I never seem to be able to buy just the right amount of veggies for the week. Either I run out, or I have too many and they wilt or rot. I get really frustrated when I have too much, but I’ve hit upon a method lately that lets me extend the life of my salad greens. They tend to get wilty and sad and who wants to eat that? Now you don’t have to throw those out. I put them in a colander in a sink with cold water (sometimes I add ice cubes to really get them nice and crunchy) and let it soak a while (15 min or so). When I drain them, they are revived and crisp. It has saved me time and time again when I discovered wilted lettuce in the back of the fridge.

I never seem to be able to buy just the right amount of veggies for the week. Either I run out, or I have too many and they wilt or rot. I get really frustrated when I have too much, but I’ve hit upon a method lately that lets me extend the life of my … Read more →

New Shapeways cups

I have a lot of Easter eggs – handblown, glass, porcelain, wood, you name it. I have an egg tree, egg baskets and an egg plate, but my favorite way to display them is in egg cups. Today I’m sharing my egg collection with you (and the eggs in the baskets will go with my kids when they leave – those are theirs), but I also wanted to share my new fave egg cups, that I bought from Shapeways. I saw one in Real Simple and got sucked into the web site and ended up buying 3. They’re made of some kind of resin, but it seems as though anything you order there is made to order, so you choose the design, the color and the finish. They may be made of resin, but they look like fine porcelain, and really feel like it too. I got plain white with a matte finish, but both designs came in colors. I spent $33 including shipping for these 3 cups. No one is paying me to talk about them and I paid for them myself, I just wanted to share because I am really in love with them!

On my Easter tree, I have eggs, but I also have baskets and rabbits and one little sheep.

Many of the eggs are ones I made last year following Martha’s instructions. We blew them out and colored them. I also bought some wooden eggs and painted and decorated them as well.

What is your favorite way to display Easter eggs?

Egg shelf in the family room

The silver cup was what I used to eat softboiled eggs out of at my grandparents' house when I was little, so it has special meaning to me.

Left egg is handpainted china which I found cheap at an antique store

I have a lot of Easter eggs – handblown, glass, porcelain, wood, you name it. I have an egg tree, egg baskets and an egg plate, but my favorite way to display them is in egg cups. Today I’m sharing my egg collection with you (and the eggs in the baskets will go with my … Read more →

Perfecting Pru chose Hot Cross Buns with Dried Cherries for this week. I’ve made hot cross buns once before, a Martha recipe, but I liked that this recipe had dried cherries since I don’t like raisins. The recipe actually has half cherries and half raisins. I thought that this did not rise quite as much as I would have liked it to, but other than it turned out well. I cheated and did not use a pastry bag for the frosting, thus the messy look. We all shared one here and enjoyed it, then I sent the rest away since we also had cake to eat from Teen Martha’s birthday (she turned 20 so from now on, we’ll be referring to her as College Martha). We’re taking a break for the next two Mondays and will get going again with a new project after that.

Perfecting Pru chose Hot Cross Buns with Dried Cherries for this week. I’ve made hot cross buns once before, a Martha recipe, but I liked that this recipe had dried cherries since I don’t like raisins. The recipe actually has half cherries and half raisins. I thought that this did not rise quite as much … Read more →

Ok, so you’re thinking, cooking with parchment paper packets has to require some trick, or amazing origami moves. It doesn’t! It’s easier than you could have imagined.

Here’s how to start.  The size of parchment you need will depend on whether you’re cooking an individual portion or a family style portion. I find that an individual portion requires about 18 inches of paper. A family style portion needs about 24 inches.

Tear off the parchment and lay it on a baking sheet (it might curl up initially, but once you put food on it, it won’t. If that bothers, you place it so the edges that want to curl up are actually facing down and can’t curl). Place your food in the center. Leave at least 4 inches on the sides.

Now, grab the long ends of the paper and have them meet in the air in the middle, then just fold them down until you get to the food. You’ll end up with a long package.

Now all you have to do is fold the ends up. There are two methods that work. My preferred method is to simply twist the ends. It’s quick, and the paper stays in place (it doesn’t untwist while cooking) and it seals in all the flavors and juices. Easy, no fuss. Love it.

If you would like something that looks a little fancier, treat that end of the package as if it were a gift. Fold the sides in to create a point, then fold the point up towards the parcel, folding over several times. It’s neat and pretty and symmetrical.

So choose whichever method appeals to you more and go with it.

You bake your packet right on the baking sheet. Sometimes thepackages will weep condensation (just water) a tiny bit, which means you might have to just wipe the baking sheet off when you’re done. If that is not for you, just stick some foil under your packet and you’ll have a squeaky clean baking sheet.

There a few methods available to open your packets. I find the simplest is to just take a knife and make a slit down the center. Then grab the sides of the opening and pull. This keeps all your juices inside the packet, which becomes like a little serving container.

You could also just undo all the folding and open the packet that way.

Now, here are some tips I’ve learned:

– If you’re making more than one packet, space them out on the baking sheet as evenly as possible. They cook faster and more evenly if they’re spaced out.

– I like making entrees as individual portions and sides family style. Everyone gets their own entree and can then take what they want from the side packets.

– You can test meat for doneness without opening the packet (which will let out the steam and slow down your cooking process) by poking an instant read thermometer through the parchment into the center of the meat.

– Be sure to let your packet rest about 5 minutes after removing it from the oven. This makes it easier to open (not as much steam coming out) and allows the food to absorb flavor and retain juices.

‘

Ok, so you’re thinking, cooking with parchment paper packets has to require some trick, or amazing origami moves. It doesn’t! It’s easier than you could have imagined. Here’s how to start.  The size of parchment you need will depend on whether you’re cooking an individual portion or a family style portion. I find that an … Read more →

I recently brought home some Korean Butter Pears from the grocery store to try. In the past, I’ve had something that looked similar, but wasn’t quite as big as this and was not called a butter pear. We sampled them one night for dessert. The skin has the texture of a pear, kind of thick and not smooth when you chew it. The flesh of the fruit tastes a lot like melon to me. It has that watery crunch to it that melons do, but it is also very pear-like. I didn’t think it tasted anything like apples (though it is supposed to be a combo of apples and pears). My son liked it a lot, so I will be buying more of these when I shop next. Have you tried this variety? Do you have any suggestions for things I should be trying?

I recently brought home some Korean Butter Pears from the grocery store to try. In the past, I’ve had something that looked similar, but wasn’t quite as big as this and was not called a butter pear. We sampled them one night for dessert. The skin has the texture of a pear, kind of thick … Read more →

I’m celebrating the publication of my new book, The Muffin Tin Cookbook, which has 200 recipes for all types of dishes made in muffin tins: appetizers, entrees, sides, breakfast, desserts, mini-pies, breads, and much more, as well some muffin and cupcake recipes. Muffin tin cooking is great for portion control: one “muffin” cup is one portion, so there’s no fooling yourself into having just a little bit more.

This kind of cooking is also guaranteed to get your kids interested in new foods. Kids have been conditioned to believe that anything cooked in a muffin/cupcake tin is fun and delicious, so they are excited to try the recipes.

This makes a great Mother’s Day gift, and it’s also a great shower gift.

If you would like to enter to win, follow this link and read the table of contents (click on “search inside this book” underneath the book cover) and come back, leave a comment, and tell me which recipe you would like to try. You’ll be entered to win a copy.

You must enter by midnight ET on Sunday April 15. I’ll randomly and blindly select the winner by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of comments here). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. You will not be entered to win unless you enter the name of a recipe from the book in your entry. Winners notified by email given when entering, not responsible for email transmission problems. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct mailing address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 4/15/12. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. MarthaAndMe reserves the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog.

I’m celebrating the publication of my new book, The Muffin Tin Cookbook, which has 200 recipes for all types of dishes made in muffin tins: appetizers, entrees, sides, breakfast, desserts, mini-pies, breads, and much more, as well some muffin and cupcake recipes. Muffin tin cooking is great for portion control: one “muffin” cup is one … Read more →

I buy asparagus just about every week. It’s one of my main go-to vegetables, so I’m always trying to come up with new ideas for it. This week I decided to whiz up some sliced almonds for a crunchy coating and it came out very nicely!

Almond-Crusted Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed

1 cup sliced almonds

1/8 teaspoon ground dry mustard

1/8 cup panko

salt and pepper to taste

1 eggs

1/8 cup skim milk

Lemon wedges (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the almonds, dry mustard, panko, salt and pepper in the food process and process until very fine. Transfer it to a plate. Mix the egg and milk in a bowl long enough to fit the asparagus stalks. Dip the asparagus into the egg mixture, then into the almond mixture and place on the baking sheet. Spray the asparagus with cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the asparagus is as tender as you like it and the coating is browning.  If you like, serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over the asparagus.

It was easy and very tasty. I really liked the taste of the almonds with the asparagus.

I buy asparagus just about every week. It’s one of my main go-to vegetables, so I’m always trying to come up with new ideas for it. This week I decided to whiz up some sliced almonds for a crunchy coating and it came out very nicely! Almond-Crusted Asparagus 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed 1 cup sliced … Read more →

Pru has chosen Hot Crossed Buns with Dried Cherries  for next week. Should be fun to try!

Pru has chosen Hot Crossed Buns with Dried Cherries  for next week. Should be fun to try!

Today’s project was leek, bacon and pea risotto, chosen by Sassy Suppers.  I liked this a lot, even though I usually don’t care for leeks.  It had just the right balance of flavors. Adding that spurt of lemon juice at the end is genius I think. It was creamy and flavorful and just hit the spot. Two thumbs up on this one, even if I find all the stirring a bit tedious! I’ll be interested to hear if everyone else enjoyed it as well.

Today’s project was leek, bacon and pea risotto, chosen by Sassy Suppers.  I liked this a lot, even though I usually don’t care for leeks.  It had just the right balance of flavors. Adding that spurt of lemon juice at the end is genius I think. It was creamy and flavorful and just hit the … Read more →

My new cookbook, The Muffin Tin Cookbook, has just been released by Adams Media. This fun book is filled with 200 recipes for entrees, sides, appetizers, bread, desserts, breakfasts, and much more all made in muffin tins.

The creative and delicious recipes are perfect to help you maintain portion control – each cup is one portion. So easy. And kids love eating foods made in muffin tins.

I had so much fun writing this book and coming up with all of these great dishes, I hope you will enjoy it!

My new cookbook, The Muffin Tin Cookbook, has just been released by Adams Media. This fun book is filled with 200 recipes for entrees, sides, appetizers, bread, desserts, breakfasts, and much more all made in muffin tins. The creative and delicious recipes are perfect to help you maintain portion control – each cup is one … Read more →