Home Economics

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.

It has become tradition for me to attend a Thanksgiving potluck that is held every year in a Vancouver house I once lived in. It’s one of the best events of the year – so much good food, good music and good people. It has also become a tradition that as my potluck contribution, I bring a cake shaped and decorated as some type of meat. This tradition started because my dear friend and hostess is a vegetarian, and is having none of the traditional big meat-type centerpiece for the dinner. So I make one out of sugar to fill the void. and making meat-cakes is really a good time. This is the first one in the series – a traditional turkey:

one of the most exciting elements of this cake for me was the use of materials, or “content” if you will. I used chocolate cake for the dark meat and pecan cake for the light meat (perfect for that greyish turkey meat colour). Then I made a stuffing compote out of a selection of chocolates, candy, cherries and marshmallows. For the finishing touches, I used popcorn for the drumstick ends and glazed the skin with caramel sauce.

…also with this cake, the act of cutting it was performative in itself: the moment of “carving the bird”. Each guest was individually served and asked if they preferred light or dark meat, and whether they would like skin ands a side of stuffing. A true holiday meal.

During the day, I work at a gallery in Vancouver. Recently, one of the most wonderful and loved staff members announced that she was retiring, after 14 years of service! Obviously, the most extreme cake was in order for her retirement party. The design: a replica of the building everyone works in. On the front of the building, there is always a huge banner advertising the current exhibitions. On the cake, this banner would bear the “happy retirement” exclamation.

Here’s what I did, step by step:

1. baked many, many marble swirl cakes (get it?)

2. Stacked ‘em up

and up

and UP

and a little more

that should do it.

3. iced it

4. paid attention to the details…

…..details…….

…..details…….

…..details…….

…..details…….

…..details…….

…..details…….

…..details…….

…..and a few final touches

5. finished the cake by adding the Happy Retirement banner. Also garnished with paper cut-out speech bubbles with messages from co-workers coming out of the windows they work in

6. and finally, for the best part: cutting up the workplace!

Back in 2008, the Regional Assembly of Text converted a storage closet in their store into the Lowercase Reading Room, which is now home to hundreds of zines and self published books, all in a space measuring less than 9 by 3 feet.

Of course the opening of the Reading Room called for a cake….