Thanks to Sara at Sassy Suppers for choosing this week’s project – earring storage in a paint palette from March Martha Stewart Living (pg 48). I thought I had a paint palette my kids used to use for painting, but I couldn’t find it, so I thought I would show you how I store my earrings. I have plastic cases with little cube dividers like you might find for fishing tackle or for hardware like nails or screws. I put one or two pairs in each space and this keeps them together and makes it easy to find them. If I were more organized, I would arrange them by color, but I’m not!

The plastic cases are inside a big 8-10 drawer plastic unit that sits on a low shelf in my closet. I have a different drawer for each type of jewelry and also keep my shawls and scarves in it.

Thanks to Sara at Sassy Suppers for choosing this week’s project – earring storage in a paint palette from March Martha Stewart Living (pg 48). I thought I had a paint palette my kids used to use for painting, but I couldn’t find it, so I thought I would show you how I store my … Read more →

Today’s Martha Mondays is Chocolate Marble Quick Bread with Ganache. Well, this one sounded really good. Thanks to Megan at Megan’s Cookin’ for the pick.

I must confess to a tiny goof on this recipe! I used only 3 oz of chocolate in the bread instead of 5. I just read the recipe wrong. It came out looking gorgeous. It tasted good and the ganache was yummy. But I would rather have real chocolate cake than quick bread any day think. If I wasn’t trying to lose weight, I could see having this with a cup of tea in the afternoon and it would be lovely, but if I have to pick and choose my calories, I’ll pick cake – or ice cream – or pie – or cookies over this I think. I’m not a fan of the texture of it somehow – too grainy or not quite moist enough. Maybe I’m just craving cake! Anyway, it was good and very pretty. What did everyone else think?

Today’s Martha Mondays is Chocolate Marble Quick Bread with Ganache. Well, this one sounded really good. Thanks to Megan at Megan’s Cookin’ for the pick. I must confess to a tiny goof on this recipe! I used only 3 oz of chocolate in the bread instead of 5. I just read the recipe wrong. It … Read more →

Loosen those belts – the pick for next week’s Martha Mondays, chosen by Megan at Megan’s Cookin’ is Chocolate Marble Quick Bread with Ganache.

Loosen those belts – the pick for next week’s Martha Mondays, chosen by Megan at Megan’s Cookin’ is Chocolate Marble Quick Bread with Ganache.

Thanks to Robyn at Robyn’s Nest for today’s pick, healthy mac and cheese.  I was intrigued by this recipe and as soon as I read it, I knew that my friend Ward at Sensei Cooks would love it. Ward has a 6 yr old son named Dylan who loves mac and cheese and Ward routinely sneaks things into it. So this would be perfect for you, Ward!

To make this recipe, you cook butternut squash in milk and chicken broth and then mash it. Boil your noodles and mix the mashed squash, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, ricotta, nutmeg, salt, and pepper into it. Top with bread crumbs and cheese and bake.

It looks like mac and cheese but doesn’t taste the same. It’s not very cheesy at all and the squash flavor dominates. I did not tell the family what this was – just that it was mac and cheese. Mr. MarthaAndMe said he liked it. Dude Martha said it was ok. Teen Martha said “this is weird” and knew something was up. She is the family mac and cheese connossieur. Once I fessed up what was in it, she pushed it away and wanted no part of it. The other two family members weren’t horrifed.

This recipe made a LOT. So I’m freezing a bunch and hoping it reheats ok. As for me, I thought it was ok, but it wasn’t mac and cheese. It was a squash/pasta dish. I don’t think I would make this again, although we will definitely eat up the leftovers. And I might cheat and put a little more cheese on it when I heat it up!

Thanks to Robyn at Robyn’s Nest for today’s pick, healthy mac and cheese.  I was intrigued by this recipe and as soon as I read it, I knew that my friend Ward at Sensei Cooks would love it. Ward has a 6 yr old son named Dylan who loves mac and cheese and Ward routinely … Read more →

Thanks to Karen at At Least Twice a Week for making this week’s pick, Spinach Frittata from Feb Everyday Food.

I haven’t eat spinach in a LONG time, since my recent bout with kidney stones, since it is on the list of foods that cause them for me.  I was ready to try spinach again (at least a small amount) so I was glad this was the pick. This recipe was in the cooking for one section of the mag. I only made one portion and Mr. MarthaAndMe shared it as part of dinner. I did not make the green salad Martha has with it.

The frittata was easy to make. Cook some shallot and wilt the spinach. Beat an egg and 2 egg whites. Add some Gruyere, mix it together and bake in a hot ovenproof bowl with more cheese on top. Simple and delicious. And also very quick. I liked it a lot.

We’re going to skip Martha Mondays next week and resume on March 1. The selection for March 1 will be up on Feb 23, so check back for that.

Thanks to Karen at At Least Twice a Week for making this week’s pick, Spinach Frittata from Feb Everyday Food. I haven’t eat spinach in a LONG time, since my recent bout with kidney stones, since it is on the list of foods that cause them for me.  I was ready to try spinach again … Read more →

The MS Cupcake Club recipe for this month is Smore Cupcakes from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book. I’m not a big smores fan, but I knew other folks in my house would enjoy this. The recipe called for graham flour, which I could not find anywhere. So, I simply used pulverized graham crackers instead.

The cupcakes baked nicely and then I made the chocolate ganache to go on top. That was dangerous – all that warm, delicious chocolate in a bowl on my counter!

The marshmallow topping is one of Martha’s famous frosting recipes and as usual, it didn’t quite turn out as it was supposed to. I thought I got it to soft peaks, but when I went to put it on the cupcakes, it just kind of sank. I stuck the cupcakes in the oven under the broiler to the brown the tops and that worked perfectly.

They did taste like smores. Teen Martha’s boyfriend loved these. There was actual moaning, folks.

Martha Mondays will be up tomorrow!

The MS Cupcake Club recipe for this month is Smore Cupcakes from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book. I’m not a big smores fan, but I knew other folks in my house would enjoy this. The recipe called for graham flour, which I could not find anywhere. So, I simply used pulverized graham crackers instead. The … Read more →

The Martha Mondays project for 2/8 is crayon hearts, chosen by Lyndsey at Tiny Skillet. Sounds like a great project for Valentine’s Day!

The Martha Mondays project for 2/8 is crayon hearts, chosen by Lyndsey at Tiny Skillet. Sounds like a great project for Valentine’s Day!

The pick for Martha Mondays for 1/25 as chosen by Maryann at Stirrin’ It Up is Maple Granola (page 24 of Feb Martha Stewart Living – let me know if you need the recipe). This should be a fun one to try.

The pick for Martha Mondays for 1/25 as chosen by Maryann at Stirrin’ It Up is Maple Granola (page 24 of Feb Martha Stewart Living – let me know if you need the recipe). This should be a fun one to try.

Can I be honest here? I am not a fan of coconut. But I knew my son would enjoy this, as would Mr. MarthaandMe’s office, so I made Martha’s Coconut Cupcakes, from her cupcake book, as part of the MS Cupcake Club. The cupcake part wasn’t a problem (once I threw myself on the mercy of the grocery store customer service desk to please locate the unsweetened coconut milk – it ended up being in the Thai section but they didn’t have unsweetened so I bought “lite”), but the frosting just about killed me. How hard can frosting be? Apparently quite challenging. First of all, let me explain I was not completely together as I made this. I had just read an ultrasound report regarding an immediate family member and was waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for a call from a Dr. I thought baking would distract me. Clearly, I was not together enough to do this.

I’ve made Martha’s 7 minute frosting before without a problem, but this time I just couldn’t do it. First of all, I thought I would experiment and see if I could use white Egg Beaters (not the yellow kind that are supposed to substitute for eggs)  instead of egg whites. That was a failure, so I got out the eggs. Somehow I got yolk mixed in with the whites and had to throw it all out. So for the third batch, I had the whites in the bowl and was mixing them. The sugar was boiling and was almost to the temp I needed. Then the phone rang. I was waiting for the Dr so I turned it off and answered it. Not the Dr. I tried again, heating it up and beating the eggs and just when I reached the right temp, you guessed it, the phone rang AGAIN. And again, not the Dr. So I heated it up a third time and this time successfully got it mixed into the egg whites. No surprise, of course, that this was just a bowl of liquid glop. It never set up as frosting. I finally gave up (really, I wanted to hurl it across the kitchen but I restrained myself). I dipped the tops of the cupcakes in the frosting liquid and then pressed the tops into the coconut. I got enough frosting to at least get the coconut to stick.

They actually look pretty good I think. I did choke a bite down just to sample this. It didn’t taste much like coconut (once I scraped the flaked coconut off the top). So that is my tale of the coconut cupcakes!

Can I be honest here? I am not a fan of coconut. But I knew my son would enjoy this, as would Mr. MarthaandMe’s office, so I made Martha’s Coconut Cupcakes, from her cupcake book, as part of the MS Cupcake Club. The cupcake part wasn’t a problem (once I threw myself on the mercy … Read more →

Today’s scheduled Martha Mondays selector has gone AWOL, so I’m making the pick this week.  Let’s make Lemon Souffles from the last page of January Martha Stewart Living. If you need the recipe, let me know.

Today’s scheduled Martha Mondays selector has gone AWOL, so I’m making the pick this week.  Let’s make Lemon Souffles from the last page of January Martha Stewart Living. If you need the recipe, let me know.