Monday Motivation... Avocado Cutter - My Favorite Kitchen Tool

I love avocados!  I could eat them everyday, and quite often I do. (I have even sketched more than my fair share of avocados)

And my love of guacamole borders on obsession. Guacamole is one of the most delicious, healthy and oh so satisfying naturally gluten free snacks around!

So when my husband bought me this OXO Avocado Cutter - it may have been the best present I have ever gotten. It is certainly my absolute favorite kitchen tool.  

The curved green top is a blade (1) that easily slices through the avocado, the pitting tool (2) grabs the pit so it can be taken out smoothly -  and beautifully with no loss of any precious fruit. I have had more than a few pits shoot across the kitchen as I attempted to scrape the last of the fruit off.

Then you can cleanly scoop and slice it out of the skin with the fan blades (3). And if you are careful enough you can achieve perfect slices for a salad presentation.

Most of the time I am making guacamole so I am not concerned with perfect slices, but it certainly makes scooping it out of the skin so much more efficient than a spoon or fork!

Bottom line it is infinitely easier to eat healthy when the prep is quick and painless, and this tool makes it so.

Click here for a FREE printable pdf of my Gluten Free Blessing 

Monday Inspiration - Eat Healthy!

"Eat Healthy, Feel Healthy, Be Healthy" watercolor & ink, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

A rainbow of fresh nutrient dense vegetables - all naturally, deliciously Gluten Free. Take a little extra time in the produce department and try something new this week. Add an extra veggie to your meal. Snack on raw carrots or slices of crisp, juicy red pepper. Make a smoothie and throw in a little kale, or add avocado for creaminess. 
Experiment, explore, enjoy!
Eat healthy and you will feel healthy - and Be Healthy!


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A Gluten Free Blessing for the New Year

A New Year, a fresh start, lots of good intentions... let's get things off to a positive start!  Even with the New Year, resolutions and big plans it is easy to get derailed. Slip, slide and then your well-meaning resolutions become a distant memory.
But every day, every meal is an opportunity for change, and for making the best choices for your health and well being.

To help you stay positive and stay on track I am sharing my Gluten Free Blessing. It is my New Year's gift to you... download a FREE print... for you, for a friend, for a loved one! Whether you are just starting your GF journey, or a veteran of negotiating labels and hidden ingredients... this Blessing is for everyone.  
It is formatted to fit in an 8x10 frame or 8x10 mat opening.

Wishing everyone a Happy & HEALTHY New Year and a beautiful Gluten Free journey!

Finding your Path

Once there was a girl who loved to draw, and sketch and color. To her, nothing was better than that.  She doodled, drew, and designed clothes and shoes for untold hours.  Never happier than when she had pencil, or marker, and paper. At 11 years old she received a 48 pack of fine line markers! And practically swooned. (the true beginning of her love of art supplies!)

She studied Fashion Design in college because she was obsessed with drawing clothing and shoes by her teen years.   Ah, but she had a professor who tried, and coaxed, and never let go of the idea that the girl should have been an Illustration major.

One day in class she strolled the room checking progress and speaking to the entire group, then came to stand at the girl's elbow and said, "It is never too late to change what you are doing. Never to late to follow the path you are meant to be on."

The girl knew it was directed at her but held fast to her plan because she was stubborn, and she had fought hard to be in that  program and thought it was where she belonged.

Shoe Love 2015 Wall Calendar 7x11 by GFillustrator

The 19 yr old girl was absolutely convinced that Fashion Design was her calling. But, after graduation she became a textile stylist, and from there many twists and turns on a varied career path.  Some strayed far and wide, but all were tremendous learning experiences. The professor she could never quite forget, the words that hung in her memory for decades turned over and over, like a stone being polished. 

The idea that maybe, maybe that teacher was right all those years ago. Maybe it was time. When she truly realized she needed to change paths - to the right path, her true path... it was those words from college that held her steady on a long and tough road.

Decades later that girl, now a woman, knows she has found her calling, and is never happier than when she is doodling, sketching, illustrating... and bringing ideas to life on paper in ink and paint!  And, she feels profoundly lucky to illustrate for 2 print magazines, Matters and Simply Gluten Free, create commissions for both private clients and businesses, and to sell her illustrations to collectors worldwide.  She looks toward a future of increasing her illustration roster, and a lifetime of bringing ideas to life on paper!
And, whispers a thank you prayer to that college professor that could see her path long before she could.

She hears...

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you are right.”  ~ Henry Ford

Last week we had one of those frantic, rushed, gonna-be-a-miracle-to-catch-the-school-bus kind of a morning. It was getting more and more stressful as the moments ticked away... making the distance between our house and the bus stop seem to loom further and more impossible.

Instead of getting totally crazy I chose to take a breath and calmly said "Relax.. we're not going to make it. Let's slow down and I will drive you to school. Then we have plenty of time."

Ah, but she LOVES the bus, and the social time it affords her with friends before school starts.

"NO!  No, Mom, don't say we won't make it... if you believe it, it will be so. You need to say we can make it! Believe it and we WILL make it!"

OMG! That completely stopped me in my tracks!  I have said this dozens of times to her when I hear declarations like... "I can't do it", "It's too hard", "I will never be able to do this"

I had no idea she was actually hearing me!  And, believing!  It is not falling on deaf ears, as they say.  WOW... what else does she really hear?  Makes a great case to keep repeating all the right things, the things she doesn't seem to hear, the things that will build her up, will help her believe in herself, that will guide her to make good choices as she grows!

PS - She actually did make the bus, just barely and we did have to run full speed sprint the entire way, but she believed we could do it, and she made it happen!!  That is one powerful lesson.

GF Crustless Spinach Quiche

I love quiche!  and a crustless version is a lovely and simple way to whip up a brunch. Or a perfect make ahead breakfast, just grab a slice and reheat.

I found this recipe for crustless spinach quiche on Allrecipes.com and I tweaked it a bit... using cheddar in place of muenster cheese as I was looking for bigger/bolder flavor.  
Also, I have made this with 6 chopped scallions in place of the onion.  Either way is mighty tasty.  And quite easy to make.  The hardest part is grating the cheese, and longest part is waiting for frozen spinach to defrost.



You can substitute 12 oz of fresh spinach leaves, chopped, for the package of frozen.  And, certainly the fresh spinach leaves were a better choice for my illustration!








Art prints of the recipe are available here.

RATINGS, from 1-5 spatulas
Time: most timely part waiting for spinach to defrost, 4
Ease:  easy to follow, no complicated steps or equipment, 5
Ingredient availability: pretty basic ingredients, 5
Taste: flavorful, smooth, lively taste, 5




Click here for a FREE printable pdf of my Gluten Free Blessing 

Perfect Fall Boots

Sugar Maple Boot, watercolor & ink, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

The leaves are starting to fall, winds are picking up, the tops of trees are kissed with the first signs of gold, orange & red, and even the heat kicked on this morning!  Autumn is taking over and pushing out the last warm days of Indian Summer.

For me the season changes are all about the shoes, most times it comes down to - "Is it sandal weather or boot weather?"  (sometimes in the-between-the-season times I can be found wearing closed toe shoes, but without socks!)

So today with our morning temperature of 44 I was inspired to get my boots in order - and I am itching to wear them.  But, since we should see 70 by this afternoon I will surely be out and about in sandals.