A Word On Martha Stewart

Ok, guilty pleasure - I LOVE Martha Stewart.  It might be her craftiness.  It might be that she's a powerful, successful, independent woman who likes domestic things.

However, a small part of me really likes Martha Stewart because of her story is a comeback story.  She was in jail.  She paid her dues.  She picked herself up, dusted herself off, and kept doing what she loved and now, it's as if it never happened.  She did, in theory, what jailbirds are supposed to do - she went back to being a functioning member of society.  I realize she's definitely not your average american (or average jailbird), but I think she can really set the example here.

Anyhow - I LOVE her lines at Macy's, etc.  And I think when it comes to celebrity comebacks, she kicks Britney's ass!

Cooking Scallops

So, I have, for a long time, wanted to cook scallops.  I'm a huge seafood fan and I'm trying to get better at cooking.   I discovered quite a few great recipes that I was excited about.

However, I ran into one major roadblock.  Scallops, apparently, only stay good for ONE DAY, even in the freezer.  And, they are, well, expensive.  So it certainly wouldn't be good to buy said scallops and end up not using them.  That'd be a travesty.

I am usually grocery shopping either a) after work on the weeknights, when, if I haven't already eaten before going shopping, well, by the time I get home from grocery shopping, I'm not in the mood to cook.  Or, 2) if I'm going grocery shopping on a Saturday, I either a) have dinner plans or b) have hopes of making some kind of plans.  It's a pretty big commitment to buy scallops and then have to tell one's friends 'Sorry, I can't meet up, I gotta cook some scallops'.

Anyhow.  Finally, an opportunity to make some scallops arose.  It was Sunday, I was at the grocery store.  I wasn't planning on it, but all of a sudden, I saw an opportunity and decided to 'carpe diem' if you will.  I was at the seafood counter.  I didn't have dinner plans.  I most likely wouldn't make dinner plans. I took the plunge.

Scallops can be incredibly challenging to cook.  All of the cooking sites I checked out expressed that it was really important to not overcook scallops, yet, for many obvious reasons, one doesn't want to undercook seafood.  And, all of the sites also expressed that based on varying scallop size/pan size/heat-level of the oil, it was almost impossible to pin down an exact cooking time.   Ok.....

After all the to-do, I somehow was able to get it pretty close to perfectly.  It was one of my personal best cooking adventures to date.  Here's some 'after' pics.  (I forgot to take 'before'.  Your loss, I guess.)

Anyone else cook scallops?  Anyone have any great recipes to recommend?  I'm very open to suggestions.

Another Recent Purchase....

The Martha Stewart Orbital Spice Rack.

I recently bought a similar one for a friend (Kat) for her bridal shower.   I decided to treat myself to one as well -  I often find myself needing to pick up random spices from the grocery store.  This is the perfect solution to it!

I believe this is what some call 'a cry for help'.

How I Spent My Day....

So one of my new years resolutions (which I did not disclose on this blog) was getting more organized. This is one of those very non-specific non-measurable resolutions in the sense that even if I got just a teeny-tiny bit more organized, it would technically be a success because I would be "more" organized than before.

Regardless, I am aiming big with this resolution. I decided to de-tchotchkify my room - or at least cut them down significantly. It's an adult bedroom; it should look like one (stuffed animals withstanding). I also got rid of a lot of old clothes that I have an unfortunately habit of wearing if they are around. All in all, I am happy with the result. Now that I have decluttered my room, it is time to move on to cleaning out other aspects of my life, which will be a much bigger task.