They say the first step on the road to recovery is admitting you have a problem. So here goes: Hello, my name is Kari and I'm a Marthaholic. I admit it. I don't know how it started. I am in no way a perfectionist. I'm more of a semi-perfectionist. Sure I want things done right, but if there's a shortcut, I'll take it. Just take a peek into my closets and drawers and you'll know this is true. Stash and Dash! Martha would faint if she saw our junk drawers (that's right...
drawers...with an s). I think of this whenever I wedge my hand into one and try to mash down whatever it is that won't let me open the drawer past 2 inches. But I'll clean that out another time. I mean, I'm not
Martha for crying out loud...I
know I'm not. My brother and sister would have you believe otherwise, though. I get the eye-rolls and the here-she-goes-again nods between the two of them as I mention that I am making a shark-shaped birthday cake for my nephew or painting a wall of horizontal stripes in my son's bedroom. Yes, I make a lot of things from scratch and do a lot of things myself. Not
everything, though. Homemade frosting, taco shells, table runners? Yes! Am I out harvesting wheat, hand-dying fabric, and forging my own cookware? No! And yet...could I? If given the opportunity, wouldn't I try doing all of those things? Yes, yes I would. And it's all because I saw Martha Stewart do it. She makes it all look so easy, so natural...like everyone's doing this, why not you? I mean, isn't everyone's calendar filled with to-do's such as "defuzz sweaters", "clean the washing machine's rubber seal", and "buy organic chicken feed". You have the time. In between doctor appointments and school schedules, there's time to depill your sweaters. And if you had taken the time back in the spring (like Martha advised) to depill them, wrap them in tissue paper, and nestle them in a cedar chest designed for only sweaters, you wouldn't have to risk wearing one of those lint-balled disgraces come autumn. It was one afternoon. Time well spent. And now look...people are embarrassed for you, really. Martha knows these things. Through her magazines, books, and tv/radio shows she is trying to teach us the "good things". Need a Halloween costume for your pet iguana? Martha's got a no-sew pattern for you. Want to know the best way to clean all of your electrical outlets? Martha knows just the solution. Hungry for pate brisee with pommes? That apple pie recipe is on her website. Sure, some might think she's overblown and pretentious. She does pronounce the
h in
herbs, but that's just good diction! In a world where we are constantly developing technology to do things for us, Martha is urging us to be more hands-on. Be a little bit more resourceful, more creative, more self-sufficient, more...Martha.
YOGURT PARFAIT with GRANOLA, RASPBERRIES, & CANDIED GINGER
(from Martha Stewart)
5 C. granola*
1 C. dried cherries; coarsely chopped*
2 T. finely chopped candied ginger*
6 C. low-fat Greek yogurt*
1 1/2 C. fresh raspberries*
Honey*
Mix together granola, dried cherries, and candied ginger. Spoon yogurt into a 1-inch thick layer in bottom of a 4-qt. trifle dish or if you must, a plain ole serving bowl. Scatter 1/2 cup raspberries over yogurt. Drizzle with honey. Sprinkle 2 1/2 cups granola over berries. Repeat layering once and end with a layer of yogurt. Mound remaining 1/2 cup raspberries in center of final yogurt layer. Garnish with thin strips of candied ginger and drizzle with honey. Serve immediately. Yields 8-10 servings.
*Admission...I did not husk or steel cut the oats used to make the granola, hand-pick and sun-dry the cherries, candy the ginger, ferment the bacteria to make the yogurt (and ultimately reduce its fat), grow the raspberries, or collect the honey by using a bee smoker on some hives I have out back. I WISH!! I found all of these ingredients at my local grocery store. And there is absolutely no shame whatsoever in buying store-bought....at least, that's what I keep telling myself...and it IS a "good thing".
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