Sunday, June 25, 2006

Food Fight!

Today there was a big potluck at Food Fight so I made 2 cakes for the event.


This first cake I'm calling my summer cake because it's light and refreshing, but I can't actually title it "Summer Cake" because that's just boring. It is a simple white cake with mandarin oranges and a creamy coconut frosting. I was inspired to make a spiral with the coconut on top of it, which I then yammered on about to Jim until I think he wished he could turn my voice off. "Yes, Kris, your spiral was a very cute idea". I love baking, but decorating it isn't always my strong point, so I was pleased.


This second cake is, obviously, a Boston Cream Pie. I'm still not 100% happy with the cream filling yet, it's just not "wow". I think I'm going to try it with soy creamer and a vanilla bean next time... We shall see.

Jim and I piled our plates high with yummy goodness. This is the first vegan potluck I've been to, so it was a welcome change of pace. I'm still full, hours after eating. We then hung out in the heat (yes, it's actually gotten hot here. And we don't have air conditioning...), eating our food and watching painfully cute vegan babies run around and suck on watermelon wedges.

Now I'm going to lay around with some mocha soy ice cream and read while Jim goes out to buy a window unit air conditioner. Yay cold air!

ETA: How did I forget our little issue we have right now? There is a stray kitten that we found, about 2-3 months old. He's super cute and friendly (the nicest kitten I've ever met, actually, very gentle and sweet) and he needs a home! We can't possibly keep him and our neighborhood is full of mean, territorial toms. If anyone knows anyone in Portland that might be interested in a sweet kitten, we're taking him to the vet to get shots, checked for FIV and leukemia and to get his ears checked out (looks like mites) tomorrow. PLEASE let me know, this little guy has us just sick with worry!

15 comments:

jenny said...

Those desserts look great! We'll be visiting our friends in Portland either in August or September, I hope Food Fight has another potluck so I can try some of your delicious looking desserts!

I hope you find a home for that little cutie! Maybe Chad or Emiko will post about it on their blog?

Kris said...

Thanks Jenny. We make a poster and put it up at Food Fight this afternoon and Chad seemed really concerned, so maybe he will. It would be fun to get together and have dinner if you have time, let me know when you're here!

jenny said...

I'll let you know when we iron it all out. I just got a new job that starts Aug. 1st - I get 30+ vacation days (yay!). We want to go to Portland while it's still warm. The only reason we're not there now is the tickets are around $500 - ridiculous!
Do you know Lisa from Sweetpea? That's who we're staying with.
I would love to get together for some dinner.

Eat Peace Please said...

Oh, little lion kitty looks super cute. I wish I lived in Portland #1, #2, if I did I'd take him.

And that boston creme pie looks wow to me. I've never had one and I bet I could eat that whole thing!

Anonymous said...

Awh, I'll bet your current kitties would love this baby to care for. When I brought in my one and only adopted-as-a-kitten the big guys declared themselves parental units.

Anonymous said...

please keep us updated on the little kitty! He really tugs at my heartstrings because my Sammy is an orange tabby as well who was a stray. His ears looked just like that and they were FULL of mites!
-Jacki
p.s. you probably already know this, but he's probably going to be a BIG cat! Orange tabbies tend to be (mine is 17 lbs. and not overweight) Just thought you might like to know that if you didn't already so you could tell his future owners.

Anonymous said...

please keep us updated on the little kitty! He really tugs at my heartstrings because my Sammy is an orange tabby as well who was a stray. His ears looked just like that and they were FULL of mites!
-Jacki
p.s. you probably already know this, but he's probably going to be a BIG cat! Orange tabbies tend to be (mine is 17 lbs. and not overweight) Just thought you might like to know that if you didn't already so you could tell his future owners.

Marnie said...

Hi, I'm not sure if I've ever commented here before, but I've been enjoying your blog for a while. Those cakes look great!

I took in a stray orange tabby kitten several years ago, and she also proved to be a very sweet, trouble-free cat. They don't all get huge -- my little girl is about 8 pounds. The orange tabby males I've known have generally been pretty big, though! Good luck finding a home for your little friend.

Mama Fabun said...

What a cute kitty! We're far from Portland but I wrote my best girl pal who lives there and asked her to keep her eyes and ears out for someone looking for a feline friend.

Kris said...

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and support. It's hard in situations like this because it seems like someone always has a stray cat/dog they need help with and it's so different when the ball is in your court. Like mamafabun, if anyone knows someone here that would be interested or a good resource please let me know!

I'm sure he'd eventually get along with our cats. Someone was so upset about this situation they decided to leave us a present in our bedroom. This is really abnormal behavior for our cats, so I think who ever it was (Linus..) is very unhappy with the situation. We would love to keep him, but for a multitude of reasons it's just not possible for us.

Kris said...

Leslie, you've never had Boston Cream Pie before?! Were you raised vegan? BCP has always been one of my all-time favorites.

Anonymous said...

wow your cakes look amazing. Nonesense - the decorating looks great. I wish I could share these with you!

Your local humain society might be able to find a home for your kitty?

Eat Peace Please said...

I wasn't raised vegan but I practically raised myself vegetarian (my parents are omni). I've never had BCP before and I would love to eat that creme in the middle!!!

Have you asked Jess from Get Sconed about the kitty? She lives in Portland too.

Kris said...

Hey Megan, we have a philosophy that once an animal enters our lives we have to personally see it through. I don't trust humane societies with animals, especially during this busy time of year, because no kitty is exempt from possible euthenasia and that's not going to happen on my watch.

I haven't asked Jess yet, Leslie, that's a good idea.

KleoPatra said...

Those desserts look sooooooooooooo good, especially the boston "cream" ... i hope to visit Food Fight someday... i love this blog, keep up the great work here!!!