Martha Mondays: Silk-dyed Easter eggs

Hello everyone!  I had the opportunity to pick this week's Martha Mondays project.  I thought it would be fun to try one of Martha's wonderful Easter egg creations featured on her Web site.  In particular, I've been wanting to try her famous silk-dyed Easter eggs.  I saw this project featured on her TV show last year, and it looked super easy.  Plus, you don't have to work with the messy dyes.

I cut up an old silk scarf that I never wear anymore.  I wrapped it around the egg, then wrapped a piece of an old white cotton sheet around the silk.  Then I boiled the eggs for 40 minutes, with a little vinegar added to the water.

When the eggs cooled, I unwrapped the silk.  I hoped for the best, but I'm afraid my eggs didn't quite turn out.  Maybe it was the scarf, or maybe I didn't let the eggs simmer long enough. 

I would like to try this project again next year with another silk scarf or tie to see if it would work better.  It's such a simple way to dye eggs.  Thanks to Martha and Me for letting me pick this project this week.

Martha Mondays: Chocolate marble quick bread

I love baking quick breads.  They are so simple and easy to make, and the results are almost always delicious.  So I was thrilled to try this week's Martha Mondays pick, Chocolate Marble Quick Bread with Ganache.

I usually have terrible luck with "marbled" recipes -- the swirls tend to just mush together.  But for this recipe, the batter was thick enough that it didn't all run together and it was easy to create the pretty "swirl" in the bread.  And the chocolate ganache frosting is a brilliant addition.  I ate more than a couple spoonfuls of the ganache all on its own.

My quick bread turned out a little dry, but I think that's because I don't have the right size pans.  Has anyone else noticed that all the bread recipes call for an 8 inch pan, when all I can find at the local stores are 9 inch pans?  I have the same problem with cake and pie recipes.  The recies always call for smaller pans than I can find at the store.

Anyhow, this was a fantastic recipe, and it was so much fun to make on a rainy day.  Thanks to Megan's Cookin' for the recipe.  Please visit Martha and Me to see how the other bloggers did with the recipe.

Martha Mondays: Maple granola

I took a hiatus from Martha Mondays because of the holidays, the blizzards and the traveling.  Now that I have the luxury of free weekend, I set aside some time to make this week's Martha Mondays project, chosen by Maryann and Stirring It Up with Meg.  This week's pick was a good one: Maple granola from page 24 of the February issue of Martha Stewart Living.

My husband and I love granola, so I was excited to give this recipe a try.  I've tried a few other granola recipes before, always with mixed results.  The most difficult part of making granola is trying not to burn it.  The coconut and nuts in the granola, plus all the sweetener, can turn a little too brown too quickly if I'm not watching it.

Martha's maple granola was pretty standard:  maple syrup, coconut, walnuts, brown sugar and nutmeg.  We ran out of olive oil, so we used grapeseed oil (a favorite of my husband's) instead.  I skipped the sesame seeds and added chopped dried pears, since we're still trying to get through a box of dried fruit my husband bought on a whim this summer. (He wanted snacks for his fishing trips.)  I made a stop at a local health foods store, hoping to find unsweetened coconut chips, but I couldn't find them.  So I just added sweetened shredded coconut.

This may be my new favorite granola recipe.  I loved the sweetness of the maple syrup.  I poured a little milk over the top, trying to replicate the picture in MS Living.  My one complaint is that this granola may be a touch too sweet for my taste.  But it's very possible that I may have measured something wrong.  The granola actually turned the milk a light tan color, I'm assuming from the maple syrup.

I'm going to file this one away in my recipe box, but make a note to maybe reduce the maple syrup and/or brown sugar a tad.  Loved this week's Martha Mondays pick!  Thanks for the challenge!

Martha Monday: Iced applesauce oatmeal cookies

Oh my! These iced applesauce cookies, a Martha Mondays pick from MaryAnn at StirrinItUp, turned out so good. I was tempted to eat all the cookie dough before I got a chance to bake them. And these cookies are healthy - no oil or butter, just chunky applesauce and one egg. I also added a mix of golden raisins and dried cherries we had up in our cupboard.

Funny story: I left these on the counter to cool, then left the kitchen to do some house cleaning. Every time I passed through the kitchen, I noticed there were fewer cookies on the counter. Two went missing. Then four. Then nearly half a dozen. Turns out, my husband was sneaking cookies while he watched his football game. I told him I still needed to ice them, and he said, "They don't need any icing." Then he grabbed a couple more.

Thanks, MaryAnn, for the great Martha Mondays pick!

Martha Mondays: Birdfeeders

Maybe it's because as I get older, I start to appreciate the simpler things in life. Or maybe it's because I'm proud of having my own backyard, or because my husband is an avid outdoorsman. But over the last couple years, I've developed a fascination with bird-watching.

We have several towering pine trees in our backyard, planted by an elderly couple who lived in the home for 40 years before selling it to us. The family had a summer home in the Ozarks, and every year, the husband planted a pine tree that he brought back from Missouri in his Iowa backyard. The pine trees look a little odd in our neighborhood of decidious oaks and maples. But they attract all kinds of birds, including the cardinal that appears in my profile pick. He and a female cardinal return to our backyard every spring and attempt to nest in our trellis. They always get scared off, however, either by our comings-and-goings or by the squirrels.

So I was thrilled to see this week's Martha Mondays assignment, picked by Brette over at Martha and Me. It's a homemade bird feeder, made from suet (beef fat) and birdseeds, pressed into a mold of some sort.

When I told my husband I needed to find a local meat locker to buy the suet, he asked, "Can't you just use lard?" After a quick Google search, sure enough, we discovered that lard is a suitable replacement for the beef suet in birdseed mixes, although I think the birds may still prefer the suet.

This was probably the easiest Martha Mondays project yet. I just heated the lard up in the microwave for 20 seconds, then mixed in the wild birdseed, unsalted peanuts and dried cranberries. (It was almost like making granola!) I pressed the gloppy mix into plastic cups that have been hiding in the back of our cupboards since our wedding reception (six years ago!). Then, as instructed, I stuck twine into the center and put the molds in the freezer over night.

I had to cut the plastic cup to release the frozen birdseed "feeder" inside. The end product looks "semi-professional," I think.

Unfortunately, it only took a few minutes at room temperature for the seeds to start falling off the feeder. Then I gave the twine a little tug, and the feeder collasped into pieces. I'm thinking these feeders need to be outdoors in the frozen temperatures to work. I plan to keep them in the freezer until it dips back to Artic temps here in central Iowa, then place them out on my clothes lines to see if the birds take a nibble.

On a funny side note, my birdfeeder project inspired my husband to make his own "green" bird feeder. It's made from an old peanut jar and a peanut butter lid. He got the idea from a recent issue of Workshop magazine.


Thanks for another fun project. I'm sure the birds will appreciate it, too!

Martha Mondays: Pasta with brussels sprouts

My husband thought I was goofy for trying a brussel sprouts recipe for Martha Mondays. We've never much cared for brussel sprouts. However, that may be because I've only tried to cook with frozen brussel sprouts. But recently, I read an article explaining that fresh brussel sprouts taste better than frozen, so I was willing to give these veggies another go.

I prepared all my incredients ahead of time, including bacon, garlic, shallots, sage, chicken broth and olive oil. The recipe was a little time consuming for me, with all the chopping and measuring. But the brussel sprouts smelled great as they were cooking in the bacon fat. I also loved the smell of the sage.

I have to admit, this recipe may have changed my mind about brussel sprouts. The pasta turned out beautiful. It would definitely impress at a dinner party. And I couldn't stop eating it. There was something addicting about the combo of sage, bacon and pasta.

Don't the Parmesan cheese and bacon look delicious?

As much as I liked it, however, my husband still couldn't warm up to the brussel sprouts. So I guess I probably won't be making them again. But I sure enjoyed the recipe. Thanks to Pru at My Life: Pru Singer for picking this week's project. Please visit Martha and Me to see how the recipe turned out for the others.

Martha Monday: Chili

This week's Martha Mondays pick by Megan at MegansCookin is a great one: Martha's chili in the October issue of Martha Stewart Living.

As much as I loved the article, however, I just couldn't bring myself to make the recipe. My Midwest taste buds can't handle all the chilies, onions and garlic in the recipe. Plus, I absolutely adore my husband's chili. There are certain recipes I just don't try, because he's pretty much perfected them to our liking.

So I asked my husband to make his chili in honor of Martha Mondays. He even wrote the recipe down (without me asking him to do it), so he could share his "secret" with the world.

If you can't read his handwriting, here's our favorite chili recipe:

• - 1 lb. ground beef
• - 1 c. coarsely chopped onion

Brown the ground beef and onion together, then partially drain off the fat. Then add:

• - Two 28-ounce cans of whole tomatoes
• - 1 tomato can full of water
• - 1/1-2 Tbls. chili powder
• - 1 Tbl. beef bouillon
• - 3 Tbls. brown sugar
• - One-half 16-ounce can of kidney beans
• - 1 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce

Let simmer over stove until ready to eat.

Fun Iowa fact: Tone's spices are made in nearby Ankeny, Iowa. When we travel to Ankeny for shopping, we can smell what spices Tone's is working on that day (oregano is one of the strongest scents).

I like to add a little cheddar cheese and Frito "croutons" to the chili. My husbands recipe is a nice balance of spicy, hot and sweet. And I love the whole crushed tomatoes.

Please visit the Martha and Me blog to see how the other members prepared their chili.

Martha Mondays: Vanilla apple cider

I had the honor of choosing the Martha Mondays assignment this week, and I decided on the warm apple cider recipe in the October issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine.

I can't get enough of apple cider this time of year. I'm lucky to live relatively close to an orchard with an old-fashioned apple-cider press. Deal's Orchard in Jefferson sells their apple cider in Hy-Vee and Fareway stores in central Iowa. The cider is so good, especially served cold. But I usually warm up a cup of cider in the microwave, with a little brown sugar and cinnamon mixed in, when the weather turns chilly.

So I was looking forward to making a batch of spiced apple cider on the stovetop for a change. I found the nutmeg pods and vanilla pod called for in the recipe at a local spice store near my office. Whole nutmeg and vanilla pods aren't available at my small-town grocery store.

The cider smelled wonderful as it simmered on the stove. The little vanilla seeds floated within my favorite mug.

But it looks, and tastes, even better with the fresh whipped cream. I added brown sugar and vanilla to the whipped cream to match the flavors in the cider. I couldn't find walnuts or honey in my pantry, so I used pecans and maple syrup.

This cider was so rich, I couldn't finish the whole mug. But I enjoyed the combination of cool whip cream and hot apple cider. It almost reminded me of apple pie a la mode. Made me think of another local orchard that offers cider shakes during the fall. I might have to drive over to that orchard and give those shakes a try.

Can't wait for next week's challenge on Martha and Me!