Martha blogs too.

Martha Stewart recently devoted an entire show to blogs and their bloggers. She is having a contest. Submit your blog here!

Baa.

We bought one of our local 4-H Club's lambs from the state fair. It is being delivered today. I'm so excited. Oh the possibilities! Our deep freezer awaits. Here are some recipes I'm thinking of trying: Grilled Leg of Lamb with Pomegranate Molasses, Proscuitto and Cheese Stuffed Lamb Tenderloin, Grilled Lamb Chops With Tapenade Butter, Lamb Medallions With Black Olive Wine Sauce, and Moroccan Braised Lamb Shanks.

{photo from gettyimages}

Welcome Autumn.

We celebrated the First Day of Fall by decorating our front porch. I also baked a pumpkin pie, which we enjoyed after a walk with Nigel (the not so good dog) around the neighborhood. Parker (the good dog) stayed home, as he has a natural hatred for the felines and they tend to run rampant in the evenings. I also have plans to make pumpkin butter and cinnamon swirl bread sometime this week. Happy Autumn.

Hot off the presses!

I am so looking forward to these two books. They are both to be released in October. I have recently fallen in love with Domino Magazine. And am a longtime fan of Martha, of course. I absolutely love her baking book. It is so informative. I really learned a lot from it.

Mad Men.

We love this show. It is absolutely fabulous. The acting and writing are superb and the sets/clothing are to die for. The characters have so much depth. It is one of the best shows ever put on television in my opinion. If you aren't already watching, WATCH. You won't be sorry. Sundays @10 on AMC. Oh, and it just won an Emmy for best tv drama. So it's not just me.

Festival Frenzy.

It's a really fun time in East Tennessee. Both the Hola Festival and Greekfest are next weekend. You can sample latin foods from MANY countries, including Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, and Cuba. At Greekfest, you can tour the Greek Orthodox church, see traditional Greek dancing, try souvlaki, pastitsio, spanikopita and greek pastries. Both are great family events. If you are near Knoxville and looking for something fun to do next weekend be sure to check it out.

Fall Garden Time.

My poor little tired garden isn't looking so fine anymore. I have a few different kinds of plants that are still producing: kohlrabi, swiss chard, eggplants, carrots. I moved all my pumpkins out to the front porch and I'll be cutting down the cornstalks this weekend to add to my display of autumnal joy. Everything else has bitten the proverbial dust. And it is FINALLY getting cooler! So it's time to plant some fall crops. Here's the plan: shallots and early italian garlic (for a spring harvest), baby's leaf & Avon spinach, endive, arugula, red russian kale, pak choi joi choi (chinese cabbage), buttercrunch lettuce, and radicchio red surprise.

Freebies.

Check out these free desktop wallpapers from Cecily Ink. I like having the calendar on my desktop an awful lot.

S'mores in a Cupcake?

I made these for our family picnic two weekends ago. I had seen them on Martha a while back and wanted to try them, but hadn't gotten around to it. I thought they'd be a fun and portable dessert for a picnic. I also made an Italian Jam Tart (which I forgot to take a photo of, but I'll post the recipe sometime since it was sooooo easy and delicious.) Plus, I finally got to use the culinary torch Scott got for Christmas last year. (We just never seem to get around to creme brulee.) I used giant cupcake liners, so I only got about half the yield. Everyone ended up cutting them in half, but I thought they looked cooler in big form.
Makes 2 dozen

• 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 squares)
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• Marshmallow Frosting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Sift 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on low speed.
3. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir to combine; set cake batter aside.
4. Place graham cracker crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl; stir until well combined.
5. Place 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use the bottom of a small glass to pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Reserve remaining graham cracker mixture for topping.
6. Place 2 teaspoons chocolate in each muffin cup. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and fill each muffin cup three-quarters full with cake batter. Sprinkle each with remaining chocolate and graham cracker mixture. Return to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.
7. Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain round or French tip (such as Ateco #867 or Ateco #809). Pipe frosting in a spiral motion on each cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet. Using a kitchen torch, lightly brown the frosting, taking care not to burn the cupcake liners. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container, up to 2 days.

The Lone Melon.

It's sad but true. Only one watermelon survived whatever that was that was eating the babies and the blooms. Way to go, little melon. However, meet your arch nemesis, the melon baller.