Martha Stewart Does NOT Do Baseboards-3/16/10

In the doctor's office yesterday, I randomly picked up an old copy of some Martha Stewart magazine. Suffice it to say, it was from September so it had been sitting in that office for awhile. At the beginning of the magazine was a short column that ostensibly was Martha's actual calendar for the month. Out of curiosity I read the entries. Yoga with Michael, I could believe. Laundering and storing away the summer weight blankets sounded like a totally Martha thing to do. But wipe down trim and baseboards, I ain't buying! There is no way Martha Stewart actually wipes down the trim and baseboards in her numerous homes. Pays someone else to do it, maybe, but Martha hasn't done that in years, if ever. Believe me, I like looking through cooking, gardening, and home design magazines as much as the next girl but not one of the meals, gardens, or homes featured in these magazines are the product of one very creative and extremely neat person. It's just not realistic. Martha Stewart has a team of people that do this stuff for her. So please, don't try to deceive the hard working average woman who by herself is trying to feed her family, take care of her yard, and clean her house into thinking Martha Stewart or any other icon of domesticity is some isolated Superwoman. That's just cruel.
I'm just amazed I finished dinner and a film crew visiting my house would have been vastly disappointed. I watched my friend's daughter, Joanie, and added a cute picture of her enjoying dinner. Let's just not guess what it looked like under her chair when she was done. Martha would not have approved.
Tonight's dinner was a big hit with the under-3 set but the adults really like it too. I made the Eggplant Parmesan Rolls with Swiss Chard and Fresh Mint on page 73 of this month's Bon Appetit. The best part of this dish was that it was totally vegetarian but you didn't even notice. The eggplant was meaty and the robust tomato sauce gave you flavor galour. I was a bit nervous that the chard would be to gritty for the girls but baked up in creamy ricotta, you hardly noticed the rougher texture of the chard. This was a great dish.
Dessert was actually more popular with the little ones than the adults. The Chocolate, Almond, and Banana Parfaits were a bit too rich for my style. I got through the first layer but had no desire to eat the second. The chocolate sauce was the kicker. I'd made the angel food cake from a mix and it was good but just too much. Eyrleigh and Joanie didn't get through their desserts either but they sure loved every bite.

Eggplant Parmesan Rolls with Swiss Chard and Fresh Mint-A-
Chocolate, Almond, and Banana Parfaits-B-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hambrick's-Party of Four!-8/1/11

Image
On August 24th of last year, I wrote a innocuous little post on this blog about my husband being a good sport about my creative culinary exploits.  And then....nothing....for over 11 months.  What happened, you may ask?  Well, the picture at left tells a rather significant part of the story but not the whole thing so I'll try to summarize here in case another 11 months go by before I post again.  (Okay, I will seriously try not to do that!)  The year 2010 started off on the wrong foot with the loss of our fourth pregnancy (Thankfully, pregnancy #2 had resulted in Eyrleigh!) at 18 weeks.  We were still reeling from the devastation of that event when my only sibling, my brother Ben, committed suicide at the end of February.  Then in April, Richard's company hired a new CEO and things professionally went south from there for him.  Since a blog is a public format and could therefor be accessed by anyone, including this individual, let me suffice it to say that after 9 years with th
Read more

I Don't Boil Lobsters...July in Review-7/31/09

Image
Gourmet's July recipes are in the bag and aside from the two recipes I refused to do, I made every recipe for the month. I suppose I should explain... I eat meat but I cannot actually kill the animal before I eat it. I suppose I should amend this statement. The mussels I brought home from the store said "Live mussels" but they sure didn't move or give any other indication that they were alive. Lobsters do, they move, they squirm, and whether you believe it's simply air escaping from their shells or not, they make a high pitched screaming sound when first put into boiling water. I just can't do that. The very thought of it turns my stomach and makes something I find fun, cooking, fill me with dread. So I didn't make the Boiled Lobster Dinner with Sesame Mayonnaise on page 54 or the Lobster Rolls with Lemon Vinaigrette and Garlic Butter on page 28. Everything else I made and here's my highs and lows from this month's issue. This month's best reci
Read more

He Even Eats Sardines-8/24/10

Image
My husband is a really good sport.  I was reminded on several occasions this week how many spouses, husbands in particular, would take no part in the experiment I've been blogging about for over a year and a half.  Some friends came to eat last week and the wife made a point to tell me her husband did not eat vegetables.  He's a great guy but I'm really glad I'm not married to him.   I couldn't handle a picky eater.  And I'm 100% sure a picky eater could not handle me!    Another friend, after I told her what we were having for dinner, asked very incredulously if Richard would eat that.   Tonight I think I found Richard's least favorite food.  It's sardines.  I had to eat them as a kid so though I don't love them, I can eat them.  Richard took one bite of the sardine spread and asked what I had made him eat.   The recipe for Grilled Monterey Sardines with Lemon and Herbs in the To Big Sur, With Love article in this month's Bon Appetit called for
Read more