Alice In Wonderland Scones & they're Gluten Free!

As promised I am continuing the series on the Gluten Free tea party items.  I am happy to report that I successfully converted one of my favorite pre-GF recipes for scones & they tasted just as good at the original version.  HOWEVER, I am also so excited to share the following LO for you that I just completed to feature the recipe.  The following LO was created for the April Sketch challenge over at Kitchen Keepsakes  http://www.freewebs.com/kitchenkeepsake/.  Janet created the awesome sketch.  You can check out her wonderful blog at http://stellaruby.typepad.com/never_knowing_where_ill_b/ .  I also have to give credit to Amy Bender from Moonsplash Designs for the creative inspiration.  She has an incredible alter “Alice” project on her blog that you MUST check out! http://moonsplashdesigns.blogspot.com/2011/03/labor-of-love.html

So, without further ado . . . here is my layout:

I am never very good at listing the items that I used in my LOs but since I just returned from the CK convention yesterday I do know the names of most of the supplies J

Red Paper by K & Company, Rusty Pickle: Primitive Hearts, Letters by Graphic 45 Domestic Goddess, Stickers by EK Disney & Adorn It Timeless.

Now for the recipe:

Gluten Free Scones

2 c GF flour mix

¼ c sugar or Splenda

¼ t salt

½ c firm butter, cut in 8 pieces

1/3 to ½ c butter milk

½ c dried cranberries, raisins or fresh berries

2 t grated orange peel

1 ½ t cream of tartar

¾ t baking soda

1 T GF binder

milk

Mix dry ingredients & cut in butter with pastry blender until mix looks like fine crumbs.  Stir in buttermilk so dough leaves sides of bowl.  Stir in fruit of choice.  Drop about 1/3 c of dough 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 10 to 15 min until light brown.

May substitute raisins or fresh blueberries for cranberries & cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice & vanilla (w/raisins) or lemon peel (w/blueberries) for orange peel.

If you want to make these with regular flour use 2 cups of flour instead of the gluten free flour mix & eliminate the gluten free binder.  Either way, they are excellent!

Need a good Gluten Free Flour Mix?  Here is the one that I used for this recipe:

Gluten Free Flour Mix

2 c white rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

1 T gluten free binder

Mix & store in airtight container for up to 1 year.

I love black and while photography, especially when it is of scenery and/or kids.  Viewing the image in black and white somehow makes time stand still and the vividness of the moment is caught at its fullest.  The moment has passed but the memory and the emotion remain.

One of my favorite tricks for creating black and white “memory moments” is to pair photos with quotes or verses.  I am by no means a digital expert but I like the way that my images turn out & here is how I do it:

1.       Using Microsoft Digital Image Starter (download it for free here: http://download.cnet.com/Microsoft-Digital-Image-Starter-Edition-2006/3000-12511_4-10508408.html ) open the image. 

2.       Resave your image so that you preserve the original.

3.       On the left side of the screen under the “effects” menu you can select to change your photo to black and white.

4.       Crop your photo utilizing the “Crop canvas” tool in the “format” menu.

               5.    Finally, add a white edge by selecting the “soft” tool under the “edges” menu.

               6.    Under the “add something” menu you can choose to add text or even another photo to create a collage.  

Here are some fun examples for inspiration:

Both images were taken on a hike one fall afternoon.  All three of the girls piled into the tree and so I had to take a photo.  Later they were having so much fun walking like the "Wizard of Oz" and the "Monkey's" that they didn't notice that I took the photo.

Crop at the Kitchen!

Kitchen Keepsake is cookbooking at its finest! Come and find your creative culinary muse!

The designers have cooked up some fun challenges, games, and prizes!

All challenges will be posted on Friday, April 29th and will be due on May 4th.

We hope you'll join us in the kitchen and get those creative juices flowing!

www.kitchenkeepsake.com

Please join me and the other cooks in the Kitchen for this fabulous crop!

Food, Family & Foolin' Fun!

So to celebrate April Fool’s day I created the following challenge on Kitchen Keepsakes http://www.freewebs.com/kitchenkeepsake/

Scrap one of your family’s foolhardy food foils, and check out my family’s funny story below!
So what is a funny food story from your family? I know you have one . . .:-)

Extraordinary Message of the Day

Just received this incredibly powerful & encouraging word today via the Brave Girl’s Club daily messages & I had to share.  Check out this INCREDIBLE site (and sign up for the daily messages yourself if you’d like) at www.bravegirlsclub.com

Dear Extraordinary Girl, You can do amazing things with the simplest things. You can have so little and be so happy. You can take small amounts of time and perform life-changing acts. Is it time to simplify? Is it time to pare down your life to the handful of things that mean the most to you and let the rest go so that you can give the very best of yourself to the very best thing, instead of being spread in a too-thin layer all over the place? Your heart knows when it's time, and you will have the strength to do it. And best of all, you will see enormous changes happen in your life when you let the unimportant things go and embrace the things that quiety sustain you and bring you joy. It may not look like the most glamorous life, but it is one filled with joy, peace, and harmony; one where laughter is a welcome and frequent companion; one where worries are few, where long meaningful conversations are many; one that is waiting for you when you are ready to take the steps to get there. Simplify today, one little thing at a time. You can do it. xoxo "A little bird told me" - your Daily Truth from The Brave Girls Club - www.bravegirlsclub.com

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