LitNerd's Profile

I was in Germany for my 13th(?) birthday and my mom got me a cheesecake because its my favorite. The bakery wrote the message on a flat piece of marzipan and laid it on top. It looked great and I had marzipan to eat.

I just bought a set of these for about $5 on Amazon. I was hesitant because my last roommate had them and they were so thick and stiff it was hard to get things out without destroying them and making a mess in the process. The ones I bought are a lot thinner than hers and they're nice and flexible. They're just as easy to hand wash as throw in the dishwasher because I can flip them inside out. I love them.

I've been eating hemp since high school and it never fails. People always make a comment about getting high. Always. And I worked with a health teacher who swore it was the same plant as marijuana, even after I showed her several reliable sources that said that they are not. Still shaking my head over that one.

I was just discussing this with a coworker not 5 minutes ago. I use wide-mouth mason jars to bring soup to work because they're cheap, durable, and don't leak. :-)

I'm so glad this has been getting attention. What they're doing to our crops is terrifying.

The Vegan Soul Kitchen book is wonderful. I'm not vegan, and sometimes I'll use animal-based ingredients if I don't have the vegan ones at hand, but there's a lot of good stuff in there. It's also my go-to when I cook for carnivores who shrink at the word "vegan." They're usually surprised I'm not serving them berries and twigs.

I looooove hosting, but I'm unfortunately stuck in a tiny apartment with a very messy roommate who pretty much lives in front of the television. I can't wait to move and be able to have awesome parties again. My last party was for 40 people, I made everything myself, and everyone had a great time (including me).

Some things I've picked up to make life easier:
*Try to make as much of the food as you can the day before.
*Put "food" food in one area, drinks in another area, and strategically place snacks/finger foods in another, as much as is feasible in your space.
*People WILL congregate in the kitchen so try to clean up as much as you can.
*Have extra hand towels in the bathroom and put an extra roll of TP out so people don't have to dig in your cabinets.
*Leave your plunger next to the toilet, just in case. Nobody wants to be that guy.
*If you have a pet, put a note on the door letting people know whether or not it's ok for them to escape/come inside. Mine always said "FYI: Kitty can come and go as she pleases."
*Strategically place kitchen towels in a reasonably conspicuous place in every room people will gather in. It makes it sooooo much easier when the inevitable spill happens. People don't feel like they have to scramble to find a towel and/or pull you away to take care of cleanup.
*Don't be afraid to ask the stragglers to help you clean up at the end of the night. Just piling things in the kitchen and taking care of trash is a HUGE help at the end of the night.

As an insomniac with ADD, I cannot adequately express how valuable headphones are to a roommate relationship. Every little thing wakes me up or distracts me so I always appreciate roommates who are willing to break out the headphones so I don't have to listen to their movie while unsuccessfully trying to write a paper. It's not that I'm a princess and I think everyone should adjust their lives to suit me. I do not have the physical ability to focus or sleep when my roommates have people over late at night or whatever else might cause noise. Current roommate could sleep through an earthquake, so our situation is definitely not ideal.

My roommates had one of these at my last place and I definitely miss it. There's no space for one in my current apartment, but I loathe those big knife blocks sitting on my counter (roommate has one with knives he hasn't touched since before I moved in) so I can't wait to have one of these again. They're especially great for pretty Japanese knives--they really are like art pieces.

Genius! I've never been able to recreate my aunt's Kartoffelpuffer (super awesome German word for latkes) so I'll have to try that right away. Not kidding: I'll be up until midnight making Kartoffelpuffer.