Epic eruptions, dramatic pies

[asakiyume]

Yesterday at the blog The Blue and Green House, they talked about the year without a summer--1816, the year following the massive eruption of Mt. Tambora. In my neck of the woods, snow fell as late as June and as early as August--across Europe there were famine conditions from failed crops. Wikipedia says that there was so much aerosolized material in the atmosphere that sunspots were visible to the naked eye.

Later in the day, out of the blue, wakanomori started telling me about one of the most powerful eruptions in recorded history, which he'd seen tweeted about. "Oh, maybe it was the eruption of Mt. Tambora," I said--fresh from my reading. He looked at me strangely and said, "Yeah, I think that's the one."

We both mused on why, in two separate venues, two separate people should have happened to talk about Mt. Tambora.

... And discovered that yesterday was the bicentennial of the eruption. Well then!

Meanwhile, on Twitter, people were tweeting humorous thoughts for new Hugo Award categories, and Nisi Shawl suggested, among other things, an award for Most Dramatic Pie.

So I decided to make a volcano pie--surely dramatic--to commemorate the bicentennial of Mt. Tambora's eruption. Behold the Pie:

Lots of red-lava chunks

Comments

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

That looks like a most delicious pie!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I keep nibbling away the mountainsides....

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Mmmm...now I want to make one. Maybe this afternoon. :)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Let me know how it goes if you bake one!

[gwynnega]

That is a Pie of Drama, all right!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

A Pie of High Emotion. Surely it deserves a Hugo?

[yamamanama.livejournal.com]

The weirdly-colored sunsets must be something everyone remembered for the rest of their lives.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I'm sure they did. That, and their hungry stomachs.

[sovay]

So I decided to make a volcano pie--surely dramatic--to commemorate the bicentennial of Mt. Tambora's eruption. Behold the Pie

teenybuffalo and ajodasso and I made cherries jubilee yesterday, full of red fruit and fire! We had no idea.

That is a most mountain-burning pie.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

red fruit and fire

The three of you have the heart of true volcano lovers, obviously.

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

Is that actually a deliberate volcanic pie? If so, how did you do it? (I'm betting it went more or less volcanic by itself, and that you added Dramatic Fruit Lava. But I'm wrong quite lots.)

Because of William Pene du Bois's The Twenty-One Balloons, I thought for decades that the year without a summer was due to the explosion of Krakatoa, and when I looked it up several years ago was rather shocked to find Tambora instead....

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It was deliberate! I prebaked the shell, leaning the pastry onto a cone-shaped cardboard form. Then after it was baked, I cut the cardboard out. Unfortunately, it wasn't really baked hard enough, and the side that you see that's collapsed, collapsed. Then I poured in the filling and reheated the pie to warm it up. Then I made the decorative lava flows :-)

Yeah, I think I thought it was Krakatoa too. Live and learn!

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

Wow! Well, for that height of eruption it makes sense, you genius, you. :)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I was pleased with myself--I will try it again one day, and take more time with the form.

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

That seems well-justified by your results! Excellent edible sculpture!

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

BTW, did you know that not terribly long after the explosion of Krakatoa it was abruptly noticed that Mimulus moschatus, musk monkey flower had lost the scent for which it was treasured (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v134/n3376/abs/134054a0.html). Well, not very quickly afterward, but I always wondered whether there was any connection...

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Interesting, thanks! I'd never heard of that before...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

What an interesting hypothesis! I wonder if there'd be a way to research it. (I wonder if anyone has...)

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

It's hard to conceive offhand, how it could be tested. :/

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Most dramatic pie! great idea!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I've been nibbling at it steadily. Woman triumphs over volcano. Or pie. Definitely over pie.

[wuweibaby.livejournal.com]

*like*

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Lucky it was a dessert! It would be a hard act to follow... (Unless Mt Tamora Day is traditionally celebrated by volcano pie, followed by going to bed hungry...)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

They gave up looking at sunspots as a way of celebrating Mt. Tambora day--now you can look at moon craters, and it counts.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Pie! I want pie!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I wish I could ship you some!

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Mmm. Eruption!

Nine

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Yummy strawberry eruption :-)

[readthisandweep.livejournal.com]

YUM? ;)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I used store-bought filling, but nevertheless, it was pretty yummy :-)

[c-maxx.livejournal.com]

Mmm... Red hot cherry pie, lava to die for! Jump in.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

The lava's strawberries rather than cherries, but otherwise--you bet!

[wuweibaby.livejournal.com]

I would eat a volcano

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

You must be a god of ancient days!

[wuweibaby.livejournal.com]

It is entirely possible. My memory isn't what it once was...