On May 22nd, I started a little something I call The Me n’ Martha Project. I will attempt to do a recipe every day from Martha Stewart’s cookbook Martha’s American Food: A collection of our nation’s most treasured dishes from coast to coast.
I started out posting these on my facebook page, which is why so many “days” are posting all at once, because today I’m on Day 13. I’ve been learning a lot and trying new things, which is why I want to share my Martha adventures here on this blog.
So you might be asking “Hasn’t this been done before? Aren’t you just copying another blogger’s idea?” Well, yes and no. Just as I’m often inspired by a great recipe, I’m also inspired by great ideas! Sometimes with a recipe, I want to follow the blueprint step-by-step, and sometimes I want add my own flavor to the mix and come up with something new. When it comes to writing, copying someone else “step-by-step” is more commonly known as plagiarism and that’s not cool, not cool at all!
Julie Powell had a great idea that became a best selling novel and a hit movie. However, her style is more in the genre of what’s commonly (and perhaps, insultingly) known as “chick-lit.” Julie and Julia: My Year Of Cooking Dangerously, tells an intensely personal story about the author’s struggles to follow through on a mission that’s very important to her in the midst of dealing with a job and a life she’s not entirely satisfied with – and through Julia Child’s masterpiece, finds herself along the way.
The Me n’ Martha project is centered around the cooking because for me, the food is the thing. In some ways, yes, it is about my life – but that’s because cooking is my life! But I’m in my forties and I’ve been around the block many times and back again, and so I’ve long since found myself. I just love cooking and I love Martha Stewart and that’s what this project is all about.
I chose this book because I find it unique and eclectic. It’s the chance to take a road trip across America without leaving your kitchen. Why Martha Stewart? Because she’s an American Icon, but even more important, she’s a true master of the craft of cooking and a great teacher, and in my opinion the heiress apparent to Julia Child’s throne. Just because I completed culinary school, it doesn’t mean I know everything there is to know about the art of cooking, in fact, there’s something new to learn everyday. Martha Stewart is one helluva mentor and I’m lucky to have her, even if there’s a good chance we’ll never meet in person…through her recipes, I can let her into my life and my kitchen and I want to share that with all of you! However, while I go into detail at times on the techniques I’m using to create Martha’s dishes, I won’t be sharing the recipes from the book, because they’re not mine to share. I make a point of citing the section and page of the book I’m on with each recipe, and I strongly suggest if these meals make your mouth-water you invest in the book and follow along with me. When I go off a little on my own and add my own twist to a recipe, I’m happy to share my own recipes with my readers.
So I hope you join me on this culinary journey while we explore our nation’s most treasured dishes, Martha-style…I think it will be a Good Thing!
