Classic Oatmeal Cookies (con raisins)

Feeling a little nervous and getting flashbacks of the nightmares of cooking 6 recipes a day back in 2009, I decided to give myself a break and re-start this project on the simple side.  I have a huge sweet-tooth so naturally I went to the "Cookies and Candy" section of the cookbook to find my first recipe.  Truth be told, I'm not ready to make Roast Poussin With Prunes and Thyme quite yet.  Later, my friends!  Much later after I've made all of the things I want to make.  Anyway, I digress as usual.  So, I chose the good ole' recipe of Classic Oatmeal Cookies (page 507).  The hardest decision with regards to this recipe was raisins or chocolate chips?  I went with raisins (I know, I know).

I haven't been baking much, and by "much" I mean not at all except if it comes in a mix and is sold on the shelves of Trader Joe's.  I wasn't really in the groove, and it was around 8:50 pm when I started baking.  To add to the drama, my largest mixing bowl was (and still is, embarrassingly enough) sitting in our backyard covered in dried mud.  The Golden Retriever rolled in a mud hole after a rain storm, and the kiddos used said mixing bowl to fill up with clean water and wash the Golden Child.  I have considered walking the few steps out the back door, picking up the bowl off the ground and running it through the dishwasher about ten times, but I haven't done so.  TMI.  So, I had to mix the cookie batter in two separate, smaller bowls which was irritating.  It wasn't my night.

I overcame these hardships, mostly got rid of my crappy mood and baked a few dozen cookies.  They were tasty when warm and straight out of the oven, but they turned to stone when cooled.  The family wouldn't even eat them during the next few days which was a sure sign that this recipe was not going to  be a fam favorite.  Outcome wasn't great, but the recipe was completed on 6/13/12 at 9:08 pm.

Ease of baking: 3 (1 being easiest, 10 being hardest)
Tastiness: 3 (1 being not tasty, 10 being scrumptious)

Take care,

Melissa

WHOA...3 Years GO By Fast!!!!

I'm sure most of you have given up on me, and I don't blame you.  First I began the journey to cook 1,100 recipes in 1 Year (I was insane!) starting in August 2009 with "Project Melissa & Martha," and by October 2009, with almost 80 recipes completed, I ended my relationship with Martha Stewart.  She was way too high maintenance for me.  I was in my final year of graduate school, and I couldn't stay committed to the project.  THEN I decided to begin "Project Melissa & Ina"- a much easier cookbook, way less recipes.  I failed miserably at that attempt, as well.  Kind of embarrassing, yes.  Truthfully, I had the best intentions, but I took on more than I could handle.

Well, let's flash forward almost 3 years to June 2012.  That was quick!  Today I found my old "Project Melissa & Martha" blog on the web, just sitting there in the nothingness of the internet.  I read through my posts, looked at the pictures of all the recipes I completed, and I knew I had to finish the project.  I fell in love all over again and am going back for more.  This time I'm a much smarter lady - 3 years will do that to you.  I know that I have a full plate with a family to take care of, a part-time job, a children's book to try to get published and a full-time teaching job to search for.  So, I am resurrecting "Project Melissa & Martha," but this time I'm going to cook recipes at my own pace.  No timelines, no deadlines.  Just leisurely cook my way through the remaining 1,020 recipes created by the ever-irritatingly perfect domestic goddess, Martha Stewart. (I only mean that in the nicest of ways, of course.)  I will bake, cook, sauté, broil, boil, stir and frost in my own time and take pictures and blog about it along the way.

I hope you'll give me one more chance to prove that I can do this.  I can't promise that every recipe will be a success, but I can promise it'll be an entertaining foodie ride!

Take care,
Melissa

To Continue or Not to Continue, That's the Question...

I'm going to be real right now, some real talk.  I'm having more than a difficult time continuing on with this project.  It's always on my mind, but when I finally have the time to cook, I feel too tired to do so or life gets in the way.  I made a commitment to do this project and to complete it, but it's not looking so hot right now.  I have a huge social studies unit plan (5-8 lessons within the unit) to complete, and I haven't even selected a topic yet.  My garage (aka the laundry room) still looks like a topographic map with mountains of clothing screaming to be washed.  Every room in my house (no joke) is in need of some serious cleaning.  My kitchen is still a disaster from last night's cooking. I'm not going to lie; I feel more than a little overwhelmed.  It's humbling and humiliating to admit that I "may" have taken on a project that I'm not capable of  completing at this time in my life with all of the other stuff my family and I have going on.  I got the word out about my project to help motivate me to complete it, and now public humiliation isn't even enough to keep me on track.  I'm only human, blah, blah, blah....

I'm a big believer in signs, and I'm looking for one right now.  One that will tell me it's worth it to keep my life in this constant state of chaos for a project that I created myself and am pressuring myself with every second of the day.  I don't want to be a failure or a loser; that's the last thing in this world that I want.  Maybe I should have chosen a cookbook with less recipes?  Maybe I still can?  The Barefoot Contessa cookbooks look wonderful and have 200 or so recipes, down to earth, real recipes for real people.  Maybe I should continue with one of Ina's cookbooks?  I could still keep my September 1, 2010 deadline and not be so stressed.  A few hundred recipes is way more realistic in one year than over a thousand.  What do you think?

By the way, here are my gingerbread cookie pumpkins...

Gingerbread cookies

MELISSA

Recipe Failed!

Last night I was in such a horrible mood that I went to bed at 9:00 pm, and obviously, I didn't cook a single thing.  I'm having a little bit of trouble getting back into the swing of things. It turns out that cooking new recipes every night is not so easy.  Imagine that. 

I went grocery shopping today, bought tons of butter, lots of molasses, some corn syrup, and more flour, but I somehow forgot to buy brown sugar, dark brown sugar and buttermilk, the three ingredients I really needed.  I hate it when that happens.

Anyway, I attempted to make butter crescents, a VERY buttery roll, but I failed miserably.  The yeast did not interact correctly with the milk and sugar, and I did not have another packet of yeast.  I must also report that I sadly wasted 2 sticks of butter in the process.  Not a good night for me.  Better luck tomorrow....


MELISSA

I'm Back!!!!

Hey, guess who's back?  Yup, Project Melissa & Martha is back on!  I have to admit that last week was glorious, not having to worry about cooking and buying pounds of butter on a daily basis was a relief.  However, I can't let myself down, and I am bound and determined to finish what I've started.  Let the cooking begin once again...

Tonight I made fruit crumb bars with granny smith apples.  It's like apple crisp but in bar form.  It called for (no shock here) almost an entire pound of butter.  The apple filling smelled so good while it was sauteeing; the smell of butter, brown sugar, apples and cinnamon should be bottled into perfume form.  I did have a little problem with sauteeing the apples and had to put a portion of the filling down the garbage disposal because it burnt just a tad.  I'll report back as to how it tastes tomorrow.

Fruit crumb bars

Off to fold clothes before bedtime...Goodnight!

MELISSA

My Apologies...

Hello!  Just got home after a very long day, and the last thing I feel like doing is baking or cooking something at 9:40 pm.  Sorry!  I always feel like a failure when I can't cook, but hey, at least I'm being honest!  Tomorrow is another day!  Carpe diem!

MELISSA

Pancakes & Syrup

It was one of those days when everything I tried to use was almost gone.  All of the sudden we were low on everything: dish detergent, laundry detergent, butter, milk, bread, you name it.  I hate that.  Don't you?  You go to the grocery store, and the next day it becomes more than obvious that you clearly didn't check things out closely enough to get the things you really needed.  Blah, blah, blah - I'll stop venting now.

Tonight I made one recipe, yeast-raised pancakes.  These bad boys took almost 2 hours to rise once the batter was completed, and they didn't smell very good.  By themselves, they didn't taste very good, but amazingly they were quite delicious when paired with tons of syrup and whipped cream.  I even put chocolate chips on top of the whipped cream for the kiddos.  It was more like dessert than dinner.

Yeast-raised pancakes

Anna & the pancakes

Shamus & the pancakes

I'm realizing more and more as this project continues how much easier my life would be with a KitchenAid mixer and that Williams-Sonoma shopping spree I keep fantasizing about.  Anyone have one they would like to sell to me for a reasonable price?  Know of anyone else who may have one to sell?  I'm totally serious because I can barely mix things with my hand-held, circa 1999, mixer.  Send me an email at projectmelissamartha@yahoo.com.  Goodnight!

MELISSA