…On Baking & Cat Handsomeness

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Here’s a pic of the pecan pie I made:

 

 

I made a pumpkin cream pie too, with a gingersnap crust, but I don’t have a picture of it yet, because I’m assembling it tomorrow right before serving.  I made the pumpkin pudding, and was thrilled as usual feeling it suddenly thicken under my rubber coated whisk after being under such arduous heat for so long.  It’s always very very obvious when a pudding or custard is done.  I love that feeling.  The chemical process of it congealing or whatever the term really is, feels so satisfying to me, like the moment someone you’re with reaches orgasm.  Anyway, I have my pumpkin pudding sitting in its gingersnap crust in the refrigerator, and the whipped cream to top it sitting in an airtight bowl next to it.  Later today, all I have to do is top the pudding with the whipped cream, grate some fresh nutmeg over it, take pictures, and watch all of my work torn apart and ingested.  I can’t wait!

I also made a jellied cranberry sauce today, which is one of the easiest things in the world to make.  I prefer a very basic cranberry sauce, just cranberries, sugar, and water, cooked in a saucepan, and then put through a strainer to remove the skins.  I very much enjoy hearing the cranberries hiss and pop shortly after being immersed in the boiling sugarwater.  And I get a sadistic kind of thrill from mashing as much pulp as possible out from their shriveled little bodies and then scraping the thickest of the pulp off of the bottom of my strainer and shaking it violently off of the spoon, into the sauce.  Baking/cooking is definitely an outlet for me.

We celebrated Oliver’s 5th birthday yesterday, and I am going to indulge myself by putting up some pictures of him, because I feel like it.

Here’s a picture of Oliver about two weeks after we first brought him home from the shelter:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think he looks rather dashing in this picture from last week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s one of him and Riley, his best kitty cat friend, from about two years ago, before I had to modify his eating plan, so he could get back to and remain at a healthy weight.  These two are funny together, and I love the spots on Riley’s tummy!  I apologize for this one being a little bit R-rated on Riley’s side:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s a meme one of my facebook friends made yesterday, when I posted this pic:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love my Oliver!

Again, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and doesn’t have to deal with too many people they dislike.