Lots of people are wild about Martha’s calendar, which has reappeared at the beginning of Martha Stewart Living. I have a calendar, but it’s just appointments and events – not household things. So, I’ve decided to follow Martha’s lead and make up a calendar for May. I’ve tried to think ahead and plan out what tasks will need doing when, but it’s hard to know. It will be interesting to see how closely I can stick to this.

F 5/1 House cleaning

Sat 5/2 garden clean up, clean garage, wash winter coat, walk dogs

Sun 5/3 seal deck, put away snowblower, walk dogs

Mon 5/4 morning walk, daughter’s prom dress fitting; buy Mother’s Day gifts

Tues 5/5 morning walk, webinar with one of my publishers

Wed 5/6 morning walk, son’s piano lesson, use new pet hair remover on furniture

Thurs 5/7 morning walk, phone interview, return items to store

Fri 5/8 daughter’s AP exam; house cleaning

Sat 5/9 clean porch furniture, plant vegetable seedlings in garden, put up awning, buy hanging plant baskets, buy new carpet for front porch, walk dogs

Sun 5/10 hang hanging plant baskets, cut lilacs,  Mother’s Day dinner with my parents, walk dogs

Mon 5/11 morning walk, son’s chorus concert

Tues 5/12 morning walk, daughter’s AP exam, dentist appointment

Wed 5/13 morning walk, son’s piano lesson, wash comforter

Thurs 5/14 morning walk, cook for tomorrow’s party

Fri 5/15 son’s dance and sleepover, daughter’s prom and post-prom party here, download Paypal reports, house cleaning

Sat 5/16 party clean up, plant herbs, walk dogs

Sun 5/17 replace basketball net backboard, buy perennials for new garden, walk dogs

Mon 5/18 morning walk, kids’ dentist appointment

Tues 5/19 morning walk, clean inside of dishwasher

Wed 5/20 morning walk, son’s piano lesson

Thurs 5/21 morning walk, clean out refrigerator

Fri 5/22 housecleaning, wash insides of wastebaskets around the house

Sat 5/23 clean windows,open pool, walk dogs

Sun 5/24 go to the lake

Mon 5/25 Memorial Day

Tues 5/26 morning walk, MSL Radio Morning Living appearance

Wed 5/27 morning walk, son’s piano lesson

Thurs 5/28 morning walk, son to camp with his class

Fri 5/29 house cleaning, make vet appointment

Sat 5/30 get new keys made, trim lilacs, walk dogs, clean behind beds

Sun 5/31 order new parts for grill, clean curio cabinet in bedroom, walk dogs

Lots of people are wild about Martha’s calendar, which has reappeared at the beginning of Martha Stewart Living. I have a calendar, but it’s just appointments and events – not household things. So, I’ve decided to follow Martha’s lead and make up a calendar for May. I’ve tried to think ahead and plan out what … Read more →

Shrimp and Zucchini Tostadas seemed like an easy dish to make (“doing” Martha does not have to always be time-consuming and overwhelming – sometimes just using nice ingredients in a simply elegant way is truly Martha).  I only had one tortilla in the house, so I decided to use pitas. I had a pack of 4 and set them out on the counter to defrost. When I came back, 2 were gone and there was a dog with a suspiciously full tummy. So I made two on pitas and cut my lone tortilla in half and made two with that. This dish is amazingly easy. You just saute up some garlic and zucchini. Stick the tortillas in the oven with cheese on them. Saute the shrimp and dump the shrimp and zucchini on top of the tortillas. Add some scallions and serve with sour cream (I also served with sliced avocado). These were AMAZING. And I don’t know why they were so good, but they were. The flavors went together perfectly. I’m going to make this dish again for sure.

Shrimp and Zucchini Tostadas seemed like an easy dish to make (“doing” Martha does not have to always be time-consuming and overwhelming – sometimes just using nice ingredients in a simply elegant way is truly Martha).  I only had one tortilla in the house, so I decided to use pitas. I had a pack of … Read more →

I have pledged to grow a vegetable garden this year, in my quest to be like Martha. Not having a very green thumb, it is a challenge. I started my seeds indoors as Martha instructed. They came up nicely. Since I fear it is still too soon to plant outdoors, I still have them inside. I planted a few more seeds, including pumpkins, which have taken off like crazy. The funny little patch of what looks like grass is watercress. I bought a pack of it at the store and it came with the roots intact, so  I thought I would stick it in and see if I could get it to grow.

Next weekend I think we will get these things in the ground and see what happens.

I have pledged to grow a vegetable garden this year, in my quest to be like Martha. Not having a very green thumb, it is a challenge. I started my seeds indoors as Martha instructed. They came up nicely. Since I fear it is still too soon to plant outdoors, I still have them inside. … Read more →

I really needed a quick, easy dinner to get on the table before heading out to a chorus concert. I thought Oven-Fried Chicken from May Martha Stewart Everyday Food was a good answer. Anything that resembles chicken nuggets is always a safe bet in this house.

Breadcrumb disaster

The recipe wasn’t as easy as I expected. First, I needed to marinate the chicken in buttermilk, garlic and salt and better. Then I needed to make my own breadcrumbs and toast them in the oven. Well, the toasting ended up as burning.  In my defense, I had just learned my grandmother was dying and had been sedated and would be leaving us shortly. I had had a week filled with evening school events, plenty of work stress, and no time to even go buy milk. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised I couldn’t even toast some breadcrumbs.

I had to get dinner on the table quickly so I didn’t attempt to make more breadcrumbs and just used some from a can.

When I took the chicken out of the oven, I was not impressed with how it looked. It did not brown at all and really wasn’t too appetizing. However, this tasted fantastic! It was crunchy and the chicken was flavorful. The buttermilk marinade really gave some wonderful flavor. I was really impressed by this dish and will definitely make it again, and maybe this time I won’t burn the breadcrumbs!

I really needed a quick, easy dinner to get on the table before heading out to a chorus concert. I thought Oven-Fried Chicken from May Martha Stewart Everyday Food was a good answer. Anything that resembles chicken nuggets is always a safe bet in this house. The recipe wasn’t as easy as I expected. First, … Read more →

I’ve signed up for a May Blogathon – one post every day by each person who’s signed up. I usually do post daily, but it’s nice to have some company. We’ll all be checking each other’s blogs and supporting each other. Sounds like a great way to start May to me! Please visit my blogger … Read more →

I love scallops and have never tried them with watercress. The May issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food has a recipe for Scallops with Sauteed Watercress and Ginger (not up on Martha’s site yet). This recipe was a breeze to make. You saute garlic and ginger, then the watercress, then the scallops. You add some sesame seeds to the watercress as it is cooking, along with lemon juice. Very simple yet very tasty. I didn’t buy enough watercress, so I ended up with a tiny little pile of it.

I threw this together one night after a late school event, so it was definitely done in a rush, but it was good. I would make this again.

I love scallops and have never tried them with watercress. The May issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food has a recipe for Scallops with Sauteed Watercress and Ginger (not up on Martha’s site yet). This recipe was a breeze to make. You saute garlic and ginger, then the watercress, then the scallops. You add some … Read more →

Although gelatin goes where I fear to tread, I gave Martha’s Watermelon Coolers (May Martha Stewart Living) a try. My family loves smoothies. They are a special treat for us, so I thought this could be a winner. Additionally, Mr. MarthaandMe is known to freeze pieces of watermelon and eat them.

The first step was to puree the watermelon and then push it through a sieve. Next you heat part of the juice with some salt and add your softened gelatin to it as well as some lemon juice. No other ingredients!

You set it in an ice bath until it starts to gel, then pour into glasses and refrigerate. It looked very pretty and I served it with Mr. MarthaandMe’s birthday dinner.

Thumbs down on this one, big time. I thought it was just awful. First of all, it wasn’t very sweet, so if you are used to smoothies or other sweet fruit drinks, it is a palate shocker. I also thought that if you were blindfolded, you would not be able to identify this as watermelon. The only way I can explain it is that it tasted green to me in some way.

The gelatin did not enhance anything about this. It felt like half melted Jello.

Nobody drank this and it went down the drain. A big loser.

Although gelatin goes where I fear to tread, I gave Martha’s Watermelon Coolers (May Martha Stewart Living) a try. My family loves smoothies. They are a special treat for us, so I thought this could be a winner. Additionally, Mr. MarthaandMe is known to freeze pieces of watermelon and eat them. The first step was … Read more →

I made part of the What’s For Dinner section of Martha Stewart Living (May issue) – soy-glazed flank steak and spring green salad. If you’re looking for a quick and tasty dinner, I recommend this one.

The hardest thing about this meal was that there were a lot of ingredients, since you have to make a soy glaze and a salad dressing. The soy glaze has ginger, soy sauce, garlic, red pepper, rice wine vinegar and salt. Mirin was another ingredient but I didn’t have it and honestly didn’t even know what it was! We grilled the flank steak and that worked well. I don’t think I’ve ever had flank steak and was worried it would be tough, but it really wasn’t. I also worried that it needed to marinate to really get the flavors, but it was pretty good. Marinating would definitely add to the flavor though.

As for the salad, again, lots of ingredients, but it was also tasty. You quickly cook some snap peas then put them in an ice bath. I used mache in my salad. You use a veggie peeler to make strips of zucchini for the salad and also add basil and scallions. The dressing was easy – honey, rice wine vinegar,lemon juice, salt, pepper and oil. It had a nice flavor and the dressing wasn’t too heavy. I did serve the meat on top of the greens and I liked them together a lot. This was a winner.

I made part of the What’s For Dinner section of Martha Stewart Living (May issue) – soy-glazed flank steak and spring green salad. If you’re looking for a quick and tasty dinner, I recommend this one. The hardest thing about this meal was that there were a lot of ingredients, since you have to make … Read more →

I made part of the What’s For Dinner section of Martha Stewart Living (May issue) – soy-glazed flank steak and spring green salad. If you’re looking for a quick and tasty dinner, I recommend this one.

The hardest thing about this meal was that there were a lot of ingredients, since you have to make a soy glaze and a salad dressing. The soy glaze has ginger, soy sauce, garlic, red pepper, rice wine vinegar and salt. Mirin was another ingredient but I didn’t have it and honestly didn’t even know what it was! We grilled the flank steak and that worked well. I don’t think I’ve ever had flank steak and was worried it would be tough, but it really wasn’t. I also worried that it needed to marinate to really get the flavors, but it was pretty good. Marinating would definitely add to the flavor though.

As for the salad, again, lots of ingredients, but it was also tasty. You quickly cook some snap peas then put them in an ice bath. I used mache in my salad. You use a veggie peeler to make strips of zucchini for the salad and also add basil and scallions. The dressing was easy – honey, rice wine vinegar,lemon juice, salt, pepper and oil. It had a nice flavor and the dressing wasn’t too heavy. I did serve the meat on top of the greens and I liked them together a lot. This was a winner.

I made part of the What’s For Dinner section of Martha Stewart Living (May issue) – soy-glazed flank steak and spring green salad. If you’re looking for a quick and tasty dinner, I recommend this one. The hardest thing about this meal was that there were a lot of ingredients, since you have to make … Read more →

Martha was nice enough to send me some samples of the Tissue Paper Pom-Pom Kit from Martha Stewart Crafts ($19.99 at Michaels).  This is my first experience with one of Martha’s pre-made crafts. The only craft kits I’ve ever done in my life are the ones you get as a kid. And I managed to butcher those pretty well. I remember for my birthday in third grade I got a kit that supposedly showed you how to make flowers out of tissue paper. I went through the entire kit and did not get a single one to work for me!

I am not a fan of paper decorations in general.  They are mostly simply awful, but these looked like they might be pretty. I opened up the package. You get 3 large pom-poms and 4 small ones.

The instructions were pretty straight forward. You get a bunch of sheets of tissue paper that have been scalloped on the edges and stacked. You fold them like an accordion along premade fold lines. Even I could do this!

I got it folded sort of evenly. Then you take a wire that is included and fold it around the center of the tissue paper (the directions were unclear about this – they said to position it about 6 inches from the edge. I think it would be clearer to say to do it in the center.)

I got my wire wrapped and then started to loosen the tissue paper layers. I admit I ripped a few pieces a little bit. I got them all poofed up and it really did make a pom-pom.

A person who is more skilled at crafting could probably get it to fluff out more evenly than I did, but I have to say it didn’t look half bad. If you are craft-impaired and need to make paper pom-poms (I’m not sure WHO really NEEDS to make paper pom-poms, but whatever).

I still don’t feel compelled to make and hang paper decorations, but if I did,

these are quite nice. They look like flowers. Could you make this yourself without the kit? Definitely. All you would need to do is scallop the edges of a stack of tissue paper. You would fold it in the same way, and would just make sure that you that you did so evenly. Is $10 a lot for 7 paper pom-poms? Maybe, especially since if you have any craft skills at all, I think you could easily make this for much, much less.

It was fun to make a craft that was easy and turned out just like it should, so for that I will say it is a good thing.

Martha was nice enough to send me some samples of the Tissue Paper Pom-Pom Kit from Martha Stewart Crafts ($19.99 at Michaels).  This is my first experience with one of Martha’s pre-made crafts. The only craft kits I’ve ever done in my life are the ones you get as a kid. And I managed to … Read more →