We got some news last week that an old friend and colleague of Adam’s had a stroke, and he’ll be in the hospital for a while. It was a shock; even though we hadn’t seen him in a few years, it was hard to imagine this vital man in his 40s having such a major health crisis. From what we hear the damage wasn’t as bad as it could have been, and we’re planning on visiting him this coming weekend. And so I’ve started doing the only thing I know how to do when there’s bad news: I’m making him a quilt.
Tag: martha stewart
This is Martha Stewart’s attic craft room.
We’ve been wanting to finish our basement since we moved into our house so we can both still have a playroom, still have a guest room, and have space for small humans whenever we start having them. We’re hoping to do this next year (the basement, I mean). But Adam’s not thrilled about moving his man cave into the basement (originally the perfect idea), so that leaves us scratching our heads a little. Then I saw the pictures of Martha’s attic craft room, and now I think the Orange Room should move up there. We have a walk-up attic, and if it could look even remotely like this I’d be in seventh heaven.
Last night Laura Ann and I went to Stitch Fest at Martha Stewart’s headquarters, a launch party for her new Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts. We had such a good time, and it was great to see demonstrations and displays of projects from the book. Plus, we met Martha herself. I wasn’t sure she would be there, but she was incredibly gracious. I won’t lie, though. I completely geeked out. Here are some photos.
The February 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Living featured a cupcake bonanza. So many different flavors, and I’ve been meaning to make some for ages. So last night I decided Recipe-A-Day Week needed a dessert, and I made the Ginger and Molasses cupcakes because a) most of the others called for buttermilk, which I didn’t have on hand, and b) they seemed more interesting and sophisticated than my usual cakey goods.
These cakes were seriously delicious, like gingerbread, but mine sunk in the middle. The recipe calls for melted butter, which I don’t see often in cake recipes (usually it’s just softened). A couple of comments on the website addressed this, and I think I’d recommend beating the sugar and butter together for longer (like 5 minutes) to really whip them up.
The original recipe makes 26 cupcakes, so I halved it for my purposes. I’ve posted the halved version, you can find the original on the website.
Ginger and Molasses Cupcakes with Whipped Cream (adapted from Martha Stewart Living)
Makes 13
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So my plan for St. Patrick’s Day was to make Shepherd’s Pie and post about it. Unfortunately, I had such a splitting headache when I got home from work that I couldn’t concentrate. I’d bought ingredients very specific to this recipe from the February 2009 Martha Stewart Living, but at the time I couldn’t remember where the recipe came from for anything. I tore through every cookbook, magazine (I thought), and website I use looking for this recipe. But the ones I found all called for ground lamb or different cuts of lamb. And since I’ve never cooked a lamb shank before in my life, I had no idea how to adapt what I had for those recipes.
Our Martha, who art in Connecticut, hallowed be thy name….
I’ve been making the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe pretty much my entire life, and recently I started wondering if it really is the best. After I made them in bar form back around the holidays, I decided I was bored and the next time I made them I’d shake things up. So this will hopefully become a series of attempts to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. The criteria: must be moist, buttery, not too much chocolate, and still tasty on days 2 and 3.
This first attempt to go outside my cookie comfort zone is a Martha Stewart recipe. I do love Martha, and after a friend from grad school posted on Facebook that this was the best cookie recipe she’d ever made, period, I decided to start with these.
And they’re good. Really good. So good that even though they weren’t as soft and chewy as I’d like, I’m still eating them 3 days later. Fr some reason, the cookies just would not bake in my oven. The recipe says bake for 8-10 minutes, and mine took a good 12+ to bake through. I’m sure this changed the desired texture and consistency, and I honestly don’t know why. Maybe my butter was too soft, or the oven rack wasn’t quite right. At any rate, they are delicious regardless of changes to texture. I was apparently so excited about making them and consuming them that every picture I took is blurry. So forgive the artful shots. But these are much nicer than the Toll House cookies, and the biggest difference I see is less granulated sugar and more brown sugar. Adam thought these were the greatest thing since sliced bread, so they’ll be a hard act to beat.
Martha’s Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
I love Purl and Purl Patchwork. That’s where I took my sewing class last spring, and I read their blog The Purl Bee religiously for ideas and inspiration. That’s where I got the tutorial for my Christmas Table Runner-which will get finished for next Christmas. I also love Spoonflower, who printed that sound wave fabric for me.
Read more on A Wedding Idea So Cool I Wish I Could Steal It…