Amherst to Edinburgh

Don’s brother, Les (otherwise known as The Rare and Elusive Fuzz Fuzz Yeti), has finally made it over the pond! He will be here for a little under a week and then will be headed into the wilds of Scotland to farm for a couple weeks. More photos to come soon!

- Don and Nateene

We’ve added a new section to our blog called The Adventures of Haggis and Haji. You can find the link to it over in the sidebar on the right. ———>

-Nateene and Don

This is the meal that Susie (Celia’s mother) served us for dinner the first night that we arrived in Shrewsbury. This is traditional English cooking at its best. Surprisingly. And here is the recipe that we promised you:

Serves 4

8 Pork Sausages
110g (4oz) Plain White Flour
300ml (½ pint) Milk
2 Small Eggs
½ tsp Salt

Place the flour in a bowl, then make a well in the centre and break in the egg.
Mix in half the milk using a wooden spoon, work the mixture until smooth then add the remaining milk.
Beat or whisk until fully combined and the surface is covered with tiny bubbles.
Allow to rest for 15 to 30 minutes, whisk again before use.
Preheat the oven to 230°C; 450°F: Gas 8
Fry the sausages in a pan to lightly colour and remove excess fat, reserve the fat.
Place the fat in a small roasting tin adding a little oil, if needed, to bring the amount of fat up to about 4 tbsp.
Heat the fat until smoking hot then pour in the batter.
Add the sausage chunks and place into the hot oven.
Bake for about 5-10 minutes at 230°C; 450°F: Gas 8, then reduce to 200°C; 400°F: Gas 6 and bake 20 to 30 minutes or until the batter around the sausages has risen and is a deep golden brown.
Serve immediately or the pudding will deflate.

-Nateene and Don

http://thefoody.com and image from wikimedia

Last night Don and I made two kinds of sushi for dinner (smoked salmon and teriyaki chicken). This was not the first time that we’ve made sushi at home, but it was probably the best yet. And to make the victory even sweeter: we used the cheapest ingredients available. We used the cheapest fish, salmon trimmings, clearance grilled chicken breast, homemade teriyaki sauce, cucumber, avocado, and green onion. The only ingredient that was not on sale was the rice. (We splurged on Nishiki). In other words, we made a delicious sushi dinner that left the two of us stuffed for under ten quid!

Sorry about the image quality, the light in the kitchen is a bit camera hostile.

Side note: Read Along with Nateene!

At the moment I am reading Peter Murray’s The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance in preparation for my Bramante exam that is coming up in less than a month. Also I’m reading Francis Haskell’s History and its Images: Art and the Interpretation of the Past and Ovid’s Metamorphoses as some initial research for my Div III. If you’re interested, here is the very preliminary draft of my Division III proposal:

For my Division III I would like to study the nature of the relationship between the Catholic Church and pagan iconography. Specifically, I intend to research the Church’s use of Roman idolatry in High Renaissance art (painting and sculpture) to propagate Christian virtues.

I am also interested in investigating the utilization of iconography as a display of dominance and as a historical index. I would like to examine the incorporation of Roman mythology into Christian art as a parallel to the Roman usurpation of Greek myths and fables.

Furthermore, I also intend to examine the role that mythological iconography has played and continues to play in contemporary art. Through my research I hope to learn whether or not we, as a more global society, have continued the tradition of adapting classical iconography to our own purposes. In specific, I would like to analyze the function of such art (be it classical or modern) as an indicator of prestige.

During the F2008 semester I plan to take Seminar Topics in Christianity and Visual Culture [SC] and also The Collector: Theory and Practice [HC].

I would love to hear your thoughts!

-Nateene

On Tuesday, Nateene, Fernando, and I climbed up Arthur’s Seat. For those of you from Tucson, it’s kind of like Sabino Canyon. For those of you from Amherst, it’s kind of like Norwottuck and the Holyoke Range. Actually, it’s not really like either of those places. Arthur’s seat overlooks Edinburgh, and you can walk directly into its park from the Scottish Parliament, or from the University of Edinburgh dorms. It would be kind of like if there was a mountain and crags in place of Boston Common (at least thinking in terms of a comparable urban area).

Fernando goes up fairly frequently, so he showed us how to get there easily on foot. It turns out that it’s better to get up the mountain from the dorms than from parliament, as it saves the effort of an additional hike. Here’s a picture of Fernando and me in back of Pollack Halls, in the midst of the best weather we’ve had so far.

Just because it was a beautiful day in Edinburgh doesn’t mean the wind went away. Especially around the highest point in the area. Here’s Fernando at the top, being windblown and chilly.

Here’s a picture of Nateene at the top, being windblown and chilly. She was also hanging on for dear life. The disc gives distances and directions to assorted landmarks visible from the peak. It was such a clear day that we were able to find just about everything in view.

And here’s a picture of me. I wasn’t so chilly, for some reason.

Arthur’s Seat has been around long enough, and the top gets enough wind, for there to be nothing but exposed rock at the top. Then again, most of the slopes of the park look like they’ve been mowed. There isn’t the most vibrant collection of vegetation. The view of Edinburgh from all that rock, though, is spectacular.

Here’s a more detailed shot of the old town, including Edinburgh Castle.

The sea and more of Edinburgh is visible from the other side. Just out of the shot on the bottom left is Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament.

Here’s a picture of Fernando and me on the way back down. I found a Scottish flag near the top, and Fernando wanted to bring it back as a souvenir. So we decided to have a few shots of us as explorers.

Winding around the back of Arthur’s Seat, on the way down, we caught good views of a couple golf courses. The view probably couldn’t have been more Scottish, unless there was a great big Haggis pudding smeared on the lens.