the milk and bring to a gentle simmer. Poach the fillet of fish about 4 minutes each side. Removed the skin before flaking the fish.  Just flake it directly in the pan, keeping the poaching fluid.

Fold the flaked smoked fish, poaching liquid, chopped boiled eggs, and 2.5 tbs parsley into the rice. Garnish with remaining 1/2 tbs of parsley.

This dish is very bland. Make sure to serve along with a loaded salt shaker. With just a bit of salt, the flavour of this dish really pulls through. The recipe recommended serving with lemon...I actually found the acidity of the lemon to be too distracting to the kedgeree. I preferred it without lemon.

I find this dish to be interesting. But, to be honest, I'm not won over by it. I'm glad to have tried it, but cannot imagine making it again. I think I'll make fish cakes with my remaining fillet of smoked haddock.

Three Crabs Later, the Skin Came Off

This Friday was the first time I rowed hard. I was in a four-man boat, and I sat in position two -- the second from the front of the boat. The bad part about being in a four-man boat is that it means that all my mistakes are amplified for everyone in the boat to see and feel -- there simply are not enough rowers in a boat this size to dilute my mistakes. We rowed hard for two long hours.

Every stroke was nerve racking. I did not know how to get the blade of the oar to properly enter the water. Getting the rhythm and flow right was very difficult because everyone else in the crew was taller than me, and so I had to really slow down in order lengthen each of my strokes in order to keep time with everyone else.

Things only get more and more difficult as my body got more and more exhausted. It became hard for me to keep time as well because my my body was reluctant to do things as quickly as I wanted it to. I had greater control of my actions when I was not so tired. I pulled three crabs* in this outing.

At some point, in the delirium of fatigue, I noticed that my right hand felt wet. This typically isn't remarkable if you're rowing a boat -- you are maneuvering over the water after all. However, none of the water splashing ever gets onto your hand...and I knew that none of it got on my hand. This portends nothing but bad stuff...and I was reluctant to look at my hand.

I looked at my hand, and it was at this moment that the pain kicked in. My skin had blistered, popped, and shredded by the friction of the blade. Effectively, a patch of skin got eroded off of my right hand. Because I was rowing stroke side, this means that my right hand is the one that turns the blade, while my left hand is the power arm that pulls the blade towards my sternum. I was clearly too tense; gripping it too hard.

For the rest of the session, every stroke was excruciatingly painful. But, the one thing that this did do for me was allow me to focus on the pain, and not on my fatigue. This made the return trip much more bearable. Moreover, at some point, my endorphins kicked in, creating quite a profound moment of "runner's high"on the way back to the boat house. This was made the pain worthwhile. Fortunately, I have next week off, thus allowing my hand to heal before I kick it in full gear for the next training.

ouch.

* The term "Crab" is rower's jargon. It refers the moment where your oar get stuck in the wrong orientation in the water due to improper squaring** of the blade.

** The term "Squaring" is rower's jargon. It refers to the movement of orienting the blade of the oar such that it is perpendicular to the water before slicing into through the water surface. Squaring the blade permits greater efficiency of the stroke, requiring less energy to push the same amount of space through the water..

What Say You, Leaves?

What portends the remnants of my tea? Please offer your interpretations. I think it predicts that I need to get more tea.

Hustings, in the Peterhouse MCR

I'm not going to lie -- I was nervous tonight when I took the stand for First Year Representative in the Peterhouse MCR*. Yes, one can say that I had butterflies, at the very least, in my stomach. But, actually, it was more like having Mothra, several of him, in my stomach if I were to be precise. But, I cam across composed, animated, and engaging, I think. It was a simple forum: 2 minutes to pose my position and to charm the members of the MCR present for the hustings, followed by questions from the audience. The audience mostly consisted of former Committee members, who are a friendly lot who care very much about the pulse of the Peterhouse community, and the functioning of the MCR.

Fortunately, I was in the audience of friends. In the US, hustings for positions in the MCR are the equivalent of running for a position in the Undergraduate Council for Students at Brown. It entails canvasing and bombarding student mailboxes with propaganda. At Peterhouse, canvasing is not allowed -- campaigns must be run informally through people-to-people conversations and emails, not mass marketing in the "American sense." No people shouting, with signs saying "vote for blah!"

I was very surprised that hustings at Peterhouse were congenial. My opponent was very sweet and constructive to my statements, and vice versa. I have attended hustings in the Ivy League setting where people literally bite each other's their heads of with their words. Tonight's atmosphere was much more relaxed, and refreshingly convivial.

My opponent's platform was based on having been at Cambridge for undergrad and grad school previously to her arrival at Peterhouse,. She has been a member of three colleges in Cambridge, thus having been a Fresher** for 3 times. Hence, her strength is that she knows what questions to ask. When it came my turn, I turned the tide on her by stating that my strength is the fact that I have NEVER been a Cambridge student before, and that all of my experience is based on my "outsider's perspective" as an Ivy Leaguer, who takes nothing for granted about Cambridge. Moreover, I made it clear to the audience that this year marks the fifth time that I've been a Fresher, having gone to so many universities previously; so, I know what it means to settle in a new setting.

For the most part, I am not sure who won this evening's hustings. However, I am confident that victory in the elections is mine, especially since I have attended so many more events in the MCR than she has, and know so many more people in Peterhouse as a result. I also played up my participation in the Board of Advisors in the education department of the American Museum of Natural History to my benefit, using that as another example of my leadership abilities and potential. I shall now take Pimm's No.1, on the rocks, with a splash of bitter lemon, with a twist, to wind-down. Then, I shall commence with creating my slides for my talk this weekend on healthcare access in northern Nigeria for the upcoming MCR Symposium this Saturday. Oh, yes, I will also be rowing tomorrow. Jolly good!

* MCR is the acronym for Middle Combination Room. This is the name of most graduate societies in the colleges of the University of Cambridge. Exceptions, such as Pembroke College, calls the equivalent of the MCR their "Graduate Parlor." The Committee of the MCR is the leadership of the society, largely responsible for planning and implementing social programs in college. Every graduate student in the colleges of Cambridge have membership to their respective college's MCR. The JCR stands for the Junior Combination Room, which is the undergraduate equivalent of the MCR. At least in Peterhouse, all members of the MCR are also members of the JCR. The Combination Room is reserved for the Fellows and Master of the college. Oxford also has MCRs and JCRs.

** A Fresher is a first-year student in the Cantabrigian vernacular.

King of Procastination

I got nothing done today. Woke up at 11am, went to my office to print a paper, then had lunch. Lunch was leftovers -- Thai yellow curry, with mushrooms, chilies, pork, and potatoes, on broad shrimp-roe noodles. I had to go to the Concourse of Addenbrooke's hospital to borrow a fork, since I left mine at home.

I thought I was going to row today. I showed up at the Boat Club...no one. Stayed around for 20 minutes, then left, thinking that there was a last-minute change in the schedule that I did not know of because I did not check my email today.

On my way home, I got caught by the Peterhouse gardener and Porter-on-duty riding my bike through the Garden/Deer Park...I got a firm reprimand, "you should know better!" Well, actually, I didn't. I never knew about the rule, as I've seen other bike in the park anyway. Anyway, I had to walk my bike all the way around the college, and then bike into St. Peter's Terrace from the Trumpington Street side of things. no biggie.

When I got to my email, it turns out that rowing is scheduled for tomorrow. Yay, I have, once again, for the third time, screwed up my schedule thinking that things happened on one day, when they happen on another. I proceeded to get a snack. First, I had 5 beets with the garlic herb mayo I made last night, Then I had 2 mini belgian waffles, one with lemon curd on top, the other with multi-berry jam, accompanied with a glass of nice 2% milk. I'm ready for a nap.

Tonight, I feast at Pembroke College's Formal Hall. That should be fun.

As for getting work accomplished...I'll save that for later.

Fries on Steroids

So, I was hungry.
I decked out the frozen curly fries, popped them in the oven. While I was waiting, I whipped up some fresh mayo -- put mustard, paprika, garlic, parsley, scallions, salt, pepper, 2 yolks, 2 hits of lemon juice, and a bit of zest.
I topped the fries with the mayo, garnishing with radishes.
Then, I proceeded to inhale the stuff -- it was so good.

Since I didn't have a whisk, I had to use a fork. But, it worked out.