wyzwomyn's Profile

try the ones in a can, in water, too--they are so good i often eat them right out! (and they're better for raw or only slightly cooked applications, such as in stir fry, pasta toss, or salad dishes.)

have to begin by saying if you hate holden caulfield, i think you're nuts. :-) but i respect your right, as i HATED _the golden compass_ and can't figure out why on earth anyone would keep reading the series.

jealous of the person who read _native son_ as a young person--i read it in college and was floored.

agree with adding _a wrinkle in time_--can't believe it isn't there; i must have read it a dozen times as a kid. ditto the chronicles of narnia and _a separate peace_. and love(d) lois lowry.

i'd add:

When You Reach Me
Jacob Have I Loved
Half Magic
Beautiful Creatures (this is a curative for anyone appalled to find a young person reading those Twilight disasters)
Ordinary People
The Great Gatsby

we had a set of built-ins with adjustable shelves right next to our fireplace so we have our flatscreen tucked back in there on an articulating mount. keeps the monster from taking over the room.

food is such a hot button! and so much more political than we realize. i will never forget a quote i heard once in a talk about the links between food, sex, and guilt in our society--especially for women:

"the menage a trois we're made to feel guilty about is with ben & jerry."

i have a little different take on the clean plate club: in our house we had dinner at the table almost every night. and it was a nightmare. you never knew when my parents were going to start lecturing me about the evils of having sex (i wasn't), or start demanding an accounting of the curse words i heard in the halls at school (seriously), or better yet start arguing politics in a completely irrational way (i think my father still believes jimmy carter was a communist--ooh, am i dating myself?). i used to literally put my head down and shovel in food so i could announce that i was full and escape back to my room. i'll never forget the first time i, home from college, realized i didn't have to sit there: i had a car and an apartment of my own that i could go back to!

these days, i have a wonderful partner who is a wonderful cook and we eat together as often as we can...but i still have to remind myself to slow down and enjoy the food. i laughed at the post above where someone said they weren't "all zen-like" about that, because that's exactly what i try to think of: thich naht han's admonition to chew slowly and thoroughly, to enjoy your food, make it last, and present it to your body ready to be used.

i am with palmetto above--my husband is a chef and his mother was a specialty caterer, so we have at least a couple hundred cookbooks. they live on a floor to ceiling shelf in the living room, which is the only place they fit. they are loosely organized by cuisine and author--there are some confusing ones though: does _baking with julia_ go with classic french cuisine (which is where the rest of child's stuff is) or with the baking books? these are the things that (don't) keep me up nights.

i have an unabashed affection for lady gaga and am delighted to see someone appreciating her creativity with a little "Dress my Nest" flair!

this kitchen reminds me of one in a friend's home--she hated the sterile, contractor-chic feel when she moved in, but she painted the walls a deep yellow, put some tin tiles on the ceiling, and it warmed right up. you will probably fill in your own pieces as you go along, but since you're starting with such a blank slate, you might want to think through the style you want to have so that everything fits in. for example, do you want the retro-redux of rachel ray's kitchen or something more country cottage? (not that i'm suggesting either, actually...) ;-)

i like cookthink for when i just don't quite know what i want to make, but have some idea of things i have or might like the taste of.

the flying lampshade screen drop was just strange. if i'd been able to see the context, with other lamps in the audience, perhaps i'd not have thought so--but when it sailed in behind one of the presenters, i looked at my husband and said, "what's the joke with the lampshades?"

that said, i love the cozy glow of a nice shaded lamp in the living room or lounge.

if you have odd bits of cheese, another great use is jacques pepin's "fromage fort"... delicious with just about ANY combination.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/fromage-fort