I recently got one of Martha’s daily emails, this one offering to teach me how to fold a t-shirt. I do not have a very good track record with folding. You might remember when Martha tried to teach me how to fold a fitted sheet and it did not go well. But a t-shirt? How hard could it be really? I usually fold t-shirts so that the sleeves match up then fold the body in half.  When I put my t-shirts away in the drawers in our closet, I roll them and stand them up in the drawer (another Martha lesson).

I’m always happy to learn another Martha method though, so I was game. I printed out the instructions and got to work with my t-shirt.

The instructions are short. First you lay the shirt out with the neck to your right. Ok, that I can do. The next step says to pinch the shirt at two places – between the collar and the sleeve and then halfway down the shirt in line with the other hand. I think I did that. Then you are supposed to lift it up and cross your arms so the shoulder meets the bottom hem. I did that. You unfold your arms and hold the fold taut. Then you let the

Attempt #1

other sleeve touch the ground and lay the shirt on it.  I ended up with a crumpled mess.

I tried again and again and I could not make this work. I am technically challenged though. When I was in third grade, I got a tissue paper flower making kit. I went through every piece of tissue paper in that kit

Attempt #2

and did not come out with a single flower. Not one.  So, clearly I have limitations.  Can you make these instructions work? I would love to hear about it!

I recently got one of Martha’s daily emails, this one offering to teach me how to fold a t-shirt. I do not have a very good track record with folding. You might remember when Martha tried to teach me how to fold a fitted sheet and it did not go well. But a t-shirt? How … Read more →

I got one of Martha’s daily emails about a Grilled New England Seafood “Bake.” There’s something about New England in the summer…. I had to make it.  I was imagining myself on a rocky coast in front of a fire with the tide going out and the smell of salt water and seaweed in the air. Well, if I couldn’t really be there, at least I could pretend my dinner was from there.

Ready to bake

This fabulous little recipe is something you MUST make. I don’t say that very often, but I’m giving this one 100 stars.

You start with red potatoes. Martha says to use baby reds. I had regular reds, so I sliced them and parboiled them. The recipe does not say to parboil, but I just can’t see the potatoes getting done any other way, so definitely do that.

You put the potatoes on the foil. Then you add cod and shrimp and some sections of corn on the cob. Mix up some butter with garlic and dill (I melted the butter – Martha says to make it soft). Pour that on top. Put some lemon slices on top. Seal up your packets and stick them on the grill for 12-14 minutes.

Ready to eat

Mine were perfectly done. Martha says to dump them out into a bowl. We just opened the packets up on our plates and ate right out of them. Oh, it was wonderful. I can see making this with other ingredients – throw in some clams or mussels or maybe a lobster tail that’s been halved.  Sigh. This is making me hungry all over again.  It was really, really good.

I got one of Martha’s daily emails about a Grilled New England Seafood “Bake.” There’s something about New England in the summer…. I had to make it.  I was imagining myself on a rocky coast in front of a fire with the tide going out and the smell of salt water and seaweed in the … Read more →

Faced with a zucchini in my vegetable drawer and no good ideas on how to use it, I turned to Martha’s site and ran a search for zucchini. I found a recipe for Risotto with Zucchini and Peas. I’ve made risotto with lots of different ingredients, but never zucchini. This was a basic risotto recipe, except you cook the zucchini in the pan first, then remove them before getting started with the onion, rice and then broth. You add the zucchini and peas in at the end.

I loved this recipe. I am on a quest to add more vegetables into our diet and sticking them in something fabulous like risotto is a great way to eat them without feeling cranky and deprived.  The risotto was creamy. The zucchini kind of melted into the background – you taste the peas more than it. I would use some water in place of some of the broth in this – it had a very strong chicken broth flavor. The kids weren’t around for this, but Mr. MarthaAndMe ate his happily. This has made me wonder what else I could add to risotto in the future.

Faced with a zucchini in my vegetable drawer and no good ideas on how to use it, I turned to Martha’s site and ran a search for zucchini. I found a recipe for Risotto with Zucchini and Peas. I’ve made risotto with lots of different ingredients, but never zucchini. This was a basic risotto recipe, … Read more →

Broccoli is one word I can never spell correctly! I always want to do one ‘c’ and two ‘l’s. Just because I can’t spell it doesn’t mean I don’t like to eat it though! It’s one of my favorite vegetables. I remember craving it when I was pregnant. And even when I was at a stage where I couldn’t eat cooked vegetables (they all had to be raw – my poor husband!) I still liked cooked broccoli.

I found myself with a nearly bare fridge one night and dinner rapidly approaching. I had just cleaned out the vegetable drawer which was in a distinctly non-Martha state – lots of rotten things hiding at the bottom.  There wasn’t much to choose from once the purge was over, so I turned to Martha for inspiration.  I got out Martha Stewart’s Cooking School cookbook and looked up every remaining vegetable I had left in the index, hoping for a brilliant idea. I hit the jackpot with broccoli.

I remember when the book came out and Martha did a segment on her show about cream soups that actually had no cream in them. Seemed a bit odd to me, but I never got around to trying it. The time was right.

Martha says to cook onions in butter then add flour and cook briefly. Add chicken broth and cook to a boil. This did make a very nicely thickened soup base that was very creamy looking. Next you add your broccoli to the soup and cook it in the soup, then use a hand blender to puree it.

This is totally different from how I’ve made broccoli soup in the past. I usually steam the broccoli then chop it up in the Cuisinart and add it to the soup. I like Martha’s method better for sure.

I did add some cream at the end (Martha said it was optional). I also felt the soup was a little bland, so I added some thyme and some grated white cheddar which livened it up a lot.

This soup had a smooth, creamy texture and a very nice fresh flavor to it. It was very easy and fast to make – you can get this done in half an hour or less. I was amazed that both kids ate it – and then asked for more! I almost fell off my chair. Broccoli is the one vegetable they will both eat, but even though they are 17 and 11, they normally insist on only nibbling at the tops of the florets and not eating any stem. This is a sneaky way to get them to eat more of it.  I’ll definitely make this soup again.

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Broccoli is one word I can never spell correctly! I always want to do one ‘c’ and two ‘l’s. Just because I can’t spell it doesn’t mean I don’t like to eat it though! It’s one of my favorite vegetables. I remember craving it when I was pregnant. And even when I was at a … Read more →

I love roast chicken. The way it smells when it cooks, the way the skin gets crispy, the white meat, and then picking at the remains at the end of dinner. The thing about roast chicken is that you put it on the table and you feel as though you’ve made a real MEAL. Martha has a recipe for what she called Perfect Roast Chicken, in Martha Stewart’s Cooking School cookbook.

You fill the cavity with some lemon slices, garlic and rosemary. You’re supposed to truss the chicken, but I had no twine!! Egad. Martha never runs out of twine.

The interesting thing about this recipe is the oven temp. Martha says to roast

Pan sauce

a 4 lb chicken at 450 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Usually I roast chickens at 350. It seemed really hot, but I have to say that it did work. The chicken got a bit dark on the top, however. It was very crisp and it did cook all the way through. The chicken was really, really moist, so I’m going to use this technique again. I’ve made chickens with lemon and garlic in them before, and as always, it doesn’t seem to flavor the meat at all as far as I can tell. That part is frustrating.

The family approved of this, although we had the usual squabbling about who was getting what type of meat. My son used to be a drumstick guy, but now he and his sister both  insist on white meat, as do I . Mr. MarthaAndMe is the only one who will eat the rest, so I either need to start making two chickens or make an additional chicken breast to go along with it.

Chicken and sauce

Next Martha says to make a pan sauce. You cook the pan drippings with white wine until reduced then add some butter. It was a quick sauce to whip up, but it was so thin and very greasy. I would much rather have gravy. No one was wild about this sauce.

Was this a perfect roast chicken? I wouldn’t call it perfect, but I would say it was darn good.

I love roast chicken. The way it smells when it cooks, the way the skin gets crispy, the white meat, and then picking at the remains at the end of dinner. The thing about roast chicken is that you put it on the table and you feel as though you’ve made a real MEAL. Martha … Read more →

This past season, Martha did a segment on what she carries with her when she travels. I always love seeing segments about Martha’s real life. One of Martha’s fave travel items is a Kindle. We’re taking a trip this summer and Martha convinced me to give Kindle a try.

I’ve had my Kindle several weeks now. First of all, I was surprised by how thin and small it really is.  It charges easily. It’s cute.

But how does it work? The first book I read on it was a travel guide.  Not so great. I think Kindle is nice for just plain reading, but with a book where I wanted to make a lot of bookmarks and notes, I found it tediously slow and not easy to use. My toggle button is not very loose and it’s a bit difficult to use.

I will take it with us on our trip because instead of having to pack 5 books to read, I can just bring the Kindle, which is definitely convenient. I was hoping I could load all my travel guides on it and just pull it out of my purse when I need to know where something is, but it’s just not convenient enough for that, not to mention most travel books are not yet available on Kindle.

And by the way, this little baby cost me $359. A lot for me, maybe not so much for Martha. I appreciated Martha’s recommendation, but I’m not wild about this yet. I’ll report back after the trip.

This past season, Martha did a segment on what she carries with her when she travels. I always love seeing segments about Martha’s real life. One of Martha’s fave travel items is a Kindle. We’re taking a trip this summer and Martha convinced me to give Kindle a try. I’ve had my Kindle several weeks … Read more →

This past season, Martha did a segment on what she carries with her when she travels. I always love seeing segments about Martha’s real life. One of Martha’s fave travel items is a Kindle. We’re taking a trip this summer and Martha convinced me to give Kindle a try.

I’ve had my Kindle several weeks now. First of all, I was surprised by how thin and small it really is.  It charges easily. It’s cute.

But how does it work? The first book I read on it was a travel guide.  Not so great. I think Kindle is nice for just plain reading, but with a book where I wanted to make a lot of bookmarks and notes, I found it tediously slow and not easy to use. My toggle button is not very loose and it’s a bit difficult to use.

I will take it with us on our trip because instead of having to pack 5 books to read, I can just bring the Kindle, which is definitely convenient. I was hoping I could load all my travel guides on it and just pull it out of my purse when I need to know where something is, but it’s just not convenient enough for that, not to mention most travel books are not yet available on Kindle.

And by the way, this little baby cost me $359. A lot for me, maybe not so much for Martha. I appreciated Martha’s recommendation, but I’m not wild about this yet. I’ll report back after the trip.

This past season, Martha did a segment on what she carries with her when she travels. I always love seeing segments about Martha’s real life. One of Martha’s fave travel items is a Kindle. We’re taking a trip this summer and Martha convinced me to give Kindle a try. I’ve had my Kindle several weeks … Read more →

Yesterday was our 20th anniversary. I don’t know how 20 years has passed. Because we’re taking a family vacation later this summer, we decided to have a low key celebration. This is distinctly un-Martha, but I ordered Mr. MarthaandMe’s favorite pizza for dinner. We never get pizza from here because it is so far, so it was a special treat for him.

Mr. MarthaandMe had flowers delivered for me. He tried to order Martha’s flowers from 1-800-Flowers. The site said that same day delivery was available, but it would not let him order them for the same day. So Martha apparently did not want to be part of our anniversary. I was a little disappointed – I would have liked to have seen one of her arrangements.

Our wedding cake

My big task of the day was the cake I made. Our wedding cake was a spice cake and it was decorated with flowers. I decided to make a little replica of it.

I used Big Martha’s Spice Cake Recipe with a few small changes. I didn’t have any mace and I used buttermilk instead of milk.

The next question was how to make a tiered cake when I didn’t have the proper pans. I used one regular cake pan, one medium Corning bowl and a ramekin. The sizes actually worked out quite well.

Once I had the cakes made, I needed frosting. I decided to use the Buttercream Frosting recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes. First you whisk

The layers

egg whites and sugar in a double boiler then you mix the heck out of it. Finally, you add butter and vanilla. I thought the frosting tasted a lot like butter, but it was ok.

I stacked the cakes first, then frosted them (a cheat, I know). I went outside and snipped flowers to decorate it with. I have

Buttercream frosting

to say, I think it turned out pretty well.

The cake tasted good, but not out of this world good. If I made it again, I would increase the amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. I thought it was a tad bland. It was moist though, so the buttermilk did its work.

It was fun to make a cake like this, especially since there was no pressure. It was just for the two of us (and kids) and if it didn’t turn out, then it didn’t matter. I think it’s pretty though and I’m proud of myself for attempting it!

Yesterday was our 20th anniversary. I don’t know how 20 years has passed. Because we’re taking a family vacation later this summer, we decided to have a low key celebration. This is distinctly un-Martha, but I ordered Mr. MarthaandMe’s favorite pizza for dinner. We never get pizza from here because it is so far, so … Read more →

Yesterday was our 20th anniversary. I don’t know how 20 years has passed. Because we’re taking a family vacation later this summer, we decided to have a low key celebration. This is distinctly un-Martha, but I ordered Mr. MarthaandMe’s favorite pizza for dinner. We never get pizza from here because it is so far, so it was a special treat for him.

Mr. MarthaandMe had flowers delivered for me. He tried to order Martha’s flowers from 1-800-Flowers. The site said that same day delivery was available, but it would not let him order them for the same day. So Martha apparently did not want to be part of our anniversary. I was a little disappointed – I would have liked to have seen one of her arrangements.

Our wedding cake

My big task of the day was the cake I made. Our wedding cake was a spice cake and it was decorated with flowers. I decided to make a little replica of it.

I used Big Martha’s Spice Cake Recipe with a few small changes. I didn’t have any mace and I used buttermilk instead of milk.

The next question was how to make a tiered cake when I didn’t have the proper pans. I used one regular cake pan, one medium Corning bowl and a ramekin. The sizes actually worked out quite well.

Once I had the cakes made, I needed frosting. I decided to use the Buttercream Frosting recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes. First you whisk

The layers

egg whites and sugar in a double boiler then you mix the heck out of it. Finally, you add butter and vanilla. I thought the frosting tasted a lot like butter, but it was ok.

I stacked the cakes first, then frosted them (a cheat, I know). I went outside and snipped flowers to decorate it with. I have

Buttercream frosting

to say, I think it turned out pretty well.

The cake tasted good, but not out of this world good. If I made it again, I would increase the amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. I thought it was a tad bland. It was moist though, so the buttermilk did its work.

It was fun to make a cake like this, especially since there was no pressure. It was just for the two of us (and kids) and if it didn’t turn out, then it didn’t matter. I think it’s pretty though and I’m proud of myself for attempting it!

Yesterday was our 20th anniversary. I don’t know how 20 years has passed. Because we’re taking a family vacation later this summer, we decided to have a low key celebration. This is distinctly un-Martha, but I ordered Mr. MarthaandMe’s favorite pizza for dinner. We never get pizza from here because it is so far, so … Read more →

I’ve never even considered making my own English muffins. I’ve never even seen a recipe for them. So when I came across Martha’s recipe in June Martha Stewart Living, I thought, “I’ve got to try this!” Multigrain English Muffins have all sorts of great ingredients, like whole wheat flour, rolled oats, wheat germ and flaxseed. I love whole grains.

I mixed up the dough and let it rise. It didn’t rise very much and I don’t know why – my water was the right temp, my yeast was not expired and it did proof well. A complete mystery.

I kneaded it and then cut out the muffins. The recipe says to make them 3 inches. That seemed really small to me, so I went with a bigger size – about 4 1/2 inches.

kneading

Then I let them rise again. Again, there was almost no change with the rising. The interesting thing about this recipe is you don’t bake them. You cook them on a griddle.  That was sort of fun and a really different technique to try. They cooked well and turned lightly brown and looked good, except for the fact that they were really, really thin.

Nicely browned

Cutting these in half to toast them was a challenge. It was almost impossible to slice them, but I did manage. There were not really any nooks and crannies to speak of once it was opened. They toasted well and tasted pretty good.  I don’t think I’ll be making these again – I’m pretty happy with Thomas’s multigrain English muffins! Much less work with a better final product.

toasted and buttered

I’ve never even considered making my own English muffins. I’ve never even seen a recipe for them. So when I came across Martha’s recipe in June Martha Stewart Living, I thought, “I’ve got to try this!” Multigrain English Muffins have all sorts of great ingredients, like whole wheat flour, rolled oats, wheat germ and flaxseed. … Read more →