Day 17 - Back at Home

I'm happy to say that I am back at home. My Living Like Martha project can officially resume.

I bought the following Martha craft kit: Barnyard Balloon Making Kit By Martha Stewart Create last weekend and I hope to make it for my toddler tomorrow.

For dinner we ate at the in-laws and I made some broccoli with cheddar sauce to go along with a pasta dish my mother-in-law made.

I went shopping and got some organic produce for dinners this week. I'll be cooking up a storm.

Day 15-16: Traveling

I've been in Austin at a business retreat the last few days, so I haven't really fully lived like Martha. I have been eating some great food, that I hope to recreate when I get home. In particular I had for lunch today some corn and green chile soup. Delicious.

Yesterday I ate some roasted tomato basil soup and vegetable enchiladas.

I'm hoping to put them in my upcoming cookbook - From Field to Table.

Will post recipes soon.

Day Fourteen - New Craft Supplies

It's been two weeks since I challenged myself to Live Like Martha. It's inspired me to cook more meals from scratch, to try to get organized and to spend less time watching TV and more time crafting and reading. I'm hoping that in the coming weeks I can spend more time getting my house in order, especially my office.

Today I went out and bought Martha Stewart craft supplies so that I have the tools on hand to make beautiful craft projects. Here's what I bought: precision scissors, hole punch, heart-shaped hole punch, craft glue, glue pen, glitter set, bone folder, craft knife (xacto), self-healing craft cutting board, black-eyed Susan crepe paper flower kit.

I'm looking forward to making some glitter crafts and making the flower kit. I'm thinking I'll keep the flowers in either the living room or kitchen. The crepe paper roses are on the dining room table.

Recipes
For dinner I made black bean quesdillas with red & yellow peppers. This is a quick & easy, healthy meal.

1 tbs. olive oil
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/2 large red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tbs. sliced black olives
3 plum tomatoes, diced
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
2 tbs. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
4 large flour tortillas

Saute the peppers, onion & garlic in olive oil until soft. Stir in olives, tomatoes, red wine vinegar and oregano. Place 1/4 bean mixture onto half of tortilla, top with shredded cheeses. Place quesdilla onto pre-heated panini press. Cook until tortilla is lightly browned and cheese is melted.

Reading
Martha's blog - http://www.themarthablog.com

TV
Watched old episode of Martha. I'm looking forward to making John Barricelli's Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies from last week's show.

Day Thirteen - Rose Craft Project

Craft Project

Today I worked on my first "real" Martha Stewart craft project. I made a crepe paper rose, only 5 more to go. I think it turned out really well, but it was slow going. It took forever to really figure out how to get the floral tape just right so that it would hold those petals in place.

I got this craft kit at Wal-Mart - it was on sale for only $5. I might just have to buy another package so I can have some flowers for both my office and the dining room.

There are directions on Martha's site so you don't really need the kit. Check it out here.

Food
Tonight I took my husband out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant that we had never been to before. I had a great pasta dish with portabella mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic in a garlic cream sauce. I'm going to have to try and recreate the sauce it was delicious!

TV
Watching today's show about planting trees. I love the fact that you can watch full episodes from your computer. While out of town next week, I'm going to take advantage of that feature to keep up with my daily Martha goals.

Reading
Instead of reading a book or magazine today I'm reading articles on MarthaStewart.com. I'm searching for easy craft projects that I can do this coming week.

Here are a couple crafts I'm thinking of making:
Magazine Holder
Beach-Towel Tote Bag
To-Do List Luggage Tag
4th of July Ribbon Stars

Day Twelve

So far I haven't done nearly as many projects as I had hoped. I just haven't found time ... maybe I need to sleep less so I have more time. I've heard Martha say she only sleeps 4 hours a night ... if I could do that then I'd have 2-3 extra hours to craft, clean and organize! I'm not sure how my body or mind would put up with that little sleep!

On to today's activities:

Food & Recipes
Black Bean Mexican Pizza
1 can black beans, drained
1 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. cumin powder
3 cloves pressed garlic
Dash of hot pepper sauce
Pizza dough
1/2 - 2/3 cup salsa
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
4 oz shredded monterey jack cheese
1 red pepper diced
1/4 cup green onions, sliced (can substitute red onions diced)
Small can sliced black olives

Preheat oven to 425. Put pizza dough in oven for 7 minutes. While dough is cooking place first 5 ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. When dough is lightly cooked take from oven and spread bean mixture evenly over crust, then spread on a thin layer of salsa. Top with cheeses, red pepper, onions and olives. Bake until cheese is bubbly and crust has turned golden brown.


TV
Watched yesterday's show and have been inspired to learn more about beekeeping - to bad it's a little impractical. I loved the "snap" shirt idea. I think I might go to the fabric store this weekend to try it.

Projects
Starting on my crepe paper roses.

Day Eleven

So today was a very un-Martha like day. I didn't do any projects or really make any food worth mentioning ... but tomorrow is a new day!

Day Ten

Today my sister declared that I need a professional organizer to make order out of my chaotic office. So I've decided that I need to button down the hatches and bring a little Martha Stewart to my home office. I have unsuccessfully tried to clean and organize my office a number of times and in the end I only succeed temporarily. So I'm ordering Martha Stewart's Good Things for Organizing. I'm also going to read an article a day from the Organizing section of MarthaStewart.com. With a little Martha inspiration I know I can make my office more organized.

Food & Recipes
For breakfast we had some yummy Orange French Toast. To make it you use orange juice and orange liqueur (Triple Sec or Cointreau) with the egg instead of cream.

For dinner I made
Caramelized Onion Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Yellow Pepper

Ingredients:
2 Large Sweet Onions, thinly sliced
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, sliced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
Portabella mushrooms
16 oz. ziti or rotini
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
Parmesan-Reggiano Cheese
Pine nuts

In large skillet, heat oil from sun-dried tomatoes over medium-high. Add onions cook about 20 minutes until onions are very soft and starting to brown. Add pepper and mushrooms and cook for 10-15 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes and vegetable broth. Cook until liquid starts to thicken, add balsamic vinegar. Serve onion mixture over pasta and top with a generous helping of cheese and pine nuts.

Variations:
I like to asparagus, roasted garlic, zucchini or roasted red pepper depending on what I have on hand.

Martha has a Caramelized Onion Pasta I'm going to try next time her recipe has only a few ingredients and uses thyme as the primary seasoning. Check it out here

Reading
Old issues of Martha Stewart Living looking for organizing projects for my office.

Projects
None today.

TV
TIVOed episode of Martha's Garden Week.