Produce of the Week - Peaches

March is not exactly peach season in the North East, but they have been a current food obsession of mine.  With all the meds currently in my system my taste buds are very funky (even what I can eat is limited) so I am in constant search for appealing and appetizing foods.   
Peaches and nectarines are in my top 10 this week.

So I went in search of some new recipes to try:

I love salsa and with peach added it has a lovely sweet zing:
Peach Salsa  




I think we will make this for dinner tonight:
Peach caprese grilled chicken


My mouth was watering when I found this selection on pinterest, I intend to work my way through these salads:
Peach and Avocado salad

Another chicken entree that will make it into rotation:
Balsamic peach chicken skillet

I'll be back to share my thoughts and reviews as I try these recipes. If you have any favorite peach recipes to share please let me know in the comments below! I would love to try them.

You can find more of my art in my Etsy shop Erin Go Paint.
Or check out my daily illustrations on Instagram

Lemon Bars - gluten free dessert

 Earlier this year family we had family in town to see a Community Theater performance that my daughter was in. They came to the house for pre-show dinner, and my niece made lemon bars.

Now my daughter loves all things lemon.... Ices, sherbert, ice cream, cookies, pie, pudding, you name it - if it's a sweet treat and it has lemon, she is all over it.  She was so into the lemon bars I was afraid she would miss her curtain call. But, we jumped in the car in the nick of time, with lemon bar number 3 tucked in a little dish for her intermission snack.

Since everyone was enjoying them as much as her we had precious little leftover. We baked another batch ourselves before the week was out.  I even made it in a pie dish a few months later for PI day at school.  Such a delicious buttery shortbread crust and creamy lemon custard - there was none left over that day!

It's an simple recipe to adapt to Gluten-free, just sub your favorite GF flour. It is especially easy if you have a baking partner - while one zests and juices the lemons, the other is mixing the batter. 

We used The Pioneer Woman's recipe but there are ton of recipes out there (all quite similar) and I highly recommend trying one.  The lemon bars are very much a crowd pleaser!


You can find more of my art in my Etsy shop Erin Go Paint.
Or check out my daily illustrations on Instagram

Ode to Pie... National Pie Day!

Monday January 23rd - National Pie day!

illustration from Simply Gluten Free Nov/Dec 2014 Workbook Illustrated

  

Pie is awesome, I would say we can all agree on that, but I know there are others that for some crazy reason prefer cake. 

But I am, and always have been, a pie person.

illustration from Simply Gluten Free Nov/Dec 2014 Workbook Illustrated

To me they are all incredibly delicious...
Pecan
Pumpkin 
Sweet Potato
Chocolate Cream
Cherry
Banana Cream
Coconut cream
Lemon Meringe
Peanut butter
Blueberry
Buttermilk
Apple  

And while we are at it - Shepard's Pie and Pot Pie
Not a bad one in the lot!

Now that I have made myself really hungry... I may need to bake one this evening - what is your favorite pie? and your favorite gluten-free pie topping? 
I am a huge fan of either whipped cream or meringe.

Enjoy!

If you enjoy my art you can find more in my Etsy shop Erin Go Paint.  Or check out my daily illustrations on Instagram

Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Gravy

As a child I was always so excited to see the good china come out for the Holidays - especially when we were old enough, and deemed responsible enough, to handle the gravy boat.  The gravy boat always stood out as the coolest and most fascinating piece on the heavily laden table. They still fascinate me - the unlimited variety of shapes and curves, spouts, handles and accompanying spoons. So much fun.

 Well Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and all my good intentions of being ready in advance - this year, are once again slipping from my grasp.  (At least I am consistent)

 

Luckily there are some things are more of a 'day of' kind of thing, like gravy making. To me Thanksgiving isn't complete without mashed potatoes and gravy, a truly mouth-watering combination. I use Simply Gluten-Free's gravy recipe making my assignment for the Nov/Dec issue that much more fun!  

Working on that assignment inspired my gravy boats illustration. 

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving, seeing the gravy boats come out - and getting to pour a generous amount - as I continue to deem myself grown, and responsible enough to handle the iconic boat!

You can see my more of my work in my Etsy shop Erin Go Paint. Or check out my daily illustrations on  Instagram

Summer treats - Naturally gluten free

Summer is here and all the juicy, fun - and some of my favorite foods that go with it. SO happy that there are plenty of fresh naturally gluten-free options at the local farmer's markets in the area.

my all-time favorite fruit

I have been happily creating a watercolor illustration a day for my 100 Days Project, and just passed the mid-point this week. An excellent excuse to draw and paint food!

 

New Jersey sweet corn

 You can find me on instagram to catch the day to day posting of my 100 days

You can also see more of my art in my online store Erin Go Paint

Easy Gluten Free Mulled Wine

An easy mulled wine to brew at home, creating a fragrant brew that warms the heart and soul. Filling your home with a lovely aroma of cinnamon and cloves. This really chases away the winter chill!

 I combined a few mulled wine recipes that I found, based on what we had in the spice rack and refrigerator.  Many of the recipes had something that we didn't already have. And since I had braved the stores to stock up before the storm - I wasn't going back.  Emphasis on easy!

This was SO lovely to have waiting when we came in from our recent all-of-winter-in-one-snowstorm!  It was very much deserved and appreciated after shoveling through 28" of snow.

Enjoy responsibly!

My illustrated recipe can also be found on They Draw and Cook
If you enjoy my work and want to see more visit Erin Go Paint
 

Gloriously Gluten Free Hot Artichoke Dip

Our car limped into the car repair shop as they were closing up on Friday afternoon.  And, so it sits there for the weekend, grounding us.  Not that it flies or anything, but grounding us in the sense of sticking close to home, and taking care of things on foot.

Now as luck would have it, we actually have all the necessities within walking distance of our new home including 2 pharmacies, 2 grocery stores, our bank, a liquor store (yes, all the necessities!) a playground, and a butcher.  So though it may be more convenient to drive here and there on a whim... it is actually nice to plan and walk, and go out and about on foot as a family.

Our 9 year old was less than pleased with the plan for the weekend and it took some getting used to. Yesterday when I suggested a snack she said "but what I really want is the cheesy hot artichoke dip and we don't have the stuff for it."  But, again as luck would have it I was able to pull out of fridge and pantry all that we needed.  Well, we improvised a bit and used shredded cheddar instead of Monterey jack - but it was just as awesome.  As she was grated the Parmesan she said she was so very happy at that moment.

That is the best comment ever.

All you have to do is combine all ingredients above in a dish that can go in the oven leaving some of the grated Parm to sprinkle on top right before it goes in the oven.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Let set for 5 minutes before eating.
We used tortillas to dip.
Our hot creamy cheesy artichoke dip made out day!

If you enjoy my art and would like to see more visit Erin Go Paint

Plank, Pain and Perspective

Last night at 2am I was jolted awake from a deep sleep by a searing pain. Like fire shooting down my right side.  It was so intense and immediate, I jumped out of bed - which seemed to make it worse. 
My assumption of course was digestive.  As a celiac that is always the first thought. "What did I eat?"
But my immediate list of reliefs...  bathroom,  drinking water,  ginger chews did nothing to relieve the ricocheting pain.

Panic started to take hold as I tried to think which organs were involved?  Or was it my intestines?  Was it all those cherries we picked and ate yesterday.  Did my appendix burst?  Was it a kidney stone and the pain was radiating?  Was it time to wake my husband and call an ambulance?  
Meanwhile I had just gotten a clean bill of health -  and a "you are doing great"  from my Doctor.  Now my insides were on fire!

I continued to drink water and tried to find a comfortable position as I contemplated the worst. As I turned slightly to the right the pain was momentarily soothed, calmed.  That gave me a moment of clarity. A moment was all I needed.

That is when I remembered the post-dinner plank pose family competition.  Ah ha. The plank pose. A brilliant core building exercise but not one to be under estimated, or to over-do.
And there it was,  the pain was shooting from under my ribs to my groin and could not be pin-pointed to an organ because it was muscular.
If I stayed in the right position the pain continued to be soothed and relieved.
So I got back into bed, gingerly, and found a position where it was not being aggravated.  And as I drifted off to sleep I was reminded that though so many issues are triggered or caused by celiac...  
It is not responsible for everything that goes wrong.

And this morning, gratefully, I am fine.

Lemon and Ginger for what 'ales' you

Last night I was up in the middle of the night because of an accidental gluten ingestion.  Was it the chips marked GF or the Tamari marked GF?  Not sure but neither consideration makes me happy.  Nor does it make me feel safe about labeling and supposedly safe food production.  I will approach each with caution, or most likely avoidance!

Not feeling too terrible this morning, though tired from the loss of sleep due to late night bathroom visits. But, whenever this is the unfortunate circumstance I have a few go to foods the next day:
First and foremost - a lot of water.

After a few glasses of plain water I add fresh squeezed lemon and fresh grated ginger to the water... that I drink all day long.  It's delicious and refreshing and the ginger especially works wonders.  And makes a lovely drink to sip on any day.



My formula is pretty simple on these kind of days peeled apples, bananas, cooked rice and plain yogurt.
And time... plenty of time.

Choice and Taking Control with Gluten-Free Living

My Gluten-Free Adapted Irish Blessing, printable download

Seems to be a new expression around... "I am gluten-free, but not by choice."  I keep hearing and reading that phrase and it irks me.

It sounds like an apology. Like, "it's not my fault so don't blame me for being gluten-free." Understandable to a certain degree as I read the never ending stream of articles written criticizing gluten-free people... "fad diets, trendy, picky eaters, blah blah blah." The problem is the person who says "not my choice" has handed control of their body over to an outside source and given in to the naysayers.  In essence they have given away their power. 
Their power to heal. 
And they could end up missing the opporutnity to take positive control of their health.

Think about it... if you choose gluten-free based on tests, reactions, recommendations, etc you will keep making good choices because you are in control, and you know what ingesting the wrong thing can do to you. And, so you find good substitutes, get creative, and maybe start cooking and experimenting... and as a result you feel SO much better and can do the things you dream of doing!
But, if someone is telling you that you must eat a restricted, difficult diet (their words, not mine!) then it may be approached begrudgingly and cheating can happen - and then you are cheated of healing and vitality!

The point is none of us chose ill health, gluten intolerance or celiac disease. I sure didn't.  But, I did choose gluten-free eating (against recommendations).  And, it turned my health around.
Completely turned my health around!  and rid me of 30+ years of agonizing migraines. 

So if that is what you are working/dealing/struggling with, then gluten free living is the answer. And it should never be an apology.  No one should be denied good, vibrant health. 

And, certainly no one should have to apologize for wanting and striving for good health and quality of life.

"I choose it, and by choosing it I have power and control over my body."

Gluten Free art - Anniversary sale

Personalized Gluten free Kitchen print, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

On April 17th I will be celebrating my 3 year gluten-free anniversary.  Three years ago Sunday I took my life back.  Best damn decision I have ever made!

In honor of this date, and all that it has done for me, all of my gluten-free and food art will be on sale.  Helping to spread the word and keeping others motivated and positive.

Stay tuned....