Rainbow Cake!

Oh man. I done gone and baked one of the coolest things ever. It was nothing but box cake and food coloring--no challenge of baking science--and it wasn't even my idea, but it turned out so radical, I'm so pumped about this. You must find an occasion to make this cake.

The fabulous Claudia Russell, Jazz88 DJ extraordinaire, had a birthday last week, but wasn't in the office for cake-ular activities. I had been saving this cake recipe specifically for her, as she's a hippy-at-heart who loves tye-dye.

TO THE CAKE!

First, I made a double-batch of white cake. I believe it was Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe.

Then, I divided up the batter into 7 bowls of equal volume. Using gel food coloring (more intense, less liquid added) I dyed each bowl a different color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink.


Next, I took two round 9-inch cake pans. Here is where the expert baking technique comes in. Now, you can put the colors in whatever order you want, but I put them in regular rainbow order. So, beginning with red, I put a heaping cup to cup and a half into the bottom of the first pan. Next, a little less of a heaping cup of orange right on top. Don't worry, they don't mix into each other, they just sit on top of each other in concentric circles and slowly spread out into the pan.


Follow with the rest of the colors until all seven are in the pan. Then, do the same thing in the second pan, but put the colors in REVERSE order. Here's another tip. The BOTTOM layer of batter (meaning, the first color you put in the pan) should be more than the top layer.

Bake.



Cool. Frost. Cut into. Freak out.



Delight your happy birthday-having pal:



Then eat more cake:


Full credit to Omnomicon.com, although she does it some crazy nonsense diet way with soda and pudding mix. No. Just...NO. Make the box cake the way you're supposed to make it. The end.

I Have a Ring!

Finally! We have an engagement ring! Woohoo! On Saturday we hit up Leo Hamel in Old Town, after hearing they had a decent selection of estate pieces. I was starting to feel like I just needed to pick SOMETHING remotely close to the style that I was leaning towards. Everything that I had tried up to that point had been close, and pretty, and sparkly, but I don't know, how do you choose when they are all pretty and kind of all look the same after awhile? Well, we debated between two finalists, and this little darlin' finally won out. I love it more and more the longer I have it. Hooray!





Oh, wait, you might want to know, it's 14 karat white gold. I don't know how old it is, I forgot to ask.

Well Hello There!

Oh hey! I have a blog! Discipline has never been my strong suit, but you know, I am a work in progress.

I am safely ensconced on my couch, sipping a glass of red wine and nibbling on Rainier cherries. Mmmmmm! I went to Pata Negra after work and got some tomate frito (put it on white rice), chorizo, and a super tangy goat cheese rolled in paprika. I've been trying not to gorge on it too much as it was supposed to be our cocktail hour appetizers, but el Capitan just called and won't be home until 7. Guess who gets all the cheese and chorizo to herself? These are the sacrifices and rewards of the fireman-family lifestyle.

I left work before 3pm today due to an exceptionally frustrating situation that remains out of my control. Rather than sit at my desk stewing in my own angry juices, I decided to just leave. I don't mean to be mysterious, but I'd rather not memorialize my rage on the internet. Needless to say, said situation will pass.

Tomorrow I have a meeting in Balboa Park, specifically at the delicious-smelling Mingei Museum. I don't know what it smells like, but it just smells good. Textiles and foreign wood carvings and fresh paint. We're partnering with them for an event in two weeks, so every few weeks for the past few months I've been popping up to the museum to meet with their Marketing Coordinator.



The last time I was up there I walked through my favorite spot in all of San Diego, the Alcazar Gardens. It was such a beautiful day (the miserable May Gray hadn't descended yet) and the flowers were just bonkers. I had to stop and attempt to take artistic pictures of the crazy tall purple flowers. Stalk? Snapdragons? I wish I was better at my flower identification.



Anyway, it was such a pleasant interlude during my work day, I had to stop and appreciate that my job frequently requires that I walk through Balboa Park. Not a bad gig.



Thank God I have another meeting there tomorrow, I need the reminder!