Martha’s calendar is a popular feature in Martha Stewart Living, and the magazine recently brought it back after a long absence. I like to look at because it gives you a glimpse into Martha’s life. I have to say I find it hard to believe though. I don’t really think Martha is doing many of the household and garden tasks on the calendar. Supervising them, maybe, but doing them, no.

Despite this, I decided to make a calendar for myself for May in the style of Martha’s calendar and then see if I was able to actually fulfill it. The results are in. For about 50% of the days on the calendar, I did not do what was planned. That doesn’t mean I didn’t do the household tasks I had planned though – most of them got done, but on other days. There were a few that never happened. I found that it was nearly impossible to know three weeks ahead of time which day would be the best for dusting the inside of my curio cabinet or buying new carpet for the front porch. In my life, things just come up. With two kids at home, a husband, parents, and work, most of the time I don’t get to dictate my schedule at all.

I did find it helpful to take some time and think about what needed doing that month. I would love to get to the point where I had a revolving calendar of jobs that get done in certain months. It would help me feel so much more organized. But at this point in my life, I’m not as focused on household tasks as I am on people tasks – driving someone to an activity, getting medical records for school, buying milk when we run out, keeping kids and husband in clean clothes that actually fit, and so on. The calendar is a nice idea, but not practical for my life.

Martha’s calendar is a popular feature in Martha Stewart Living, and the magazine recently brought it back after a long absence. I like to look at because it gives you a glimpse into Martha’s life. I have to say I find it hard to believe though. I don’t really think Martha is doing many of … Read more →

Congratulations to Donna Hull, winner of the Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book!!!

I’ll be doing another giveaway soon, so check back for details!

Congratulations to Donna Hull, winner of the Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book!!! I’ll be doing another giveaway soon, so check back for details!

Yesterday was our 20th anniversary. I don’t know how 20 years has passed. Because we’re taking a family vacation later this summer, we decided to have a low key celebration. This is distinctly un-Martha, but I ordered Mr. MarthaandMe’s favorite pizza for dinner. We never get pizza from here because it is so far, so it was a special treat for him.

Mr. MarthaandMe had flowers delivered for me. He tried to order Martha’s flowers from 1-800-Flowers. The site said that same day delivery was available, but it would not let him order them for the same day. So Martha apparently did not want to be part of our anniversary. I was a little disappointed – I would have liked to have seen one of her arrangements.

Our wedding cake

My big task of the day was the cake I made. Our wedding cake was a spice cake and it was decorated with flowers. I decided to make a little replica of it.

I used Big Martha’s Spice Cake Recipe with a few small changes. I didn’t have any mace and I used buttermilk instead of milk.

The next question was how to make a tiered cake when I didn’t have the proper pans. I used one regular cake pan, one medium Corning bowl and a ramekin. The sizes actually worked out quite well.

Once I had the cakes made, I needed frosting. I decided to use the Buttercream Frosting recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes. First you whisk

The layers

egg whites and sugar in a double boiler then you mix the heck out of it. Finally, you add butter and vanilla. I thought the frosting tasted a lot like butter, but it was ok.

I stacked the cakes first, then frosted them (a cheat, I know). I went outside and snipped flowers to decorate it with. I have

Buttercream frosting

to say, I think it turned out pretty well.

The cake tasted good, but not out of this world good. If I made it again, I would increase the amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. I thought it was a tad bland. It was moist though, so the buttermilk did its work.

It was fun to make a cake like this, especially since there was no pressure. It was just for the two of us (and kids) and if it didn’t turn out, then it didn’t matter. I think it’s pretty though and I’m proud of myself for attempting it!

Yesterday was our 20th anniversary. I don’t know how 20 years has passed. Because we’re taking a family vacation later this summer, we decided to have a low key celebration. This is distinctly un-Martha, but I ordered Mr. MarthaandMe’s favorite pizza for dinner. We never get pizza from here because it is so far, so … Read more →

Yesterday was our 20th anniversary. I don’t know how 20 years has passed. Because we’re taking a family vacation later this summer, we decided to have a low key celebration. This is distinctly un-Martha, but I ordered Mr. MarthaandMe’s favorite pizza for dinner. We never get pizza from here because it is so far, so it was a special treat for him.

Mr. MarthaandMe had flowers delivered for me. He tried to order Martha’s flowers from 1-800-Flowers. The site said that same day delivery was available, but it would not let him order them for the same day. So Martha apparently did not want to be part of our anniversary. I was a little disappointed – I would have liked to have seen one of her arrangements.

Our wedding cake

My big task of the day was the cake I made. Our wedding cake was a spice cake and it was decorated with flowers. I decided to make a little replica of it.

I used Big Martha’s Spice Cake Recipe with a few small changes. I didn’t have any mace and I used buttermilk instead of milk.

The next question was how to make a tiered cake when I didn’t have the proper pans. I used one regular cake pan, one medium Corning bowl and a ramekin. The sizes actually worked out quite well.

Once I had the cakes made, I needed frosting. I decided to use the Buttercream Frosting recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes. First you whisk

The layers

egg whites and sugar in a double boiler then you mix the heck out of it. Finally, you add butter and vanilla. I thought the frosting tasted a lot like butter, but it was ok.

I stacked the cakes first, then frosted them (a cheat, I know). I went outside and snipped flowers to decorate it with. I have

Buttercream frosting

to say, I think it turned out pretty well.

The cake tasted good, but not out of this world good. If I made it again, I would increase the amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. I thought it was a tad bland. It was moist though, so the buttermilk did its work.

It was fun to make a cake like this, especially since there was no pressure. It was just for the two of us (and kids) and if it didn’t turn out, then it didn’t matter. I think it’s pretty though and I’m proud of myself for attempting it!

Yesterday was our 20th anniversary. I don’t know how 20 years has passed. Because we’re taking a family vacation later this summer, we decided to have a low key celebration. This is distinctly un-Martha, but I ordered Mr. MarthaandMe’s favorite pizza for dinner. We never get pizza from here because it is so far, so … Read more →

I’ve developed a love for onion rings, but I am very picky. They can’t be too greasy, too onion-y, or overdone. Would Martha’s Baked Onion Rings make the grade? I was eager to find out.

The breading is breadcrumbs and crushed cornflakes – interesting, I thought. The batter for dipping is egg, buttermilk and flour. It’s nice and thick and sticks to the onions well.

I had a little trouble getting the breading to stick, however, so parts of my onions were a little bare. You preheat your baking sheet with oil so it sizzles when you add the rings. It bakes for 16 minutes – and that time worked perfectly for me.

The result was really terrific. These onion rings were crunchy, not oily, tasty, and flavorful. I really, really loved them. I will definitely make this recipe again. It’s a great alternative to deep fried food without sacrificing any taste.

I’ve developed a love for onion rings, but I am very picky. They can’t be too greasy, too onion-y, or overdone. Would Martha’s Baked Onion Rings make the grade? I was eager to find out. The breading is breadcrumbs and crushed cornflakes – interesting, I thought. The batter for dipping is egg, buttermilk and flour. … Read more →

Everyone in the family loves smoothies and almost everyone (except me) loves blackberries, so I had to make Martha’s Blackberry Yogurt Smoothies (June Martha Stewart Living). This was a very simple recipe – dump blackberries, yogurt, honey, buttermilk and cardamom in the blender and turn it on.

I did that, then had my son (Dude Martha as he wants to be referred to) do a taste test. It got a major thumbs down – not sweet, not cold, just not good. So I went to work doctoring it. I added more honey, ice and orange juice.  He tasted it again. And again, I had to add ice and orange juice. Finally he deemed it ready to drink.

Mr. MarthaAndMe tasted it also. He thought it was ok, but they both said it really needed to be strained to get all those blackberry seeds out.

As smoothies go, this one wasn’t a winner at all. I never would have thought of making a blackberry smoothie though, so it gets points for originality at least.

Everyone in the family loves smoothies and almost everyone (except me) loves blackberries, so I had to make Martha’s Blackberry Yogurt Smoothies (June Martha Stewart Living). This was a very simple recipe – dump blackberries, yogurt, honey, buttermilk and cardamom in the blender and turn it on. I did that, then had my son (Dude … Read more →

I’ve never even considered making my own English muffins. I’ve never even seen a recipe for them. So when I came across Martha’s recipe in June Martha Stewart Living, I thought, “I’ve got to try this!” Multigrain English Muffins have all sorts of great ingredients, like whole wheat flour, rolled oats, wheat germ and flaxseed. I love whole grains.

I mixed up the dough and let it rise. It didn’t rise very much and I don’t know why – my water was the right temp, my yeast was not expired and it did proof well. A complete mystery.

I kneaded it and then cut out the muffins. The recipe says to make them 3 inches. That seemed really small to me, so I went with a bigger size – about 4 1/2 inches.

kneading

Then I let them rise again. Again, there was almost no change with the rising. The interesting thing about this recipe is you don’t bake them. You cook them on a griddle.  That was sort of fun and a really different technique to try. They cooked well and turned lightly brown and looked good, except for the fact that they were really, really thin.

Nicely browned

Cutting these in half to toast them was a challenge. It was almost impossible to slice them, but I did manage. There were not really any nooks and crannies to speak of once it was opened. They toasted well and tasted pretty good.  I don’t think I’ll be making these again – I’m pretty happy with Thomas’s multigrain English muffins! Much less work with a better final product.

toasted and buttered

I’ve never even considered making my own English muffins. I’ve never even seen a recipe for them. So when I came across Martha’s recipe in June Martha Stewart Living, I thought, “I’ve got to try this!” Multigrain English Muffins have all sorts of great ingredients, like whole wheat flour, rolled oats, wheat germ and flaxseed. … Read more →

Are you a gnocchi fan? I love them. I did attempt to make my own once and they were pretty much a pain in the neck, so I just buy them frozen at the grocery store.

I loved the idea of gnocchi with summer vegetables (Martha Stewart Everyday Food). Usually I make gnocchi with some green onions, olive oil, and lots of Parmesan cheese. Amazingly, everyone in the family eats this (there are so few dishes that everyone will eat). I’m now at the point where I have to buy two bags for one meal.

I was excited to give Martha’s recipe a try – more veggies is always a good thing. This recipe was super duper simple. Boil your gnocchi and separately cook up some garlic, zucchini and cherry tomatoes. Add a little of the water from the gnocchi to make it into a sauce, add your gnocchi and serve with cheese. I added some spinach to this recipe to beef up the veggie content even more. It was great! I loved it. I did have to make some gnocchi separate for the kids, but I thought this was delicious and I will definitely be making it again. Thanks Martha!

Are you a gnocchi fan? I love them. I did attempt to make my own once and they were pretty much a pain in the neck, so I just buy them frozen at the grocery store. I loved the idea of gnocchi with summer vegetables (Martha Stewart Everyday Food). Usually I make gnocchi with some … Read more →

I’ve begun working through Martha’s new cupcake book. I made a list of things I want to make and decided to start off with the Streusel Cupcakes (p. 62). I admit they appealed to me because there is no frosting to make and decorate with (so it should be quick and easy). It also sounded to me more like a breakfast food, so I wouldn’t have to feel TOO guilty about having one.

The cupcake/muffin part of this is simple and easy. Nothing complicated. I like that it has sour cream in the dough – the dough tasted SO good. It was kind of hard to get this in the muffin tins since the batter is super heavy and thick. It did not sit nicely in the cups.

Next I made the streusel topping. I make streusel when I make blueberry muffins and I’ve found the easiest way is to make it in the Cuisinart, so that’s what I did. I wasn’t thrilled with this streusel recipe – too much flour, not enough cinnamon. But I went with it.

The recipe says to put half on the muffins/cupcakes and smoosh it down. This actually helped the cupcakes take a better shape. Then you sprinkle the rest of the topping on and bake.

These took longer to bake than the recipe said, but I always have that problem with Martha recipes. I needed another 7 minutes.

Now for the taste test. Good, but not amazing in my book. I have to say they really look scrumptious with all that streusel topping crumbled all over it. I wish the cupcake/muffin part had something in it though – it needs a ribbon of cinnamon or some nuts or something because it is just plain. The topping is good, but not great. I like to make my streusel topping with equal parts brown sugar and flour and lots of cinnamon. I found this to be a bit floury.

That being said, this is a cute way to make something for a brunch or a big gathering since it’s easy to serve.

What cupcake recipes from the book do YOU think I should make? Post and tell me and I’ll try to make them!

I’ve begun working through Martha’s new cupcake book. I made a list of things I want to make and decided to start off with the Streusel Cupcakes (p. 62). I admit they appealed to me because there is no frosting to make and decorate with (so it should be quick and easy). It also sounded … Read more →

It’s here! Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes has been released and what a gorgeous book this is.  I’ve made some of the recipes already and I can tell you the Boston Cream Pie Cupcake is to die for.

The great thing about this book is that it has lots of really unusual cupcake recipes (Roasted Banana or S’mores Cupcakes to name a few), some great standard cupcakes, gorgeous holiday cupcakes and totally insane decorating ideas if you want to be a cupcake artiste. It is totally FUN.

And because it is so much fun, I want to share a copy. If you’d like to enter the drawing, just post a comment to this post before Thursday, June 10. I’ll randomly and blindly select one winner. Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email, not responsible for email transmission problems. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. MarthaAndMe reserves the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog.

It’s here! Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes has been released and what a gorgeous book this is.  I’ve made some of the recipes already and I can tell you the Boston Cream Pie Cupcake is to die for. The great thing about this book is that it has lots of really unusual cupcake recipes (Roasted Banana or … Read more →