I recently joined the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club – a group of bloggers who together make a recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cupcake Book each month and post on the 15th. What fun to be joining this group. This is my first post for the club. This month’s pick was Zucchini-Spice Cupcakes. Timely indeed, considering I have some zucchini lying about and I’ve run out of ideas for them. I recently made Martha’s Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies (Sept Everyday Living) and was happy to have another Martha zucchini baked item to make with zucchini.

The batter

These were easy to whip up.  The recipe uses vegetable oil and brown sugar, and includes cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg as spices.  Other key ingredients are walnuts (I used pecans instead) and some lemon zest which is an interesting touch. As always, I cheated and did my wet ingredients and then dumped in my dry ingredients without sifting. I know Martha would be appalled.

I grated the zucchini in the Cuisinart (which is on its last legs I think, since it is now over 20 years old – a wedding gift). I think that if you wanted to be

Out of the oven

sneaky, you could peel the zucchini so there wouldn’t be any telltale green in these cupcakes to give you away to your kids. I was tempted to do that, but ultimately I was too lazy to peel.

I filled 24 cupcake holders and put it in the oven to bake…..and bake…. and bake. I always have this problem with Martha’s recipes. It took an extra 10 minutes for these to finally be done.  When they came out they looked and smelled great.

The book says to use the cream cheese frosting recipe from the back of the book, so I did, but I used light cream cheese and organic cultured butter. Cream cheese frosting is just evil. It tastes so darn good on anything. You can fool

Frosted

yourself that zucchini cupcakes are healthy until you slather on a mound of cream cheese frosting. This frosting recipe made far too much in my opinion, even after I mounded it on the cupcakes.

Results? Excuse me while I wipe the cream cheese from my upper lip. They were good. Really good. They were like a light spice cake. The nuts are a nice addition. They were so good that I had to get them out of the house (this is part of my Martha philosophy – Martha Stewart makes desserts, but she has one serving and then shares the rest and gives it away). Bye-bye cupcakes! I know you will be enjoyed by people at Mr. MarthaAndMe’s office!

First bite

I recently joined the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club – a group of bloggers who together make a recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cupcake Book each month and post on the 15th. What fun to be joining this group. This is my first post for the club. This month’s pick was Zucchini-Spice Cupcakes. Timely indeed, considering I … Read more →

This week’s Martha Monday’s assignment is something a little different. The person who was up to choose this week asked me to choose instead. I thought for a change of pace, maybe we would try a simple organizing project. This one is really simple, but I think it’s one that could be very useful. Creating a Donation Bag was an Organizing Tip of the Day from Martha not long ago. I think this is a great idea. The tip says to do it for clothing and housewares, but I want to create one in my pantry as well for the food bank.

I’ll post my result  next week and you can post a link to your blog or just add a comment to say how it went. And as always, anyone is invited to join in. If you would like to be added to the Martha Mondays blogroll, just let me know.

This week’s Martha Monday’s assignment is something a little different. The person who was up to choose this week asked me to choose instead. I thought for a change of pace, maybe we would try a simple organizing project. This one is really simple, but I think it’s one that could be very useful. Creating … Read more →

I’m posting my Martha Mondays results a day early this week since I’ve got something that has to go up tomorrow. This week’s assignment was Molasses Spice Cake. (This is also in Martha’s Halloween special edition magazine that’s on stands now). A very fall-like selection by Pru Singer of Pru Singer: My Life. On first glance, this looked to be like gingerbread. Further reading revealed it to be much more.

The cake batter is interesting – the usual butter, brown sugar, flour and eggs (4 eggs – quite a few) but also sour cream, mace (which I have never used and had to go buy), cinnamon, lemon zest and fresh ginger (not dried, which I found to be a very interesting idea).

I didn’t soften my butter enough and ended up with some very small lumps. I just closed my eyes and ignored that! This cake baked in exactly the time Martha said (a first for me I think).

The next step was the frosting – cream cheese frosting. Although this was more cream cheese with a tiny bit of powdered sugar thrown in, as well as some sour cream.

That’s not all folks. Martha then wants you to do a glaze. I have to say this glaze, which was butter, sugar, cream and vanilla, tasted like a very decadent and wonderful caramel sauce. I forced myself to put the pot and rubber scraper in the sink and turn the water on so I wouldn’t keep sampling it!

Around here we say that someday I will open The Butt Ugly Bakery: Where Everything Looks Like Crud But Tastes Great. I’m really not into the finer points of cake decorating. I’ve spent too many hours crying over crumbs in my frosting and frosting smeared around the edge of my cake plate. Life is too short to cry over imperfect frosting. If I am making something for a special occasion, I will exert some Martha effort and try very hard to make it look good. But for every day, if it tastes good, I’m not too concerned with how it looks. Thus, my photo of this cake. A bit messy. And yes, I put the cake on a dinner plate that is concave, so the center of my cake is lower than the edges, meaning my glaze puddled in the middle.

I liked the cake – it was very moist and dense with a complex flavor. The edges were crunchy, which was really interesting. I did not care for the cream cheese frosting at all. It was almost sour (since it had very little sugar). If it was real cream cheese frosting, it would have been good, but very sweet. The glaze was good and the only thing that saved the frosting at all in my opinion. I would love try this with a lemon sauce.  Mr. MarthaandMe is Mad About Gingerbread so he gave this a major thumbs up. Teen Martha did not like it, but doesn’t like spice cakes in general.

I’m posting my Martha Mondays results a day early this week since I’ve got something that has to go up tomorrow. This week’s assignment was Molasses Spice Cake. (This is also in Martha’s Halloween special edition magazine that’s on stands now). A very fall-like selection by Pru Singer of Pru Singer: My Life. On first … Read more →

The Martha Mondays project for Sept 14 was chosen by Pru Singer at My Life: Pru Singer. Thanks Pru! Pru has chosen Molasses Spice Cake. I’m looking forward to baking it!

As always, anyone is welcome to join in. Make the project/recipe/craft and post results on your blog or comment to my post about my result here. I make my projects on Mondays and post results on Tuesdays (you’re free to make yours whenever).  If you want to become an official member, let me know and I’ll add you to the Martha Mondays blogroll. Members get to take turns selecting projects.

The Martha Mondays project for Sept 14 was chosen by Pru Singer at My Life: Pru Singer. Thanks Pru! Pru has chosen Molasses Spice Cake. I’m looking forward to baking it! As always, anyone is welcome to join in. Make the project/recipe/craft and post results on your blog or comment to my post about my … Read more →

I love challah. There’s a bakery near us that makes wonderful challah and I’ve been known to buy three loaves at a time so I can freeze some. I have a challah recipe of my own from a friend, but it’s never quite as good as bakery challah.

I was excited to learn that this week’s Martha Monday was Apple Honey Challah, from Sept Martha Stewart Living. If you’re going to make this recipe, you need to plan to spend the day at home. This thing rises three separate times! It took me about 6 hours from start to finish.

ready to rise

It wasn’t hard to make – your basic bread ingredients mostly. The biggest challenge I encountered was the apples. The recipe says to use apples that are sliced 1/4 inch thick. Slices do not work! I spent a long time, kneading away, trying to keep the apple slices in the bread. They fell out, landed on the floor, or simply would not incorporate. Finally, I pulled as many out as I

with apple pieces

could find and chopped them up. Then they easily mixed into the dough.

This recipe did what it was supposed to otherwise – rose when it was supposed to and rolled out nicely and fit in the pan well.

Before you put it in the oven, you brush it with honey and butter and then brush it again once it comes out. This definitely enhances the natural sweetness of the bread.

I baked mine about 10  minutes longer than the recipe says because it just

Done

was not brown enough on the outside. I made this earlier in the day and ended up putting it back in the oven to warm it for dinner, so it had some extra baking time.

This was wonderful bread. The honey makes it very sweet. It’s tender and soft and smells heavenly. The apples were not very noticeable and if I made this again, I would just skip them since I didn’t feel it added much. I did have one problem – the center of my bread was not cooked! I had raw dough at the very center.

Everyone enjoyed this and all but the raw dough disappeared at dinner. I plan to heat the remains up in the oven and try to finish baking them. Other than that, this went very well and I was so proud of the way it looked! This was just as good as bakery challah!

I love challah. There’s a bakery near us that makes wonderful challah and I’ve been known to buy three loaves at a time so I can freeze some. I have a challah recipe of my own from a friend, but it’s never quite as good as bakery challah. I was excited to learn that this … Read more →

I finally was able to try Martha’s Pick from May Martha Stewart Living – Frederic Fekkai’s Ageless Rejuvenating Shampoo.  I was excited to try this since it is a name I’ve heard and I think Fekkai does (or maybe did?) Martha’s hair. It sounded like a real “product of the stars”! This was on back order so I waited a while to get it. I paid $35 for 7 ounces, plus shipping. Eek.

The shampoo smells nice and has a nice consistency and feel. It lathers really, really well.  I used this for a week. And I wasn’t impressed. My hair was limp. Now, I have very curly hair and I do not straighten it. I like my hair with body and curl. This shampoo made it look sad and stringy. Definitely not for me. I can’t say how someone with straight or wavy hair would like it. All I can tell you is it’s not something I’m interested in shelling out for. So far Martha’s picks are not impressing me! I’ve tried four. I only really liked one, but it was overpriced.

I finally was able to try Martha’s Pick from May Martha Stewart Living – Frederic Fekkai’s Ageless Rejuvenating Shampoo.  I was excited to try this since it is a name I’ve heard and I think Fekkai does (or maybe did?) Martha’s hair. It sounded like a real “product of the stars”! This was on back … Read more →

I finally was able to try Martha’s Pick from May Martha Stewart Living – Frederic Fekkai’s Ageless Rejuvenating Shampoo.  I was excited to try this since it is a name I’ve heard and I think Fekkai does (or maybe did?) Martha’s hair. It sounded like a real “product of the stars”! This was on back order so I waited a while to get it. I paid $35 for 7 ounces, plus shipping. Eek.

The shampoo smells nice and has a nice consistency and feel. It lathers really, really well.  I used this for a week. And I wasn’t impressed. My hair was limp. Now, I have very curly hair and I do not straighten it. I like my hair with body and curl. This shampoo made it look sad and stringy. Definitely not for me. I can’t say how someone with straight or wavy hair would like it. All I can tell you is it’s not something I’m interested in shelling out for. So far Martha’s picks are not impressing me! I’ve tried four. I only really liked one, but it was overpriced.

I finally was able to try Martha’s Pick from May Martha Stewart Living – Frederic Fekkai’s Ageless Rejuvenating Shampoo.  I was excited to try this since it is a name I’ve heard and I think Fekkai does (or maybe did?) Martha’s hair. It sounded like a real “product of the stars”! This was on back … Read more →

In the September issue of Martha Stewart Living, Martha’s Pick (her personal recommendation) is AmorePacific Treatment Cleansing Foam. Martha enjoys its texture, according to the magazine. It’s meant to be a general cleanser which removes makeup and impurities (which I assume means dirt!). It’s supposed to reduce the appearance and severity of blemishes. Martha provides a link directly to the company, however they don’t have an online store, so I ended up ordering this from Sephora. It cost $54.38 including shipping, for 4.1 ounces.

This is a nice product. It does have a nice texture and it smells pleasant. It lathered nicely and my face felt clean, and not dry after using it. I used it for a week and didn’t notice any reduction in blemishes, although if that means acne, I don’t really have any to begin with.

I liked this, but I wouldn’t spend this much on a facial cleanser. I use an Oil of Olay cleanser that seems practically the same to me as this and costs under $10. I didn’t notice enough of a difference to pony up $40. If I was as rich as Martha, then yes, I guess I would.

In the September issue of Martha Stewart Living, Martha’s Pick (her personal recommendation) is AmorePacific Treatment Cleansing Foam. Martha enjoys its texture, according to the magazine. It’s meant to be a general cleanser which removes makeup and impurities (which I assume means dirt!). It’s supposed to reduce the appearance and severity of blemishes. Martha provides … Read more →

In the September issue of Martha Stewart Living, Martha’s Pick (her personal recommendation) is AmorePacific Treatment Cleansing Foam. Martha enjoys its texture, according to the magazine. It’s meant to be a general cleanser which removes makeup and impurities (which I assume means dirt!). It’s supposed to reduce the appearance and severity of blemishes. Martha provides a link directly to the company, however they don’t have an online store, so I ended up ordering this from Sephora. It cost $54.38 including shipping, for 4.1 ounces.

This is a nice product. It does have a nice texture and it smells pleasant. It lathered nicely and my face felt clean, and not dry after using it. I used it for a week and didn’t notice any reduction in blemishes, although if that means acne, I don’t really have any to begin with.

I liked this, but I wouldn’t spend this much on a facial cleanser. I use an Oil of Olay cleanser that seems practically the same to me as this and costs under $10. I didn’t notice enough of a difference to pony up $40. If I was as rich as Martha, then yes, I guess I would.

In the September issue of Martha Stewart Living, Martha’s Pick (her personal recommendation) is AmorePacific Treatment Cleansing Foam. Martha enjoys its texture, according to the magazine. It’s meant to be a general cleanser which removes makeup and impurities (which I assume means dirt!). It’s supposed to reduce the appearance and severity of blemishes. Martha provides … Read more →

The idea of roasting a chicken with plums is not something I would have ever thought of on my own. In fact, it seemed slightly odd to me. But I wanted to give it a try, and I’m happy others have joined me in making it for Martha Mondays. So here are my results for Roast Chicken with Plums, from September Martha Stewart Living.

This recipe was quite easy. Basically you stick some rosemary in a chicken and roast it. You take it out part way through and put some cut up plums mixed with honey in the pan, and cook some other plums separately in another pan with rosemary and  butter.

It doesn’t get much simpler than that. I didn’t truss my chicken, because once again I was caught without twine (sorry Martha). I also divided the recipe in half since I wasn’t feeding 12 and didn’t need 2 chickens.

This went very smoothly. I got the chicken cooking then added the plums. It all cooked in exactly the time Martha predicted (love when that happens and I also am loving roasting chickens at 450 degrees as she directs – much higher than the temp I used to cook them at). The plums got quite mushy and were like chunky applesauce with skin. Initially, I put them on the platter with the chicken, but ended up putting them in a bowl so the chicken could be carved.

I loved it! This was wonderful. The plums are an unexpected flavor to go with the chicken, but it really worked. They are sweet, but not too sweet. The chicken was perfectly cooked and was moist and delicious. I ate plum and chicken together in each bite and it was in perfect harmony.  This is a recipe I’ll be making again.

How was yours? Please share!

The idea of roasting a chicken with plums is not something I would have ever thought of on my own. In fact, it seemed slightly odd to me. But I wanted to give it a try, and I’m happy others have joined me in making it for Martha Mondays. So here are my results for … Read more →