Gaga for Martha

There's something a little fishy when Martha quotes Lady Gaga on her site. I guess the "you were born this way" message is truly a universal one if even the domestic goddess herself is catching the bug.

Martha's contributor, Robin Roffer, relates this message to the one espoused in her book, "The Fearless Fish Out of Water." In this, she interviewed successful professionals who, at times, felt like they were totally in the wrong proverbial pond.

I think there are some good messages in this article (which can be found at http://wholelivingdaily.wholeliving.com/2011/06/life-and-work-inspiration-from-lady-gaga.html). They are actually poignant for me as I struggle to finish up my med school secondaries (40 down!) Most importantly:

1. Use your differences as a way to attract people - well, this is a given. Half the essays I am writing are about diversity, which is hard when you're a white Jewish girl.

2. Find people that are different... just like you.

3. Cast a wide net (ackkk so many fishing puns!)

4. Practice the manta of "action, belief, courage"

I guess this all seems pretty obvious, but it's nice to have an affirmation to use now and again.

Pizza complete

Day 3: And we're done.

The sauce was as simple as heating up canned whole tomatoes with garlic and oregano. I baked the crust for a bit (425 degrees for around 15-20 minutes) before topping it with the sauce and tons of mozzarella. I added some basil for good measure as well.

This was delicious! And healthier than a normal pizza; using 1/2 whole what flour for the crust made it more of a pre-diabetic friendly option. Plus, I had left overs for lunch the next day!


Recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/314923/tomato-and-basil-pizza?czone=food/comfort-foods-center/comfort-foods-dishes&backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/pizza-and-pasta#slide_1

Ingredients

1/4 cup Simple Tomato Sauce
1 1/2 ounces torn fresh mozzarella
Fresh basil leaves
Basic Grilled Pizza Dough
Herb Oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions (note: I baked because I didn't have a grill handy)

Heat it up: Set up a grill with heat source, coals or gas, on one side over medium-high. Clean and lightly oil hot grill.

Stretch it: On a lightly floured work surface, stretch or roll 1 piece basic grilled pizza dough or 4 ounces store-bought dough into a 10-inch-long oval or other desired shape. Brush one side lightly with herb oil or olive oil and season with coarse salt and ground pepper.


Grill it: Using your hands, place dough, oiled side down, directly over heat source. Brush dough with herb oil or olive oil and cook until underside is lightly charred and bubbles form all over top, 1 to 2 minutes. With tongs, flip dough and cook until lightly charred, 1 to 2 minutes. Slide dough to cooler side of grill.


Top it: Top with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil; cover grill. Cook until cheese melts and toppings are heated through, 2 to 5 minutes.

Olive oil plus

Pizza step two is short and sweet: herb olive oil. Martha suggested a rosemary-garlic olive oil, I substituted tarragon and thyme instead (too lazy/cheap to go out and buy rosemary when I had these lying around).

Heated on the saucepan for a few minutes, the result was YUM and smelled like perfection. I rubbed this over the pressed dough, which I then baked in the oven.

But we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how the whole thing turned out! (Can you tell I just watched Harry Potter? I am in a suspenseful mood right now.)

Pizza from scratch

In this installment of Alex tries new things, I am going to spend the next three days running through Martha's basic pizza recipe. Of course, this did not actually TAKE me three days, but because it required three different recipes, I thought this would be the best way to organize things. That, and I'm super lazy right now because I have submitted (count them) 33 medical school applications. Vomit.

Day 1: The crust

I bought yeast. Never thought it would come to this. Does this mean I'm a real baker now? Martha? What do you think?

Well, I feel special. For the crust, I simple took a cup of hot water, added a packet of the quick yeast from the grocery store and included 2 teaspoons sugar. I let this sit for 5 minutes, per Martha's instructions and then added in flour - 1:1 ratio of whole wheat and white.

After mixing this together and getting most of it on my hands as I kneaded it, I managed to scrape some off to sit for 45 minutes. After this, I "punched" the dough (great way to get out my anxiousness) and let it sit for another 30.

Miraculously it worked, and I was left with a nice, fluffy dough circle.

Tomorrow: special olive oil. Don't let the anticipation kill you!'

Recipe: (Martha is my grlll) from http://www.marthastewart.com/333200/basic-grilled-pizza-dough

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 packet (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl and brushing
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 1/4 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

Directions

1. Pour 1 cup warm water into a medium bowl; add sugar and sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy, 5 minutes.
   
2. Whisk oil and 1 teaspoon salt into yeast mixture. Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until liquid is incorporated (dough will appear dry). Turn out onto a floured work surface. Knead until dough comes together in an elastic ball, 2 minutes. Transfer to an oiled medium bowl; brush lightly with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; set in a warm, draft-free place until dough has doubled in bulk, 45 minutes. Punch down dough and cover; let rise another 30 minutes.
   
3. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Let rest 15 minutes before using.
   

Oatmeal, crispy

In case it isn't obvious, I <3 oatmeal. It's good for you, it makes great cookies, it is a perfect breakfast... it's just all around fabulous.

I found a really simple recipe to maximize one of my favorite things to make delicious, crispy cookies in greater than or equal to 20 minutes.

Using Martha's Oatmeal Crisps recipe as a rough guide, I mixed together 4 tablespoons of vegetable margarine, 3 tablespoons of agave syrup and 2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour. Once these were suitably stirred (made easier by the fact that there is no air conditioner in the kitchen and it was approximately 300 degrees in there - I'm surprised they didn't begin to bake on their own) in 2/3 of a cup of steel-cut oats. I placed these on parchment on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 degrees for around 15-20 minutes.

These are delicious. The only sad part was that there weren't that many of them! I'm going to have to triple this next time... that's how much I love oatmeal!

Money money money

In honor of my Friday night secondary med application and stomach ache pity party, here's an article on Emotional Spending from our good friend Martha Stewart: http://www.wholeliving.com/article/using-your-money-properly.

Once this is all over, I am going to use what remains of my measly savings and buy an open-ended ticket to Cancun and a giant Tory Burch bag in which to carry nothing but bottles of tequila, SPF 75+ and trashy gossip mags.

Gemini

Who knew Martha had horoscopes on her website?! This is a perfect day for and easy, non-work intensive post as inferno outside (over 100, 45% humidity, weather warnings), I have a mound of secondaries (read: 17+) to write this week and I volunteered Monday and Tuesday (I'm a REALLY good person). 

Of course, it's not super encouraging when your horoscope reads like an add for Prozac...

"July and August will usher a fair amount of worry into your sphere"... NO S&@% SHERLOCK! At least it's accurate? Deep breaths, deep breaths.

Gemini (May 21 to June 21)

July and August will usher a fair amount of worry into your sphere. Though it may seem counterintuitive, proceed with the most open heart you can muster. Only from a place of honesty can you safely get involved without putting your emotions -- and psychological well-being -- at risk.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Your Monthly Horoscope

'bonzo pasta

There's nothing like whole wheat pasta, tomato sauce, lots of garlic and basil. Especially when I need a carbo-boost and know it's going to be a long night.

Adding a smattering of chickpeas into the mix included a healthy touch to a standard recipe. I wasn't the BIGGEST fan of the chickpea/pasta combination, but I'll sacrifice some odd texture for some vitamins for the time being.

I also love shell pasta because it reminds me of the beach and has a great texture. Of course, I haven't been to the beach in ages, but a girl can dream... right?

Recipe: (Martha Stewart - http://www.marthastewart.com/316437/pasta-with-chickpea-tomato-sauce)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
3 cups cooked chickpeas
Coarse salt
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 sprig fresh basil, plus torn leaves for garnish
12 ounces medium pasta shells
Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds (do not brown). Add chickpeas, season with salt, and cook 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until sauce has reduced slightly, 20 minutes. Add basil, and cook 5 minutes more. Remove basil.

While sauce is cooking, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain pasta, and return to pot.

Add sauce to pasta, and toss. Serve with Parmesan, and garnish with torn basil.

Passion, flower-style

Isn't this flower incredible? If I could make an outfit out of it, I would. In fact, I still might.

Given the stress of my life lately, I could really use a natural relaxer. This is where passionflower comes in. Even though its name implies it would only hype me up, passionflower, as Martha explains, tends to calm, not excite. As she writes, "passionflower can be used anytime of day to settle a racing mind or at night to set the stage for a peaceful sleep."

It can be used as a tea made from the dried leaves or flowers or taken in a teaspoon of warm water. Now, I need to hunt down some passionflower at my local health food store and relax away. This is shaping up to be my new source of peace against the tide of madness. After all, everyone needs a moment of zen every now and again.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Herb of the Month: Passion Flower

Helpful magnets

It's about time I put something else on my fridge other than a Dominos magnet constantly reminding me of my favorite food ever: a large pizza with pineapple.

Martha had some handy templates that are perfect for baking, cooking, candy-making (if I ever get around to that) etc. etc. etc. It was as simple as buying magnet paper and printing on it. I just cut out the shapes and voila! Perfect guides for my everyday kitchen needs.

Good work, Martha. Good work!

http://www.marthastewart.com/271961/cooks-helpers?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/kitchen-shortcuts-and-timesavers#slide_4

Peanut butter + brownies

So mine don't look anything like this. 

These are two of my favorite things. How could you go wrong with them? Today, I answered that: by using Splenda! And not enough of it.

I chose Martha's Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies. They looked delicious, and I have had such success with sugar substitutes and wheat flour. I made the following substitutions:


FOR THE BATTER

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for pan - substituted vegetable margarine
• 2 ounces good-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped - substituted cocoa powder
• 4 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped - same
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour - substituted Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder - substituted creme of tarter and baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar - substituted Splenda
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

FOR THE FILLING

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted - substituted vegetable margarine
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar - substituted Splenda
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

So, these were NOT good. They were essentially flavorless - I blame the Splenda. I used slightly less because usually it's a bit sweeter, but I guess not in this case.

This has inspired me to retry, maybe with the real deal this time. They had so much promise!

Cobb done right

I love Cobb salads, probably because they are really bad for you. Loaded with cheese, eggs, bacon... they have it all! The term "salad" becomes really misleading when what you're eating is mostly meat and cheese.

I tried a healthier version today, Martha's Lighter Cobb Salad. I substituted Morning Star fake bacon (which turned out to be COMPLETELY delicious) and omitted the turkey and the egg.

The dressing was WOW and the salad was filling. I have plenty of leftovers for my healthy lunch tomorrow. So all in all... a success!

Recipe: (Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

3 slices bacon
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (2 ounces)
Coarse salt
2 heads Boston lettuce (1 pound total), torn into bite-size pieces
6 ounces deli turkey, cut into bite-size pieces
4 plum tomatoes, halved, seeded, and diced
4 large hard-cooked egg whites, chopped
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced

Directions

In a medium skillet, cook bacon over medium, turning occasionally, until crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate, and drain. Break into bite-size pieces.

In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, and vinegar. Gently fold in blue cheese; season with salt, and set dressing aside.

Place lettuce in a large bowl; arrange bacon, turkey, tomatoes, egg whites, and avocado on top. Serve salad with dressing alongside.

Cook's Note

To maximize the impact of a modest amount of blue cheese, fold it into a creamy dressing (with low-fat buttermilk and light mayo) instead of sprinkling it on top.

It's really a good thing

After working for 14 hours straight today, the last 6 for free in the Emergency Department, I needed a pick me up. I love volunteering, but it can definitely be frustrating and hard, especially in an environment where everyone is stressed out and sick.

There is nothing like Bill Clinton to pick me up after a long, hard day. Martha has a fantastic interview with the man himself on her website, entitled "Bill Clinton on Generosity." My favorite part, and the link to the whole thing, is below:

If you had one piece of advice to give to the world as it relates to helping others, what would it be?
We live in an interdependent world with many benefits, but it is unequal, unstable, and unsustainable. Even good government and a strong economy can't solve all the problems. Citizen action is also essential, and everyone can give something that will make a difference. All you have to do is try. You'll see that it's not as hard -- and it's much more fulfilling -- than you might have thought.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Bill Clinton on Generosity

http://www.wholeliving.com/portal/site/bs/menuitem.539e07eb5922505c713a64103373a0a0/?vgnextoid=7af90e2b1c45a110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

Work is a pain in the...

After a lovely trip to my friend's cabin in Vermont last weekend, I have been left pretty sore from the long car ride. In particular, I have some pretty annoying leg cramps that are partiuclarly painful.

I found a Martha article that offered some words of advice: "Wipe Out Office Aches and Pains". I turned to the stretch meant for legs, figuring it would work on some pains caused by sitting for a long while.

I sat on a chair in my apartment and brought each knee in succession up to my chest and held for 15 seconds or so. When I released, I definitely felt some tension fading away in my legs, a welcome reprieve from the tightness. I'll have to try this while I'm working as well!

Instructions:

LegsMore than any other part of the body, the legs are built primarily for movement. Sitting and keeping them still all day impedes their function, according to Orr, restricting circulation to the lower extremities and causing your hip, knee, and ankle joints to become stiff and inflexible.

Solution: Knee into chestWhat it does: Stretches the hamstrings, hips, and lower back.
How to do it: Sit tall at the edge of your chair with legs in line with your hips. Interlace your fingers behind your right thigh, and bring your right knee into your chest; hold it there. Keep your spine tall as you inhale for a count of five, then exhale for a count of five. Take five breaths. Switch sides and repeat.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Wipe Out Office Aches and Pains

Oatmeal for your face

My only memories of using oatmeal as a skin product are traumatizing and involve one horrible case of the chicken pox, my best friend who I infected and a communal oatmeal bath that might have soothed a little, but still left me feeling itchy.

Thankfully, those days are in the past. Now, oatmeal is my daily breakfast (the instant kind, of course), but I haven't found a medicinal purpose for it in years.

Martha is bringing it back, however. In her section on "Crazy Beauty Tricks That Really Work," she touts the powers of oatmeal: soothing, anti-inflammatory, rich in beta glucan a "soluble fiber that creates a tin, moisture-retaining film on the surface of the skin."

I decided to give it a try. She recommended that I place whole oats in a washcloth, secure with a rubber band and wet with warm water. Then, I took the warm water, now cloudy and splashed it on my face. I air-dried, per her instructions.

I might not have the chicken pox, but this definitely left me feeling moisturized and calmed from the stress of the day. Plus, now I smell like breakfast!

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Crazy Beauty Tricks That Really Work

SURPRISE!

So, I know it's been a few days. But I have an excuse... I swear! I decided to go home this weekend to surprise my dad for a belated father's day. Given the distractions of the weekend, I conveniently "forgot" Martha for a bit.

Perhaps the fact that I made a Father's Day T-Shirt using a Martha graphic will make up for it? I printed the design on iron-on transfer paper. I followed the instructions on the package and it turned out to be really easy! The shirt looks really cool... even with some notable In'N'Out stains on it.

The graphic, and some other adorable ones, can be found here: http://www.marthastewart.com/272480/retro-fathers-day-clip-art-labels?&backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/fathers-day-clip-art-and-templates#slide_4. Martha fo lyfe!