Oh No! They Cancelled Martha!

I have been watching a lot more TV than usual lately.  I join the family in the evenings to watch all kinds of "reality" shows.  I use that term loosely because it is sooo staged!  Mark hooks me up with the apparently "coolest" ones because I later find out "everybody" watches them.  He has always been a fan of the Discovery and History (Hitler) channels.  (I call it the Hitler channel because for years we have been fighting WWII with the same footage.  Every time I would walk into the living room, things would get gross and he swears it wasn't like that even a minute before!)

Though I like "American Pickers," "Pawn Stars," and "Auction Hunters," I consider myself a family team player to endure "Swamp Loggers," "Ice Road Truckers" and I think there is even a "Swamp Truckers" (Pardon, but I guess that is "American Loggers" which is more of a trucking show.)  Whatever.

However, the family flees like roaches when light hits them when I turn on my fast-dwindling number of craft shows.  I will now have one less because they just cancelled "The Martha Stewart Show."  Yes, she is a bit pretentious (OK, a lot) and has a huge staff to do the grunt work, but I really did learn a few things.  I know she is an ex-con, but she did her time and seems to have overcome the stigma with an impressive amount of grit.  She does have a soft side, especially with animals.  She isn't afraid to get her hands dirty.  She tells you the cheapest way to do things, unless she is pitching her product line LOL.

Now I will have an extra 40 minutes a day (I have a DVR) to actually do some of the projects or (Heaven forbid) cook!  Mark would be thrilled if I could churn out any of the stuff she does.  I have recipes and good intentions,  just not much on the follow through.  Most of it uses 8,000 ingredients that she may have on hand, but I sure don't unless it's salt and pepper.  Oops, out of salt today... must put on list!

I also learned from her a few gardening tips, but the only advice I have taken her up on is get stuff fresh at a farmer's market.  I get it fresh, help the community farmers, then let it rot on the produce shelf in the kitchen.  I tried baking squash and the family nearly rioted.  Instead of cooking our pumpkins and enjoying toasted pumpkin seeds, I let Mark and Taylor use them for target practice with an AR-15.  Last year, that technique brought be many Jack-Be-Little pumpkins that volunteer seeded in the wood pile:)  I need to get them to shoot me some other veggies and flowers so I don't have to plant a garden!

There is some solace in knowing that she will finish this season on the the Hallmark channel (which was likely part of her problem--it's not one of the hottest channels on cable.)  She also has a huge website with most of the details of her projects and recipes on marthastewart.com.  But I have a feeling I will never get around to doing many of them.  I think I watched the show more as a fantasy than a life skills class.  But I did enjoy it and am sorry to see it go the way of the Carol Duvall Show on HGTV that I loved.

Well, off to do some actual chores and enjoy one of the few sunny days here in the Buckeye State.

Have a great weekend!
Gale

P.S.  Below is a recipe from her show that I have actually done that is quick, easy and pretty good.

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My Mother's BBQ Spareribs

Hoisin, also called Peking sauce, adds an Asian twist to this finger-licking rib recipe from Anita Lo, owner of Anissa restaurant in New York City.

The Martha Stewart Showhttp://www.marthastewart.com/869783/my-mothers-bbq-spareribs

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• Yield4

Ingredients

• • 1 rack (about 2 1/4 pounds) pork spareribs
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1 cup hoisin sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut spareribs into individual ribs. Season with salt and pepper; transfer to a large bowl. 
3. In a small bowl, combine ketchup and hoisin. Pour ketchup mixture over ribs; turn to coat evenly.
4. Transfer ribs to a shallow baking dish. Cover baking dish with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil and transfer to oven; bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until meat begins to pull away from ends of the bone, sauce is sticky, and fat is rendered at the top, about 20 minutes more. Serve.