Ooof

[pameladean]

One mince pie, two vegan pumpkin pies, one pan of pear crisp for the pumpkin-allergic and mince-averse. I made an overflow small dish of the pear crisp and gave it to Raphael, so I have advance notice that the crisp is very good. I used red pears, and when I tasted a slice to see how sweet and how ripe they were or weren't, I regretted not getting more for just eating.

No pies swooped out of the oven, flipped over, or landed any way at all that I did not intend. However, the new kitten named Ninja kept trying to get into the oven -- the 425 degree F oven. I finally had to shut him in the media room. He and his sister Nuit also tried to get into the refrigerator, but this is less immediately an emergency. He also discovered today that he could jump up onto the countertop, so the pies are all cooling in the cat-free zone, where they impede the last-minute wrapping of presents.

I have been quite worried about my ancient comedian, Aristophanes the orange cat, because his appetite had fallen off. It may be that he was just bored. I opened a can of a food he doesn't get often because it doesn't have the best specs for a cat with kidney failure, and he ate a reasonable amount. I'm sorry to be spending tomorrow away from him, though.

May you all have as much or as little festivity as you wish.

Pamela

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Oh, pear crisp! That sounds really lovely. timprov hates the smell of pears cooking, though he loves pears, so I never get that. I am glad of yours, though.

[pameladean]

I know that in the broader sense this is carrying coals to Newcastle, but I could make you some the next time I find good pears.

P.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

That is awfully nice of you. I won't say no to it, but I also won't obligate you to make it an absolutely firm promise. We'll see if we both remember, if you feel like it at the time, etc.

[pameladean]

That seems like a nice arrangement.

If you have strong opinions or a general Philosophy of Crisps, let me know at some point so I don't put in the wrong spices or leave the walnuts out of the topping or do who knows what.

P.

[carbonel]

Silly kittens. I'm glad all turned out well and there was no untoward excitement.

I hope to see you and household tomorrow evening.

[pameladean]

I hope so too. We have a terrible record of being too tired to make it, but we'll try.

P.

[carbonel]

I understand you elected to stay home with Ari, and I hope he is doing well, or at least not worse.

Did dd_b pass on the experimental baked goods for you and Raphael? They're a little dryer than I'd like, but at least they don't have the butter (or Earth Balance) seepage problem that the previous incarnation did.

(If I ever perfect this recipe, I think I get to put my own name on it, because it will have morphed sufficiently from the original to be considered a new thing.)

[pameladean]

They are very tasty indeed. I'm not sure but that they are supposed to be a bit dry, given their apparent ancestry. My edge pieces were a bit dry but had a lovely crunch, and the center ones had just a little boost of sweet butteriness.

P.

[carbonel]

Apparently crunchy versus chewy is a matter of some debate in flapjack circles. The recipe I was working with called for 6 oz of butter (or margarine), which is what I used for the Romance Exchange versions. This one had 4 oz of Earth Balance, because that's what I had left over. I think next time I'll try 5 oz. And more ginger, which is decidedly noncanonical, and I don't care.

[guppiecat]

My vet told me that it is perfectly acceptable to use small servings of non kidney-friendly cat food mixed in or on top of the kidney diet to stimulate appetite.

I've had luck with the tiny cans of wet food in the PetCo natural kitty food section.

There is also a thing called FortiFlora that works shockingly well and probably added a couple years to the life of my much missed little tortie cat.

[pameladean]

My reply to your comment got misplaced as a first-level comment; it's right after yours. Thanks again for mentioning the FortiFlora.

P.

[pameladean]

I will look into the FortiFlora-- thank you!

He has comprehensively rejected all dedicated kidney diets, but there are foods quite close to those in the relevant nutritional values that he will eat much of the time.

We've been pretty much all through the natural food section. Much of it has been metaphorically buried. But he does like Wellness. I am planning to expand the number of flavors I keep around, since he seems to be getting fussier.

I know I am very luck to still have him.

P.

[alecaustin.livejournal.com]

Those pies and crisps all sound lovely.

I just had Christmas Eve dinner with my mother's relatives, which went remarkably well for me having spent nearly 6 hours on a plane flying out to Hawaii earlier in the day. Tomorrow will be Chinese Christmas dinner. One hopes that will go as smoothly.

Apropos of nothing, I've been re-reading the Secret Country books and having a great time with them. I figured I should say.

A merry Christmas and holiday season to you and yours.

[pameladean]

Urk, that is a long flight, but I hope Hawaii is as beautiful as it is rumored to be. Good luck with the next dinner.

Thank you for saying! That is very gratifying indeed.

A very fine time to you and yours as well.

P.

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

Four and twenty kittens baked in a pie?

I'm glad they managed not to be.

Enjoy your festivities and all that lovely food!

love

Catherine

[pameladean]

These two sometimes seem like four and twenty, but luckily the pies already had fillings.

The pear crisp is much reduced, but there is a fair amount of pie left. Happy festivities to you as well!

P.

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I think kittens always seem like four and twenty. They move pretty fast (and generally in the wrong direction).

[lutin.livejournal.com]

And as much vegan pie, as well. :o)
I'm home in NL, not stateside, recovering from things -- and a friend surprised me with the loveliest vegan pumpkin pie today.
I hope you also get lovely surprises, especially since baked kitten will not be one of them.

<3

[pameladean]

I am sorry you have things to recover from, but glad you are doing so. I hope the surprise pie will help.

I got many fine surprises indeed, including lots of books.

P.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Our pet-related excitement today was being awake from 1:30 to 4am due to upstairs dog having been left alone while his person is out of town. My cats have enough sense not to bake or boil themselves, being experienced in these matters due to previous mishaps.

Happy festivities to you!

[pameladean]

Oh dear, poor dog and poor you.

I am sure that Ninja especially will be very wise if he survives his first year.

P.

[lcohen]

happy pies and kittens to you!

[pameladean]

I cannot wish you the same without wishing you bad reactions, so I wish you the equivalent!

P.

[markiv1111.livejournal.com]

Louie here:

I had a kitten (Bozocat) jump into an oven when I opened it to remove any unwanted items preparatory to turning on the broiler. didn't notice, closed the oven, turned on the broiler, heard a anguished little 'MeowRRR'. The poor thing had all the skin burned off it's pads and it's whiskers were all frizzled up. The vet gave it IV fluids and didn't think he'd survive, but I kept the kitten by my pillow, used Vitamin E on the burns, and it did quite well.

[pameladean]

Kittens have NO sense of self-preservation. I'm glad your little guy made it.

P.

[chakolate.livejournal.com]

If I may ask, how ancient is Aristophanes?

[pameladean]

Aristophanes was 18 in September.

P.

[noveldevice.livejournal.com]

I like the red ones the most, myself, even for cooking. I think the flavour is better.

I decorated my apartment this year, and even, for a few hours, the cat. :) He was not pleased.

I was feeling sad for a while about being alone--Christmas was never, obv, a big deal for me, but it's still one of those days that people generally spend with family--but the tweets and texts and IMs I've been getting from friends whose families are driving them nuts made me feel better. :)

Merry Christmas.

[pameladean]

The red ones don't seem to go mushy so fast, either.

Did the cat get antlers, or some other indignity? 8-)

I'm glad you felt better in the end. It's very annoying to have opted out of the usual celebration for very good reasons and then still feel bad because you are having a different kind of day.

P.

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

Sounds yummy!

I've been experimenting, making apple crisp, using a gluten-free flour, but hadn't thought to try pear crisp. Will have to experiment further!

[pameladean]

All the apples looked wrong, so I tried pear, a couple of years ago, and it was just amazingly good.

My recipe actually had a gluten-free topping, but I subsituted a more usual one, because putting quinoa in a blender to make quinoa flour was a bit more work than I felt up to. My minimal experience with gluten-free flours suggests that they should make a very nice crisp topping, though. They seem more inclined to be crunchy than ordinary wheat flour.

P.

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

I've been using buckwheat flour for the topping.

[eub.livejournal.com]

If you make your mincemeat, and if you make it with meat, I would be grateful for experienced advice on what cut works well, and in what ratio with the other solids. I cobbled together several diverse recipes for my first try this year, and I think I have room for optimization.

[pameladean]

Alas, we use the vegetarian version, because I don't eat meat; and we usually get the jarred kind.

P.

[castleclear.livejournal.com]

Kittens and Kitchen on Christmas Eve! I hope that Aristophanes is as well as can be reasonably hoped for. I am guessing Ninja and Nuit are only a tad less kittenish. The pleasant domesticity your words evoke brought a smile to my face when reading. I also like your wish that we each have as much or as little festivity as we crave.