Professor Butter Beard and “William”
“Behold the Hippopotamus! We laugh at how he looks to us, And yet in moments dank and grim, I wonder how we look to him.” – Ogden Nash, The Hippopotamus
William and I share an unconventional relationship. When I was on my second interview for my master’s program, the director placed ten index cards before me depicting works of art and asked me to organize them according to date. I remember holding back a chuckle as William appeared. He is an easy one. He and I share a birthyear with his being 1961 BCE and mine is 1961 CE. A revered reproduction of William stands guard before a collection of my choice cookbooks and Van Gogh biographies. When I feel a bit low, I imagine William and I turning up the volume and dancing to Herb Albert’s “Love Potion #9.” (Take a listen – the image will haunt you – sorry!) And his blue is the same shade as the blueberry (previously known as Violet Beauregarde) in the 1971 classic “Willy Wonka.” A favorite movie, a favorite fruit, a favorite song – all tied to my favorite hippo.
In 1931, Captain H.M. Raleigh published an article in the British satire magazine “Punch” about an ancient hippopotamus he and his family has seen at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The family affectionately nicknamed the hippo “William” and Raleigh wrote, “William radiates benevolence with all the warmth of a living creature, so that we have come to love and revere him with an intensity boarding on the ‘pagan.’” Raleigh’s family kept a reproduction of William in their home, avowing that the animal’s facial features indicated approval or rejection of family decisions! The Metropolitan republished the article in their bulletin and the tender nickname has stuck ever since.
Although a hippopotamus could potentially destroy a farmer’s fields just by sauntering through them, the ancient Egyptians respected these animals as beneficial creatures of the muddy water from which all life was derived. One of the most popular household deities worshipped by the ancient Egyptians was the goddess Taweret with her head and body of a pregnant hippopotamus, the tail of a crocodile and the hands and feet of a lioness. Egyptians observed the hippos' fierce protection of their young and Taweret, with her swollen, or pregnant, belly became a symbolic protector of motherhood and pregnancy.
Some of the most famous and recognizable ancient Egyptian representations of hippos are the Middle Kingdom blue faiences. Egyptian faiences, an exceedingly difficult medium, have a white interior ceramic core covered with a brightly colored glaze and only the most skilled artisans were known to produce them. Although the faience glaze was produced in a range of bright colors, the turquoise blue color so characteristic of the medium was often used to create such symbolic works as William.
The hippo faiences were produced solely as grave goods and were believed to have traveled as protectors through the afterlife with the recently departed. The bodies of these honorable hippos were decorated with beautiful scenes of river plants such as closed and open lotus flowers and lotus leaves. The lotus was symbolic of regeneration and rebirth since it opens with the morning sun and gently closes again at twilight. Out of fear and in order to prevent the hippos from magically coming alive, the legs of many of the hippo figurines were broken off deliberately, thus eliminating the animal’s destructive potential. Even three of William’s legs were also snapped off, but luckily for him, the three were later lovingly restored and one is still intact.
William’s blueberry blue inspired me to bake a berry poundcake with a delectable twist. I folded in grated lemongrass, fresh basil from my herb garden and a squeeze or two of lime giving the humble poundcake a morning sun renaissance. Visit your farmer’s market and purchase some just-picked blueberries, harvest some herbs and pull out your father’s Herb Albert albums. Trust me. William is a fine dancer!
Blueberry Poundcakes with Lemongrass, Fresh Basil and Lime
3 Loaves (eat one, freeze one and give the third to a friend!)
Loaves:
12 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups white sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp kosher salt
Zest of two medium limes
1 ½ cups buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla paste
2 Tbsp freshly grated lemongrass (I actually use the pre-grated lemongrass now available in stores)
½ cup finely chopped fresh basil
3 cups of fresh blueberries
Lime Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
Juice of the 2 zested limes
1) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
2) Spray three 8-9” loaf pans with cooking spray and line with parchment paper
3) Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and lime zest.
4) Stir the vanilla into the buttermilk.
5) Cream the butter and sugar in a standing mixer 1-2 minutes until butter is light and fluffy. Mix in the lemongrass and basil. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, 1 egg at a time.
6) On low, add 1/3 of the dry mix, then half of the buttermilk, 1/3 of the dry mix, remaining buttermilk and finish with the final 1/3 of the dry mix.
7) Off the mixer, fold in the blueberries.
8) Divide the batter between the three pans and bake 50-60 minutes until golden and set and an inserted wooden skewer comes out clean.
9) While the cakes bakes, stir together the water, white sugar and lime juice in a small pan and bring to a simmer on low heat to melt the sugar. Take off the heat and let cool to room temperature.
10) When the cakes have cooled for 15 minutes, lightly brush the syrup over the cakes (while they are still warm in their pans).
