I’ve had a whole organic chicken in the freezer for a while and I finally decided to use it up for Sunday dinner. I came up a hybrid Martha/Lucinda Scala Quinn method for cooking it. I have Lucinda’s book, MadHungry (which is great) and have seen both her and Martha spatchcock (I know it sounds obscene!) a chicken on the Martha show (spatchcocking means you cut out the backbone and flatten the chicken to cook it – it cooks much faster this way). I combined this method with the idea in November Everyday Food to cook carrots and potatoes in the pan with chicken parts and with Lucinda’s pan sauce for her spatchcocked chicken in her book.

So, first I cut out the backbone and flattened the chicken. I put it insides down in a roasting pan and surrounded it with carrots and baby red potatoes. I seasoned the chicken with rosemary, salt and pepper and some roast chicken seasoning I got from my mom. I put the salt and pepper and rosemary on the veggies, as well as some olive oil and roasted it all in a 400 degree oven for about 45  minutes (until the chicken was 165). I removed the chicken and carrots and stuck the roasting pan on a burner with the potatoes still in it – I wanted them a little crispier. When they were done, I removed them and added a few tablespoons of olive oil, 2 chopped cloves of garlic and 2 tbsp lemon juice to the pan. I cooked it long enough to soften the garlic then served it.

This was AMAZING. First of all, it’s so much faster than a regular roast chicken and feels less fussy. The pan sauce was fabulous and so incredibly simple -something about the lemon and garlic is just to die for. We ate the sauce on both the chicken and on the potatoes. It was perfect. I highly recommend this dinner!!!

I’ve had a whole organic chicken in the freezer for a while and I finally decided to use it up for Sunday dinner. I came up a hybrid Martha/Lucinda Scala Quinn method for cooking it. I have Lucinda’s book, MadHungry (which is great) and have seen both her and Martha spatchcock (I know it sounds … Read more →

A few days ago I made Martha’s Spiced Pork Roast with Acorn Squash. I had some leftovers, but not a lot. I always have trouble with pork roast leftovers, because it tends to get very dry if you reheat it. So I decided to get a little creative. I scraped the remaining 4 slices of squash and smashed up the insides. I dumped this in a pan with about 1/4 cup cream. I added a few sprinkles of garlic powder, lots of salt and pepper and a little cinnamon. I also added a few tablespoons of water. I slowly heated the mix and stirred until it was thickened. I put in the leftover pork roast slices, turned them over in the mixture, put a lid on and turned the heat off. We ate about 10 minutes later. The pork was nice and moist and sauce was really delicious, if a bit different. Dude Martha said it tasted like pumpkin to him. I was quite proud of myself for finding this creative use of the leftovers. I am sure Martha is not big on leftovers, but in the average American household, leftovers are a way of life. Applying a little Martha creativity to them was fun for me.

Please forgive my lack of a photo. We just got a new camera and it is refusing to let us take the photos off it. On top of that, I’m struggling with yet another bout of kidney stones and had a CT scan Friday for it.  I’ve been sick for more than 3 months at this point and am simply bone tired. Dinner last night was grilled cheese (on wheat Italian bread with some cheese I don’t know the name of – but it was not yucky American and was very good) and basil tomato soup (from a can – I had none frozen). Dinner tonight was at Friendly’s, where we took Dude Martha and his pal. They enjoyed it is about all I can say! I didn’t have much appetite anyhow since the latest kidney episode started about then. I’m gearing up to make my Martha Mondays dish tomorrow and hope that I am through this current episode by then.

A few days ago I made Martha’s Spiced Pork Roast with Acorn Squash. I had some leftovers, but not a lot. I always have trouble with pork roast leftovers, because it tends to get very dry if you reheat it. So I decided to get a little creative. I scraped the remaining 4 slices of … Read more →

If you’ve been following along with me, you know that I started this blog and my Martha project a year ago. My mission was to do one Martha project a day for an entire year and see if it changed my life. The year is up.

I have lots of thoughts on how it has affected me and my family. I’m going to share just a few here. One of the biggest changes is that Martha has made me pay attention to details and thus I’ve found that the details really do matter. I’m nowhere close to Martha-perfection on anything, but I find that when I make a little extra effort in whatever I am doing around the house (cooking, cleaning, organizing, crafting, decorating, etc.),  it almost always pays off.

Another important lesson has been focus. Martha has an incredible ability to focus on things. I’ve often heard her practically squeal with excitement over how orange some carrots are or how a loaf of bread turns out. She’s able to find the sublime in the everyday and I’ll always thank her for showing me how to do that. If you can find happiness in the small things, it carries you through the harder parts of your day.

I’ve had a lot of failures (recipes that were just plain awful, crafts I murdered and organizing jobs I didn’t quite complete) but I’ve also tried so many new things (corning my own beef, eating celery root, using glitter). I feel as though this year has been a complete education for me, like going to culinary school, apprenticing in a new trade, and practicing to open a shop on Etsy.

It has also been exhausting. In the midst of all the Martha lessons, I’ve had a busy year. My grandmother passed away, we went to the UK on a two week vacation, husband and daughter continued the balancing act required with rheumatoid arthritis, I wrote a book about the history of cookies (coming out next fall), I did massive numbers of indexes and wrote several book proposals, my daughter had swine flu and pneumonia, I struggled with an ongoing infection, my son started middle school, my daughter applied to and visited colleges, and I continued to be daughter, wife, dog owner, and mom to the people I love.

I’ve been contemplating what I would do when my one year of Martha ended. On the one hand, I’m tired. I’m tired of cooking Martha food all the time, tired of pushing myself to craft, and tired of spending a large portion of my disposable income on food for Martha’s recipes, supplies for Martha’s projects, and on Martha’s favorite products.

But on the other hand, I can’t see a life without Martha. I admit it – I am slightly hooked. I’ve already decided I’m ordering one of Martha’s turkeys for Thanksgiving and I’m giddy at the thought of her new line of cleaning products. I’m already looking forward to the December issue of Living. So, I don’t think Martha and I are going to part ways. Instead, I think we will reach a compromise.

So, my plan moving forward is to continue to experiment with Martha’s recipes, crafts, and projects, but at a slower pace. One year of doing Martha every day has been plenty. Instead, I’d like to see what sticks. I want to try a slightly different experiment – move forward with my life and see what Martha lessons and projects are truly me. I need some time and space to find what really works for me. So, I’m going to continue the blog, but may not have a post absolutely every single day. It almost kills me to write that, since I’ve come to depend on my loyal readers! I love coming here every day and reading your comments and knowing you’ve been on the journey with me.  I might take a weekend off! I do plan to post regularly and to continue sharing my results with you and hopefully sharing my thoughts with you about how I’ve incorporated Martha into my real life.

I also would like to show you some non-Martha recipes – my own creations. Martha has certainly influenced me to try new things and enjoy new things, so I’d like to show the direction she has steered me as I move forward.

Martha Mondays will continue and I’m still going to do the MS Cupcake Club. But those are my only required assignments. As for the rest, I’m going to do what really interests me and excites me. At this point, I’m not even sure what that will be – I’ve been so focused on doing Martha, I’ve lost sight a little bit of what I want to do.

Many of you have asked me if I will be writing a book about this experience. The answer to that is I hope so! It’s started, but it really wasn’t something I could write until I got to the end of the journey so I could have perspective on it. If you would like to read such a book, I would love for you to comment and say so.

I can’t thank you enough for the support, cheering on, commiserating and just general interest in my project! It has meant so very much to me to know that every single one of you is reading along. So, stick around and come with me on year two as I discover where I go from here and what lasting influence Martha will have on me!

If you’ve been following along with me, you know that I started this blog and my Martha project a year ago. My mission was to do one Martha project a day for an entire year and see if it changed my life. The year is up. I have lots of thoughts on how it has … Read more →

I’ve been meaning to make this recipe for over a week, but never quite got to it. I had an acorn squash ready to go, but then we ended up using it as a bowl for dip at the Halloween party! So I bought another and made this last night. The recipe is from November Everyday Food and was also made on the Martha show.

I had this planned for dinner and then suddenly had an unexpected Dr appt for late afternoon (kidney stones anyone?), so I got it started in advance and then stuck it in the oven on a timer. I started by browning the pork and tossing the acorn squash with the spice mix. I put it in the oven and programmed it to start cooking while I was away. I assigned Teen Martha to baste it while I was gone.

When I came home, the house smelled wonderfully spicey and warm. However, the pork took longer to cook than the recipe said.  I ended up cranking it up to 450 on convection and even then the total cooking time was an hour.

I enjoyed the squash very much, but the pork didn’t have much flavor. If I made this again, I would marinate the pork in advance to try to get some of the flavor into it. I also was missing garlic – I like garlic in my pork roast.

Other than that, this is a nice dish that doesn’t require a lot of work. I cut up some bread and some red pepper and it was a complete meal. Thumbs up!

I’ve been meaning to make this recipe for over a week, but never quite got to it. I had an acorn squash ready to go, but then we ended up using it as a bowl for dip at the Halloween party! So I bought another and made this last night. The recipe is from November … Read more →

I couldn’t help myself – I had to order a Martha Stewart turkey for Thanksgiving. If you order one this week, you can save $15 by entering the code Martha15.

I’m excited about Martha’s turkey for several reasons. The turkeys are not certified organic, but they are antibiotic and hormone free, vegetarian fed and humanely raised. Every single one of those factors is of great importance to me. The turkeys come in two sizes – 12 lb ($69.99) or 18 lb ($89.99), minus the $15 discount. You can choose your delivery date, which is a nice feature.

The turkeys are from Plainville Farms and I have had their regular turkeys in the past with great success.  I can’t wait to try it!

I couldn’t help myself – I had to order a Martha Stewart turkey for Thanksgiving. If you order one this week, you can save $15 by entering the code Martha15. I’m excited about Martha’s turkey for several reasons. The turkeys are not certified organic, but they are antibiotic and hormone free, vegetarian fed and humanely … Read more →

I couldn’t help myself – I had to order a Martha Stewart turkey for Thanksgiving. If you order one this week, you can save $15 by entering the code Martha15.

I’m excited about Martha’s turkey for several reasons. The turkeys are not certified organic, but they are antibiotic and hormone free, vegetarian fed and humanely raised. Every single one of those factors is of great importance to me. The turkeys come in two sizes – 12 lb ($69.99) or 18 lb ($89.99), minus the $15 discount. You can choose your delivery date, which is a nice feature.

The turkeys are from Plainville Farms and I have had their regular turkeys in the past with great success.  I can’t wait to try it!

I couldn’t help myself – I had to order a Martha Stewart turkey for Thanksgiving. If you order one this week, you can save $15 by entering the code Martha15. I’m excited about Martha’s turkey for several reasons. The turkeys are not certified organic, but they are antibiotic and hormone free, vegetarian fed and humanely … Read more →

Happy Martha-versary to me. The end of October marked the one year anniversary of my Martha project and my blog. We decided to have a Halloween party to celebrate – and also to give me a chance to flex my Martha muscles.

Yesterday was the big day and it was the culmination of several weeks of planning and work (that’s always the problem with parties – you plan and cook and decorate and work your buns off for weeks and it’s over in a flash).

I promised to share all the details, so this will be a long post!

Costumes

First, the costumes. I was Martha. Teen Martha blew out my curly hair to look like Martha’s – I was surprised at how well it actually turned out! I wore a pink button front shirt and khaki capris. I had a pair of blue heels I was going to wear, but when I put them on , the soles disintegrated (I haven’t worn them in over 15 years!) so I ended up with some low black heels which weren’t quite what I wanted. Mr. MarthaAndMe made a home detention ankle bracelet for me to wear. I have the greatest respect for Martha and was afraid that was a little insulting, but it helped people identify who I was. I carried a Martha bouquet – paint brush, whisk and garden trowel, tied with a measuring tape.  I pointed out “good things” all night.

Mr. MarthaAndMe was a vampire. He has years of practice with vampire costumes. His mother had the cape made for him when he a child.

Teen Martha was a Roman. I sewed the toga by hand. She made the belt and headpiece. I think she looks cute. As you can see in the background, her friends were also Romans.

Dude Martha wore his gory store bought costume.

Decor

Let’s move on the decor. We made a gourd totem, from Oct Living. Actually, Mr. MarthaAndMe handled that and he did an excellent job. I don’t think I would bother doing this again, but it was fun. We put this on the front porch, but I never got a picture.

There were lots of spider webs, caution tape, orange and black streamers and balloons around also.

I spent a lot of time on the table. I made the tablescape that is in the Halloween special issue – gauze on the table and black tissue paper cut out to go around it. I had to order the tissue paper online and I found the gauze at Joann’s, but didn’t buy enough. When I realized, they were out of it. I ended up finding something similar at Walmart. I also cut the tissue paper to go around my cake plate with the ghost cake.

You can also see my luminare hanging from the chandelier.

The Food

I made a lot of food. We have tons and tons left. I’m just going to paste in the photos with captions for this:

The Games

We had several games which the younger kids enjoyed. We started with Martha’s donut on a string game. I had a hard time finding small donuts for this – regular size seemed too big. I did finally find some and everyone liked this game. One girl ate hers in one bite!

We put “body parts” in bags and the kids had to guess what they were. The best score was 6 out of 8. We had cauliflower for brains, ramen noodles for veins, an oiled tortilla for skin, dried apricots for ears, peeled grapes for eyeballs, a carved canned cranberry sauce for heart,

and gherkins with almond slivers for fingers/toes.

We also played mummy wrap, where they had to wrap each other in

toilet paper.

We played eyeball pong – each kid got a rubber eyeball and they had to bounce it and try to get into cups. Each cup had a prize and if your ball went in, you won the prize.

We also had a monster assembly game. I kept all our recyclables for several weeks. We divided them into two boxes and divided the kids into two teams. Each team got tape and scissors. We gave them five minutes to make a monster. They actually did a really great job – but they smashed them before I could get a photo of the final results.

It was an incredible amount of work. We got most of it cleaned up last night when the kids left to go trick or treating and did the rest this morning. I’m exhausted! I’m glad I did it though – I’m pretty proud of myself and think everything turned out quite well.

Happy Martha-versary to me. The end of October marked the one year anniversary of my Martha project and my blog. We decided to have a Halloween party to celebrate – and also to give me a chance to flex my Martha muscles. Yesterday was the big day and it was the culmination of several weeks … Read more →

I signed up for the MS Cupcake Club October bonus round. The assignment was to make any cupcake you wanted for Halloween (Happy Halloween, by the way!).

I made Martha’s one-bowl chocolate cupcakes (from Martha Stewart’s Cupcake Book) and made them into Buried Alive Cupcakes, which I am serving at our Halloween party this afternoon.

I made the recipe and baked them (I actually did this in advance and froze them). I decorated with a little chocolate frosting then stuck a doll arm in each one, as if a person is trying to claw their way out. We also kind of shredded the side of each cupcake to make it look like it someone was trying to work their way out (You can’t really see this in the photo very well). Actually finding the dolls was the hardest part of this! I thought I would be able to buy bags of cheap kewpie-type dolls at the dollar store. Wrong. The cheap dolls were $1 each. I tried to find doll parts online, but with the cost of shipping, it was ridiculous. Finally I gave in and bought 9 dolls at the dollar store and that allowed me to do 18 cupcakes.

Tune in tomorrow for details on how the party went!

I signed up for the MS Cupcake Club October bonus round. The assignment was to make any cupcake you wanted for Halloween (Happy Halloween, by the way!). I made Martha’s one-bowl chocolate cupcakes (from Martha Stewart’s Cupcake Book) and made them into Buried Alive Cupcakes, which I am serving at our Halloween party this afternoon. … Read more →

Recently I posted about 10 Things I’ve Learned from Martha. I really have learned an amazing amount in the my year of Martha. However, I’ve also found that Martha is just wrong about some things.

1. Unsalted butter is not a must in baking. If you use salted butter, you just reduce or eliminate salt. Salted butter is not the end of the world.

2. You don’t need a P-Touch. Martha is mad about this label maker and puts the little printed labels on everything, even linen closet shelves. I’m all for organization, but this is just too crazy for me. I’m fine with a handwritten sticker if I need a label.

3. Crafting is not always easy if you have the right tools. Ok, I’ll agree it is easiER if you have the right tools, but there are some things I just cannot get my hands to do, no matter what tool I’m using.

4. Dogs should not wear Halloween costumes. They especially should not wear homemade Halloween costumes that require hours of work. They really don’t appreciate it. And it’s not like they can go trick or treating and bring home dog food.

5. Storing your extra china on a metal rack in the basement is possibly the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of. Martha keeps hers this way and touts it as the best way to store it. I don’t have to time to go dust my china. I like to keep it put away so I can just get it out and have it be clean and ready to go.

6. Gardening is not a must. I love tomatoes fresh from the vine, but I’d much rather shop at the farm stand and have free time not spent weeding. If I had an entire staff of gardeners, I would probably turn my backyard into a farm like Martha, but it’s not an option.

7. Green juice is disgusting. There, I said it. Martha is mad about this green vegetable juice she makes fresh each morning with her Mini Cooper sized juicer.   I’m happy to just eat vegetables instead.

8. Sleep is not boring. Martha says she sleeps maybe five hours a night because she finds it boring. I love sleep. I love waking up on weekend mornings and going back to sleep because I don’t have to get up. I even love a nice 30 minute nap once in a while.

9. I do not need a Xyron machine – a $100 crafting machine that puts adhesive on things for you. I know how to use a glue stick.

10. I still refuse to sift flour when I bake. She can’t make me do it!! I make it all in one bowl – cream the butter and sugar then dump in the dry ingredients. I’ve never had a problem with it. Sorry, Martha.

Recently I posted about 10 Things I’ve Learned from Martha. I really have learned an amazing amount in the my year of Martha. However, I’ve also found that Martha is just wrong about some things. 1. Unsalted butter is not a must in baking. If you use salted butter, you just reduce or eliminate salt. … Read more →

1. Celery tastes better peeled. Really.

2.  How to seed a pomegranate. Martha says to score the skin into quarters, then pull it apart. You then whack the back of each quarter with a spoon, and the seeds come out. Who knew?

3.  Beds are nicer when they are made. Making them still isn’t fun though.

4. Refrigerating cookies on the sheet before baking means they will spread less and retain a nice shape.

5. Packaging a gift beautifully makes it seem more special.

6. An organized home feels luxurious.

7. Stuffed cabbage is actually really good.

8. Salad dressing is easy to make and there’s no reason to buy it.

9. You can lose weight and still eat delicious, wonderful food.

10. Aluminum foil should never touch food. Use a layer of parchment paper in between.

1. Celery tastes better peeled. Really. 2.  How to seed a pomegranate. Martha says to score the skin into quarters, then pull it apart. You then whack the back of each quarter with a spoon, and the seeds come out. Who knew? 3.  Beds are nicer when they are made. Making them still isn’t fun … Read more →