kristinfaurest's Profile

gettysgirl...and everybody...i have had to deal with plenty of issues, i live in an apartment in a european capital of 2 million, we have the same issues we'd have in the states plus cultural issues. on both sides: we have been the offenders (my husband and i with our love of loud music, and our loud six-year-old) and our neighbors have been the offenders as well (smoking, loud malfunctioning alarms, etc) and every time what has solved --- or at least nearly solved or ameliorated -- the problem has been just getting to know each other better. for me this came from long years of learning the language and the culture. because then we tolerate each others' small transgressions a little better and we accommodate the others' requests a little more openly than we do when we're in conflict with a stranger.

i absolutely adore this. if you are a creative and prolific cook, i think it's best to have all your ingredients where you can be easily inspired by them. there are few things more beautiful than the palette of more than 40 spices and 25 or so grains and legumes and nuts that i have on my handmade iron shelves. it would make me crazy to have to rummage through closed cabinets for ingredients when i want to be creative. and if you're going through them quickly because you cook for an eager crowd of family and friends (as i do) they have no opportunity to lose their flavor or go rancid!