The recipe for Minneola Tangelo Buttermilk Scones on page 132 of Martha Stewart Living (January) caught my eye. Oh, do I love a good scone.  Especially with a cup of tea. Oh my. Add some jam and clotted cream and I’m in rapture. Seriously.

So, I was ready to give this one a try. Now, pardon me for a moment as I vent. I do like to read about new products and foods, but this whole section of citrus recipes annoyed me. My store has Valencia oranges and Clementine tangerines. Throw in a few grapefruit and some lemons and limes and that is the citrus section. Maybe people in NYC can trot out and find Minneola tangelos, but I sure can’t. And really, I’m not about to order them from the list of resources Martha has just to chop them up and put them in scones.  So, I started this one off planning to use Clementines. I have no idea if they are an adequate substitute, but it was the only game in town!

I started by cutting the butter into the dry ingredients. I have a little wire tool for this just like Martha uses on the show. Next I added the chopped clementines (which I whizzed up in the Cuisinart), zest and buttermilk.

My intention was to take photos so you could see the dough, but my goodness, it was a mess and it was all over my hands and I couldn’t even touch the camera! This was a pile of mushy slop. Martha says to knead it then cut it into triangles. There was no chance of that. I just scooped some out and made round blobs on the baking sheet. I can’t entirely blame Martha, since I was not using the prescribed fruit and that may have made a difference.

They came out of the oven looking like this.  Not exactly your traditional scone! They did, however, taste good. One caveat – this really needs a little spice of some kind. Maybe ginger? I don’t know, but it definitely needs something. Blueberry scones are still my favorite and I probably wouldn’t make this recipe again.

The recipe for Minneola Tangelo Buttermilk Scones on page 132 of Martha Stewart Living (January) caught my eye. Oh, do I love a good scone.  Especially with a cup of tea. Oh my. Add some jam and clotted cream and I’m in rapture. Seriously. So, I was ready to give this one a try. Now, … Read more →

All month long Martha Stewart has been showing us her “must-haves” on The Martha Stewart Show. I’ve enjoyed seeing what she considers essential, even if I find most of it out of my price range! Yesterday though she showed some kitchen tools and I fell off my chair when I realized I had every single one!

I love the microplane and use it for cheese and zest. I just bought the Asian strainer a couple of weeks ago and have not used it yet. The reamer has gotten a lot of use, but Mr. MarthaAndMe bought me an electric juicer for Mother’s Day, so I’ve since retired it. I have to say I was surprised Martha included the reamer since she is always raving about that little plastic juicer tool she uses on the show.

I would have to say that if I were to make a list of my essential kitchen tools it would not include the strainer and the reamer. It would however include a good pair of tongs, a rubber grip to open jars, a thin sturdy spatula, a rubber scraper, a rubber grip veggie peeler and a plastic liquid measuring cup (the ones with the special markings so you can read them from the top, not the side). What are your essentials?

All month long Martha Stewart has been showing us her “must-haves” on The Martha Stewart Show. I’ve enjoyed seeing what she considers essential, even if I find most of it out of my price range! Yesterday though she showed some kitchen tools and I fell off my chair when I realized I had every single … Read more →

All month long Martha Stewart has been showing us her “must-haves” on The Martha Stewart Show. I’ve enjoyed seeing what she considers essential, even if I find most of it out of my price range! Yesterday though she showed some kitchen tools and I fell off my chair when I realized I had every single one!

I love the microplane and use it for cheese and zest. I just bought the Asian strainer a couple of weeks ago and have not used it yet. The reamer has gotten a lot of use, but Mr. MarthaAndMe bought me an electric juicer for Mother’s Day, so I’ve since retired it. I have to say I was surprised Martha included the reamer since she is always raving about that little plastic juicer tool she uses on the show.

I would have to say that if I were to make a list of my essential kitchen tools it would not include the strainer and the reamer. It would however include a good pair of tongs, a rubber grip to open jars, a thin sturdy spatula, a rubber scraper, a rubber grip veggie peeler and a plastic liquid measuring cup (the ones with the special markings so you can read them from the top, not the side). What are your essentials?

All month long Martha Stewart has been showing us her “must-haves” on The Martha Stewart Show. I’ve enjoyed seeing what she considers essential, even if I find most of it out of my price range! Yesterday though she showed some kitchen tools and I fell off my chair when I realized I had every single … Read more →

I like how this month’s Martha Stewart Living has some recipes in it that are more relaxed – casseroles and sandwiches. I was excited to try the shrimp burgers (p. 118 in January Living). My eyes started to roll back into my head once I saw it was a three part recipe (it seems many of Martha’s recipes require several parts, or at least some sort of chilling or freezing component). I’m happy to report this was easy to make.

Slaw

The yogurt sauce was simple to mix up. The slaw required chopping up of avocado, mango and cabbage. Easy.  You mix some yogurt sauce into that and it’s done.

The shrimp burger was easy too. You food process some shrimp, add it to egg and coarsely chopped shrimp and mix it with the yogurt sauce and breadcrumbs. Plop it on a baking sheet and that’s it.

Shrimp patty

You serve the burgers with pitas and the slaw. I liked this a lot, although I thought it was a little bland. It needed something – more lemon maybe? Some dill? I don’t know, but it just needed some more flavor. It was really good though as it was and I enjoyed it. It was definitely something different to make for dinner and it did not take hours to

The pita

prepare.  The burgers stayed together pretty well and nothing dripped or oozed out of the pita. Thumbs up on this one.

I like how this month’s Martha Stewart Living has some recipes in it that are more relaxed – casseroles and sandwiches. I was excited to try the shrimp burgers (p. 118 in January Living). My eyes started to roll back into my head once I saw it was a three part recipe (it seems many … Read more →

Martha has a great article in January Living (page 124) about the importance of probiotics. I take one every day and dose the family with them on occasion.

I started taking probiotics after a bout of diverticulosis several years ago.  I’ve tried some of the special yogurts you can buy, but am happiest with the bottle I buy at the health food store. It’s really important to buy live acidophilus from the refrigerated section, not the freeze dried kind.

Not to be too graphic, but I have found that probiotics eliminate yeast infection problems as well as regulate digestion.

I think there are some people who don’t need them, but there are those of us who benefit from them greatly.

Dental Health

What did you think of the segment on Martha’s show about dental health? We have Oral-B toothbrushes similar to that (I think they are last year’s model) and it has made a big difference with some dental issues people in this house have had.

Martha has a great article in January Living (page 124) about the importance of probiotics. I take one every day and dose the family with them on occasion. I started taking probiotics after a bout of diverticulosis several years ago.  I’ve tried some of the special yogurts you can buy, but am happiest with the … Read more →

Martha has a great article in January Living (page 124) about the importance of probiotics. I take one every day and dose the family with them on occasion.

I started taking probiotics after a bout of diverticulosis several years ago.  I’ve tried some of the special yogurts you can buy, but am happiest with the bottle I buy at the health food store. It’s really important to buy live acidophilus from the refrigerated section, not the freeze dried kind.

Not to be too graphic, but I have found that probiotics eliminate yeast infection problems as well as regulate digestion.

I think there are some people who don’t need them, but there are those of us who benefit from them greatly.

Dental Health

What did you think of the segment on Martha’s show about dental health? We have Oral-B toothbrushes similar to that (I think they are last year’s model) and it has made a big difference with some dental issues people in this house have had.

Martha has a great article in January Living (page 124) about the importance of probiotics. I take one every day and dose the family with them on occasion. I started taking probiotics after a bout of diverticulosis several years ago.  I’ve tried some of the special yogurts you can buy, but am happiest with the … Read more →

If you’ve watched the Martha Stewart Show this month, you know she’s promoting her Body & Soul Challenge. Living magazine also has a section in it with the 10 important components Martha includes in her daily life.

I have some thoughts about this. First of all, I’ve tried over and over again to sign up for the Body & Soul Challenge emails, but I have not gotten a single one. I get all my other Martha emails with no problem and there is no filter that is catching them. So that’s annoying.

My second gripe with the challenge is that it seems very scattershot. There doesn’t seem to be a cohesive plan somewhere. Each day there is a short little thing on the wholeliving.com site about that day’s focus, but none of this comes off to me as a “challenge”. I guess I was expecting a checklist or something more interactive. I don’t feel like there is an overall plan to follow or daily challenges to meet. Martha makes reference to the challenge on the show, but again, that’s not very cohesive either. I’m feeling a bit frustrated with it all.

That being said, I did very much like the piece in the magazine (pp. 17-20 in January Living). This was something that fit with my life. In fact, just about every single point in it is something that is important to me as well (although that gross looking green juice for #6 is not something I’m interested in!). I too walk for exercise and lift weights. I drink lots of water, work on skin and hair care, make time to relax and keep a very organized calendar. I don’t have a home gym like Martha does, however.

Since I can’t seem to get any real inspiration or guidance from Martha’s Body & Soul challenge, I’m kind of fashioning my own. I’m stepping up the amount of exercise and trying really hard to cut back on calories. We’re eating more fish and veggies. I’m also trying to eat protein in the mornings. I find that if I have a hard boiled egg with breakfast, I don’t get hungry for hours, whereas if I just have cereal, I’m starving by 10 am.

I would love to know if any of you have been able to get the emails for the challenge and if so, what you think of them.

If you’ve watched the Martha Stewart Show this month, you know she’s promoting her Body & Soul Challenge. Living magazine also has a section in it with the 10 important components Martha includes in her daily life. I have some thoughts about this. First of all, I’ve tried over and over again to sign up … Read more →

I was intrigued at how many casseroles were in this month’s Martha Stewart Living (it doesn’t seem like a typical Martha thing really) and I’ve been enjoying trying them out. Last night I made the Rice and Spinach Casserole (page 47 of January Living). I love spinach and I love rice.

This was pretty easy to put together. You cook sliced zucchini, garlic and scallions in a pan until it’s soft. You take that out and cook spinach until it wilts. I didn’t have enough fresh spinach on hand and added some frozen spinach that I thawed and it was perfectly fine – you could definitely skip this step and just use some thawed frozen spinach. Next you add fresh basil to the spinach and cook that down a little. I didn’t have any fresh basil so I just used dried. I’m sure fresh would have tasted much better, but this was an adequate substitute (I know Martha would never agree!).

Next you mix up ricotta and eggs (I substituted Eggbeaters for some of the whole eggs). Another admission – I absolutely cannot stand ricotta in anything, ever, so I used cottage cheese. You mix this with the rice and veggies and add some parmesan cheese. You put it in a casserole dish and top with more rice and parmesan.

I really liked this.  It had lots of spinach and just enough rice. Usually I believe there can never be enough cheese in things, but this had just enough. It cooked in about 40 minutes and stayed hot when served. I’ll definitely make this again. I think if you wanted to, you could definitely add some chicken or ground turkey to this to make it a complete meal in one dish.

I was intrigued at how many casseroles were in this month’s Martha Stewart Living (it doesn’t seem like a typical Martha thing really) and I’ve been enjoying trying them out. Last night I made the Rice and Spinach Casserole (page 47 of January Living). I love spinach and I love rice. This was pretty easy … Read more →

Martha, you’ve really got me this time. Pages 52-56 of January Living are all about diagnosing problems with houseplants. Oh boy, do I need this! Let me just say this is all a little embarrassing! My grandfather ran a very successful greenhouse business, now owned by my uncle. My father plants the world’s largest garden every summer, and my mom has a house filled with houseplants. Obviously, the green thumb gene was not passed along to me.

I have a long and troubled history with houseplants. I like having them very much – not only because they are pretty but because I firmly believe they are important for air quality. Sigh. Too bad I can’t keep them alive for anything.

Last year Mr. MarthaAndMe bought me a beautiful jasmine plant for my birthday (I actually told him I wanted a jade plant – hey, they both start with J’s I guess). It was dead within 6 months and never flowered again. A friend bought me an orchid for another birthday and I killed that one in a couple of months  – that also never flowered again. I used to have lots of houseplants, but I can’t seem to remember to water them and I never know how much light they need.

At this point I have 4 trusty houseplants, none of which are in the greatest condition.

Plant #1

Please observe specimen #1. I have no idea what this is called. It needed to be watered, which I did. I think this one falls under Martha’s “pot-bound” category. It needs a bigger pot, so I’ll put that on my to-do list. This plant has not changed in size since I got it,  I don’t think.

Plant #2

Plant #2 is a Christmas cactus which was started from a cutting from my mom’s plant. I have managed to keep it alive for many years, but have never been able to figure out how to make it flower. I know there’s something about putting it in a dark cool room for several months. I don’t have a room like that though. Martha has inspired me to read up on this and try to make it work for next Christmas.

Specimen #3

Specimen #3 is another unidentified plant. This one has been hanging by a thread for years. It used to get really sick during the summer until I realized it didn’t really like a lot of light, so now I keep it in the living room, which is a darker room.  Earlier this fall I had a record 5 leaves on it, but now I’m down to 3, and one has collapsed.  It did need water, I’ll admit. After I watered it, the droopy stem stood back up. I wish I could get this grow more leaves though and be fuller.

Specimen #4

Specimen #4 is my proudest achievement (which is totally embarrassing). This is an air fern. I bought it at Walmart one day on a whim. It has no soil and does not need to be watered.  Therein lies my success! I don’t have to do a darn thing to it. It’s in my office and I think it is fairly happy because the kids’ bathroom is right across the hall and so there is some moist air for it. Frankly, I’m surprised it’s still kicking. I’ve had it a few years.

Martha’s section on plants is a great guide and I’m going to be sure to hang on to it. Maybe it will even give me the courage to try some other plants. I’d love to have them, if only I could keep them alive!

Martha, you’ve really got me this time. Pages 52-56 of January Living are all about diagnosing problems with houseplants. Oh boy, do I need this! Let me just say this is all a little embarrassing! My grandfather ran a very successful greenhouse business, now owned by my uncle. My father plants the world’s largest garden … Read more →

This week on Martha’s cooking school segment, she and Sarah Carey steamed fish.  Since I don’t have bamboo steamers (which she used to make the steamed salmon), I decided to make the whole steamed fish. Well, except for the small fact that you can’t buy a whole fresh fish around here. And except for the fact that there seems to be some sort of fish shortage or crisis – all the stores have empty fish counters this week. I don’t know if there was some shipping problem or what, but something’s up. So I ended up buying some frozen mahi mahi pieces. A whole fish would have been too much for the two of us anyhow (kids won’t eat it!).

I was able to find lemon grass at my store (color me shocked) and I’ve never used it before. What an amazing scent it has! I cut that up, cut up some ginger and garlic and scallion and got some cilantro together. I put some under the fish and some on top. I sprinkled the fish sauce over it.

Ready to cook

I made my fish in an oval bowl and put it in a large saute pan with boiling water in it. I covered it with foil. It took longer to cook than I expected – probably about 20-25 min and my pieces of fish were not more than an inch and a half thick. There was a large amount of broth in the bottom of the bowl.

Ready to eat

I loved the way this tasted! Very flavorful. The fish was cooked perfectly (when it was finally cooked!). I served it with rice. We didn’t even squeeze the lime juice onto it, it had such a nice full flavor. I did feel the steaming process to be kind of a pain. It took a long time and it would have been a lot easier to pan fry the fish or grill it, but I did like how it became infused with all the flavors, so it is worthwhile to do it for that. It is an interesting cooking method – you don’t need any special equipment and it’s nice how it creates the flavorful broth.

I cannot imagine doing this with a whole fish. I was shaking my head through the segment as Martha was talking about how she loooooves to serve it whole with the head attached and doesn’t understand why people don’t like to see that. Same reason I prefer not to serve my roast chicken with a beak on the platter, Martha. I also don’t like bones and in my experience any time you bring a fish to the table with bones, some of those bones end up in your mouth.

This week on Martha’s cooking school segment, she and Sarah Carey steamed fish.  Since I don’t have bamboo steamers (which she used to make the steamed salmon), I decided to make the whole steamed fish. Well, except for the small fact that you can’t buy a whole fresh fish around here. And except for the … Read more →