Chick-Flick therapy!

February, this is the month of hearts and flowers, chocolate and all things pink and red.  The season when as a little girl I would anxiously anticipate the class party when my makeshift “mailbox” covered in heart-shaped doilies would be filled with colorful cartoon inspired messages of friendship and even, dare I say . . . love.  As I grew older my anticipation of Valentine’s Day remained yet it morphed into both a positive/negative affair.  I loved the idea of catching someone’s eye and receiving some small token of affection, however those moments were usually fleeting or non-existent and so by the time February 15^th rolled around I was usually left somewhat disappointed and empty feeling.  This sentiment was typically shared with my friends and though it was rarely, if ever, expressed we usually found ways to comfort ourselves with junk food, slumber parties and our favorite chick flicks.  Now, as adults, we pour our energies into making the day special for family and friends, we go a little lighter on the junk food, and slumber parties are a thing of the past, but the appeal of the chick flick remedy is still alive and well.    

There is something about a chick flick that speaks to the deepest desires of our feminine hearts, our desire to be valued, appreciated and loved, our longing to be noticed, protected & even fought for, our craving to know and be known, our yearning for a better reality.    It is also the reason why I love to stroll through the pages of the book of Isaiah.  I have never admitted that to anyone before, but yes, the Biblical book of Isaiah speaks to the same longings of my heart as . . . a girly movie.  In fact, I would even go so far as to say that its’ beautiful words are in fact MUCH better than the best lines uttered from the lips of any burly hero in a chick flick.  Here are some of my favorites:

“Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of my hands.” Isaiah 49:16a (AMP) “Out of sight and out of mind” is not an issue here ladies, our Savior actually tattooed a photo of us on his palm so we are always before him. 

“Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.  Do not be afraid, for I am with you .” Isaiah 43:4-5a (NIV)   The very God of the universe values me, loves me, will rescue me even at great cost and has promised to always be with me.

And my very favorite, “You whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth.  Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you.  I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isaiah 46:3b-4   For my whole life, no matter the crisis he will sustain me, no matter the mess he will rescue me.  Ladies, to me that is even better than the hero that rides up on the white horse to save my day, for this warrior has already saved my life.

Jewish Apple Cake: Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free, Low Fat & AMAZING!

For the month of January our family has sworn off "white" . . . white sugar, white flour, white potatoes, white rice . . . you get the picture.  We, like so many other families out there, are watching what we eat.  Truth be told, since I already eat GF and watch my sugar intake this isn't much of an adjustment for me personally, but for my hubby and kids this has been a sacrifice.  However, it has inspired me to seek out some new healthier recipes and dig out some old ones that I have not yet adapted since going GF three years ago.

Last night my women's group at church had a Bunco/healthy recipe exchange night.  We were each to bring a healthy appetizer or dessert, along with copies of the recipe to share.  I instantly knew what I wanted to bring, a Jewish Apple Cake that a friend of mine introduced me to many years ago when she invited our family over to celebrate Hanukkah.

Let me tell you, I LOVE this cake (even though I am not normally a fan of apple desserts) & as an added bonus it is full of healthy ingredients!  I have always made it with sugar substitutes: fructose, stevia, juice etc, but I have not made it since maintaining a GF diet.  This event was just the inspiration that I needed to make the adaptation.  Unfortunately, when I went in search of the recipe . . . I couldn't find it!  Thanks to Smitten Kitchen http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/ I found a similar recipe and was able to adapt it.

Hope you enjoy my GF & SF version!  I promise, it is AMAZINGLY good!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease a 9x13 rectangle or a spring form tube pan.

3. Peel, core and chop apples into thin slices or use an apple-peeler-corer-slicer (I LOVE my Pampered Chef version.  Evenly sliced apples makes a BIG difference in the final result.)

4. In a large bowl, toss the apple slices with cinnamon, nutmeg and Splenda.  Set aside.

5. In a separate mixing bowl stir together GF baking mix, baking powder and salt.

6. In a third bowl, whisk together apple sauce, orange juice, Splenda (or sweetener of choice), apple juice concentrate and vanilla.  Add eggs and beat well.

7. Finally, combine wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix well.

8. Layer batter and apple mixture by thirds into your prepared pan. (1/3rd batter, 1/3rd apples, batter, apples etc)  Notice the ding in the side of my pan . . . don't ya just love hand-me-downs from grandma?  Vintage kitchen items are a personal favorite of mine :-)

9. Bake for about an hour, or until a tester comes out clean.  (Note, if baking with regular flour & sugar the baking time may be longer - up to an hour and a half.)

10. Remove pan & run a knife around the outer edges to release the cake.

Serve warm or cold, but my personal favorite it warm topped with cool whip or vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

Jewish Apple Cake
Laura Schaaf’s Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Dairy Free & Low Fat version
4 to 6 apples
3 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
5 Tablespoons Splenda (may use Stevia, fructose or sugar)

2 3/4 cups GF baking mix or flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup apple sauce (or vegetable oil)
1 cup Splenda (may also use Stevia, fructose or sugar)
½ can frozen apple juice concentrate
1/4 cup orange juice (depending upon your GF baking mix you may need to increase liquid so batter is not too thick)
3 Tablespoons vanilla (yes, I did say TABLEspoons - this is the secret ingredient!)
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a spring form tube pan or a 9x13 rectangle.

Peel, core and chop apples into thin slices.

In a large bowl, toss the apple slices with cinnamon, nutmeg and Splenda.  Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl stir together GF baking mix, baking powder and salt.

In a third bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, Splenda (or sweetener of choice), apple juice concentrate and vanilla.  Add eggs and beat well.
Finally, combine wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix well.

Layer batter and apple mixture by thirds into your prepared pan. (1/3rd batter, 1/3rd apples, batter, apples etc)

Bake for about an hour, or until a tester comes out clean.  (Note, if baking with regular flour & sugar the baking time may be longer - up to an hour and a half.)

Remove pan & run a knife around the outer edges to release the cake. 

Serve warm or cold, but my personal favorite it warm topped with cool whip or vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

Missing Your Mojo? Here are 5 “Keeper Ideas” for Kick-Starting Your Creativity . . .

Missing your mojo?  Here are 5 “keeper ideas” for kick-starting your creativity . . . (or at least they helped resuscitate mine :-)

1. Explore another artistic avenue

I recently took a class from the Brave Girl Club http://bravegirlsclub.com/ called Soul Restoration – Life changing & so healing & INSPIRATIONAL.  Awesome is all I can say! 

One of the many wonderful things about the class is all of the cool art technique videos that are included.  (You can also find some of them on Youtube so check them out.)  One of my favorite new techniques is draw with hot glue and then paint over it. 

Here is an example:

I also tried some new stamping techniques to make these embellishments

2.       Listen to music that feeds your soul and makes you happy!  Some of my recent favorites . . .

I Lift My Hands by Chris Tomlin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of4fvzKnId0&feature=related

Always Enough by Casting Crowns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83dNFrDIuJc

Lest you think that I’m a spiritual giant . . . thanks to my tween daughter and her younger sisters my list also includes Taylor Swift &

Disney songs like Mulan’s I’ll Make a Man Out of You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTqIsB98a1E

3.       Check out some layout sketch books or on line.  (Check out my friend Janet’s sketches on Kitchen Keepsakes here is June’s http://www.freewebs.com/kitchenkeepsake/apps/forums/topics/show/4998414-june-sketch-challenge )

Here is a layout of my daughter opening gifts at her birthday party that I completed thanks to a sketch.  I love that the sketch helped me to capture all of her many facial expressions!

4.       Dig out some photos of an event that has sentimental value for you.  Thanks to a sketch and inspiration provided by the photos, I finished this LO highlighting some costumes that I made last year for my girls.

If the coloring is off on the photos change them to black and white like I did with this LO.

5.       Dig through your stash and get out those special embellishments that you’ve been saving "for something special".  

Here are some embellishments that I LOVE from the pages above: 

Isn't the little origami bird the cutest!

 I was really intimidated by the idea of trying to scrap the mystery scavenger hunt from my daughter's Nancy Drew birthday party The Case of China Town and the Missing Jewels, but these adorable Asian stickers & the chop sticks got me through :-)  (Check out my mom, Nancy, that dressed up as Nancy Drew in the bottom right hand corner . . . she is an awesome Nana :-)

Sugary candy and pumpkins made this simple LO sparkle :-)

I have been holding on to this bamboo bangle for years knowing that it would make the perfect embellishment for the right page.  I originally envisioned it as a frame but I like the way that I finally used it on this recipe page for Hawaiian Chicken Salad.

Mental black holes that suck our creativity sometimes find the best of us, but hopefully these simple hints will help you get back on track.  Above all, feed your soul with things that you find beautiful and nurse yourself liberally with chocolate and good coffee (like the vanilla/hazelnut blend that my friend brought me back from Hawaii :-)

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 . . .:-)