OneWallKitchen's Profile

Oh, Biscoff spread for sure! I first saw it in October in the Biscoff store during our San Francisco vacation, but I didn't buy any because we were doing carry-ons only. I love all things Biscoff, so I thought I was doing myself a favor. Then I saw that the World Market up the street from my house carried it. A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that Fresh & Easy also carries it. Oh, it's so tasty.

And this isn't food, but it is food related: I bought my first smoker this past May, and I love it! I want to try smoking some oats so I can try to remake Ditty's Irish Smoked Oatcakes that I love so much! Everything I've smoked has turned out awesome, and Fall Dinner was built around a wonderful smoked pork loin. I'm glad that Phoenix's weather is almost always prime for smoking!

Mmmm, this reminds me of a Filipino rice and chicken stew called arroz caldo--the clincher is some patis (fish sauce) and a few big hunks of ginger. Totally comfort food, especially in cooler weather!

I might actually miss having cable this year! I know I'll miss Fabio's one-liners. However, I fear the inevitable clash of egos. Hopefully hulu and the Bravo site will make full episodes accessible.

Every time I see Marcel, I think of his unfortunate run-in with the sea urchin and his and Ilan's remedy to his injury. Every time I see Blais, I think of a cute little anime character--that hair kicks so much butt. ;D

Mmmm, biko--it is amazing. You should try suman, too (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suman_(food)).

I did a double take when I saw bibingka in the title! I always have to cheer when I see Filipino food in the spotlight. =) I'm happy to see a chewy nougat recipe, too. Some recipes I've tried make a hard, crunchy nougat--eep!

@ sagekitten85--I'd do as others here have noted--push all the furniture up against the wall and unfurl the folding dining table (hooray for gateleg tables!). ;) That was for sit-down dinner parties--like I said, usually about 8 people, though the table supposedly only sat 4. I'd sometime bring in my 2-seater patio table for "really big" parties. For my birthday party--a free-for-all potluck that usually stuffed 30 people into my 500-sq-footer, I'd put out as many chairs and floor cushions as I could find, opened up into the patio and put cushions out on the steps for more seating, and just jumped feet-first into the fray. My friends tolerated it for 3 years and always told me they'd had a blast afterward.

@homoimprovement--On a tangent to what I just wrote, cast the net wide. I had work friends, townie hipster friends, writer friends, foodie friends--all mashed in. I'd always make sure people who came solo found their way into a group to mingle with, but other than that, people were always willing to cross paths with others and make new friends themselves.

I have both stackable and gridded racks. I wish I had stackable gridded racks!

Nesting--just enjoying our new space. This month, we'll have been in our new "giant" house for a year, and while we've had a handful of get-togethers, it's nothing like the monthly (or more) parties we had in our tiny (500 sq ft) condo, seating as many as 8 people. I nested there for about a year, too, though before I really started having people over with any regularity. We have a huge Fall Dinner/Pre-Thanksgiving get-together planned in a couple of weekends, though, and planning it has made me want to have people over more often.

I'd always had hand-me-down beds and mattresses until a couple of years ago when I decided to "splurge" at a mattress outlet store. I probably would've just taken the cheap path, but after spending two Christmases at my boyfriend's parents in the best bed I'd ever slept it, I found that a great night's sleep on a great mattress was worth the investment. It was amazing how much better I slept. I spent a whopping $450 on a mattress and box spring set, and they started to sag and creak after just 6 months. Then, earlier this year, two friends of ours broke off their long relationship and gave us their pricey king size bed. Again, best sleep ever, and since it's a high-quality set, it's good as new even though it has a few years on it. The next time we buy a mattress, we're going to pay for the best sleep we can afford.

I'd probably dislike the "wallpaper" more if I hadn't seen the photo of it being handpainted. I think it's a beautiful and quirky pair of murals. I also appreciate the irony that all the actual books are on the floor--I read for a living, and read up to a dozen books a month for fun, but my own personal library fits a 4-foot-tall, 3-foot-wide bookshelf (not including my cookbooks). The room also reminds me a little of one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes, "Time Enough at Last" . . . not sure if that's a compliment, but it's fun nonenetheless.