I have never heard of a hand pie before, but Tomato Hand Pies (Martha Stewart Living July) sounded quite good.

First, you roast sliced tomatoes and onions. Next you make pie crust (I cheated and used refrigerated pie crust that I bought – shhh – don’t tell Martha!) and place squares of the crust in muffin tins. The recipe says to put feta cheese and oregano at the bottoms of each. I opened my feta cheese and found it was growing a big furry mold colony, so I had a bit of a crisis. I ended up using some smoked mozzarella that I had.

You spoon the tomato/onion mix into the cups and Martha says to add olives, but I hate olives so I skipped that step. Fold in the edges of the crust and then brush it with an egg wash.

This takes about 50 minutes to bake (which really seemed like a long time when I read it, but it did work). They were really, really good. I’m addicted to roasted tomatoes. They are so sweet and good. These were like tiny quiche with no egg. I really liked them and will make them again. I think that with feta it would be very tasty – the mozzarella is so mild I didn’t really taste it. Love this one!

I have never heard of a hand pie before, but Tomato Hand Pies (Martha Stewart Living July) sounded quite good. First, you roast sliced tomatoes and onions. Next you make pie crust (I cheated and used refrigerated pie crust that I bought – shhh – don’t tell Martha!) and place squares of the crust in … Read more →

My grocery store finally has quinoa – hidden in the organic/gluten free/ health food section. I’ve had it before and enjoy having a different kind of grain to use. Martha has a recipe for Quinoa Salad with Cucumber (Martha Stewart Living, July) which I decided to try out. First I cooked the quinoa. Since I was in a hurry, once it was done, I spread it on a baking sheet and stuck it in the freezer to cool it quickly.

The recipe for this salad is very simple. Basically it is just quinoa with cucumber, herbs and a light vinegar/oil dressing. I got it together and it looked and tasted a bit boring. So I decided to add some cherry tomatoes for color and flavor. That helped things a bit. This was an ok side dish, but nothing to get excited about. If you’ve never had quinoa, it tastes like a very light barley and is also similar to tabbouleh. I doubt I will make this again, but it was something different to make and a nice change from a boring lettuce salad.

My grocery store finally has quinoa – hidden in the organic/gluten free/ health food section. I’ve had it before and enjoy having a different kind of grain to use. Martha has a recipe for Quinoa Salad with Cucumber (Martha Stewart Living, July) which I decided to try out. First I cooked the quinoa. Since I … Read more →

I’m tired of the same old salads. I need new and fresh ideas and happily, Martha has come through in the July issue of Martha Stewart Living. Beans with Skillet-Toasted Corn and Tomatoes (Hello? Martha? Could your people work on getting these recipes up on the site???) sounded fun and different.

Now it’s confession time. The recipe calls for dried beans which you are supposed to soak. So not happening! I used canned pinto beans.

The first step is to cook the corn until it browns. Add garlic and cook a little longer until it makes popping sounds. It really did! That tickled me pink, I must admit.

Next you cook the tomatoes. I used cherry tomatoes, but Martha says to use plum. Cook them until they are slightly charred. The dressing is easy – oil and vinegar, salt and pepper. I added a little sugar, which I always do to my dressings and Martha never does – a major point of contention between us.

You serve the salad warm, over lettuce leaves with some smoked cheese grated over it. I could not get it enough of this! It was delish! The corn had this wonderful sweet, roasted flavor and so did the tomatoes. The dressing gave it some added flavor.  I cut up the lettuce leaves and ate them with the salad. This was a perfect lunch and it was good cold the next day too. I know that this salad sounds so simple – it is simple to make, but it really has a wonderful complex flavor to it. You must try it!

I’m tired of the same old salads. I need new and fresh ideas and happily, Martha has come through in the July issue of Martha Stewart Living. Beans with Skillet-Toasted Corn and Tomatoes (Hello? Martha? Could your people work on getting these recipes up on the site???) sounded fun and different. Now it’s confession time. … Read more →

I made Martha’s Crispy Taco Picadillo (Martha Stewart Living, June). I had never heard of picadillo, but when I read the recipe it just sounded like tacos, so I went with it.

This was amazingly easy. I’m used to Living recipes being long and complicated, but this was simple. I substituted ground turkey for ground beef. You cook onions, then add your meat and garlic and add chopped tomato and spices. Simple.  It cooks for about 15 to 20 minutes. Easy as pie.

I liked the idea of making tacos with my own ingredients instead of using some horrible powdered taco mix. Both children viewed this with suspicion because there were chunks of tomato (horrors!). The oldest ate it with trepidation and then declared you couldn’t even tell there were chunks of tomato (shocking!) and tried to convince the younger to try it. He scowled and refused.

Mr. MarthaAndMe thought it was quite good. I would definitely make this again. I like tacos a lot and this is really just as easy and quick as using some godawful mix. Thanks Martha!

I made Martha’s Crispy Taco Picadillo (Martha Stewart Living, June). I had never heard of picadillo, but when I read the recipe it just sounded like tacos, so I went with it. This was amazingly easy. I’m used to Living recipes being long and complicated, but this was simple. I substituted ground turkey for ground … Read more →

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 →

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 →

Thank you Martha, for getting me to try Swiss chard. I remember my parents growing it and eating it when I was a kid, but I don’t recall ever tasting it myself. As a kid, I wasn’t big on greens. But now I’m finding that I really do like many greens.

I made Martha’s Swiss Chard Frittata (June Martha Stewart Living). This was super easy. It’s essentially a quiche, but with no crust. I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta. I love that this is almost all egg whites with only one whole egg. It’s very light, but is also delicious and filling.

I love the color of Swiss chard – bright green and magenta. It’s just gorgeous.  I cooked some of the Swiss chard up on another night and basically just wilted it with a little olive oil and salt and pepper and I loved it. I am mad about spinach and this is very similar.  If you’re a bit iffy on greens, try this fritatta. You don’t really notice the chard in it very much.

I ate the leftover frittata for lunch the next day and confess I melted a little Swiss cheese on it, which made it taste even better I thought.

Thank you Martha, for getting me to try Swiss chard. I remember my parents growing it and eating it when I was a kid, but I don’t recall ever tasting it myself. As a kid, I wasn’t big on greens. But now I’m finding that I really do like many greens. I made Martha’s Swiss … Read more →

Another dinner, another severe allergic reaction. Is this Martha project bad for my health? Well, it certainly seems so. You may recall that I’ve experienced two severe allergic reactions to Martha meals in the past couple of months. The first was from pan-sauteed sole, the second from fish tacos. After that, I assumed it must be fish. Apparently, that was the wrong conclusion. I made Martha’s Chicken Fajitas (Martha Stewart June Living).

Things started out innocently enough. I decided to make the whole shebang for this recipe – mojo de ajo, guacamole and pico de gallo as well as the fajitas themselves.

cooking the garlic

I started with the mojo de ajo which is basically garlic cooked in oil with lime juice and red pepper. Easy. Next the guacamole – avocado, lime juice and salt. The pico de gallo was tomato, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro (I used dried).

Once I had all of that made, I chopped up the onion and peppers for the fajitas and cooked those, then added the chicken. It really was not a lot of

guacamole

work and this cooks up quickly.

I admit I did not heat the tortillas before serving. I served them with sour cream and cheddar cheese. They were really, really good. Better than I expected, I have to admit. The 3 additional sauces and topping really added to flavor and I really enjoyed it.

Until 3 hours later. When I turned bright

pico de gallo

red all over my body,  was burning hot, developed itchy hives, felt sick to my stomach and was dizzy. Benadryl worked its magic and I didn’t have to go to the hospital, but this reaction was even more severe than the previous two. I don’t know what to make of it, so I’ve made an appointment with an allergist.  I’ve never had anything like this happen before I began the Martha project, so it’s quite disturbing. There are some common ingredients between reaction #2 and reaction #3 – lime, garlic, cilantro and avocado, however these are all things I’ve eaten before with no problems. I guess I’ll let the allergist figure it out. Until then, I’m a little nervous about trying new Martha dishes, I must admit.

Chicken, peppers, and onions

making the fajita

rolled up and ready to eat

Another dinner, another severe allergic reaction. Is this Martha project bad for my health? Well, it certainly seems so. You may recall that I’ve experienced two severe allergic reactions to Martha meals in the past couple of months. The first was from pan-sauteed sole, the second from fish tacos. After that, I assumed it must … Read more →

Sunday morning pancakes are a veritable tradition around here. My favorite pancake recipe is adapted from my mom’s dirty, won,  old Betty Crocker cookbook. I make the basic buttermilk pancake recipe then add blueberries and cinnamon.

Dry ingredients

Today I decided to try out Martha’s Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes (Martha Stewart Living June, p. 24 – would someone PLEASE ask the folks at MSLO to get all the magazine recipes up on their site?? There’s no link for you on this one unfortunately, but if you need the recipe, email me).

The first crisis was that the daughter ate all the blueberries I had bought for this. So off the store went Mr. MarthaAndMe. The recipe calls for a pint. He came home with one of those little half pint containers. That was ok though, since the kids don’t like blueberries in their pancakes, so I made half with and half without.

The recipe is straightforward – cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, egg, milk, buttermilk and melted butter. This batter is very wet. The first batch I made was without blueberries. The pancakes I am used to making firm up very nicely and flip easily. Not so much for Martha. I put the first batch on (sans blueberries) and when I went to flip them they were wet and heavy. One ended up on the floor. I managed to pick up the big pieces and the dogs happily cleaned up the rest.

Clean up crew

The second batch had blueberries and they held together a bit better. These took a looongggg time to cook though, I think because there is so much liquid in the batter. We waited and waited and waited some more and finally they were done.

I forgot to mention that Martha says to serve these with Orange Maple Butter (butter, OJ, syrup, and orange zest) as well as syrup.  That was quick to whip up while the pancakes were cooking (and cooking and cooking).

Ok, now for the taste test. These were great! I have to admit I was totally unsure about the cornmeal in the recipe but it was a really interesting flavor to add to it. They reminded me a bit of Paula Deen’s Hoe Cakes (which I adore). I thought I was going to miss cinnamon, since I always add cinnamon to my blueberry pancakes, but I didn’t even think about it. The orange maple butter added an interesting layer of citrus flavor that I really liked.

Thumbs up on this recipe!

Sunday morning pancakes are a veritable tradition around here. My favorite pancake recipe is adapted from my mom’s dirty, won,  old Betty Crocker cookbook. I make the basic buttermilk pancake recipe then add blueberries and cinnamon. Today I decided to try out Martha’s Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes (Martha Stewart Living June, p. 24 – would someone … Read more →

I love to grill. I even grill in the winter on the Jenn-Air grill inside. Mr. MarthaAndMe does the requisite grumbling about being sent out to grill, but usually does a good job. I love that there is very little clean up and it doesn’t make the house hot in the summer.

The June issue of Martha Stewart Living is all about grilling, which is a fun summer topic. My last attempt at one of these recipes was a flop however, since the Honey Brine grilled chicken I made was totally inedible. I was ready to give Martha a second chance on grilling however, and went with the Soy-Garlic Marinade for steak. Soy and garlic are flavors I love with steak and this recipe can be made and kept overnight, which worked out perfectly since I was taking it to the lake over Memorial Day weekend.  I bought my organic steaks (we eat beef rarely now and when we do, I only buy organic) and whipped up  the marinade, which is super simple. I marinated in a plastic zipper bag.

The steaks grilled up nicely and the marinade gave it a nice flavor. I think I would probably add some herbs to this next time – maybe some thyme.  I would also use more garlic and more lemon juice. It just needs a little something extra. It was good, but not fabulous.

What I want to know is what is your favorite marinade? I plan to do a lot of grilling and would love some tips.

I love to grill. I even grill in the winter on the Jenn-Air grill inside. Mr. MarthaAndMe does the requisite grumbling about being sent out to grill, but usually does a good job. I love that there is very little clean up and it doesn’t make the house hot in the summer. The June issue … Read more →