Happy Easter!

Gluten-Free Gourmet

Easter Celebration

I want to wish all my readers a wonderful Easter! This jelly roll cake was just one of the highlights of my family's Easter dinner this year. I was actually surprised at how well it came out. Of course it was baked as a flat cake, very light with beaten egg whites and all. I carefully rolled it up between parchment paper as soon as it came out of the oven, and let it cool. After peeling off the paper, I spread the inside with strawberry jelly and whipped cream and rolled it back up. Although we did get a little lenient and deviate from an all-gluten-free flour mixture, the results were worth it. The cake was delicious!

And here is a verse to remind us of the wonderful promise of Easter:

But now Christ is risen from the dead,

and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

For since by man came death,

by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.

I Corinthians 15:20-21

Meringue Pie Shell

Gluten-Free Gourmet

Meringue Peaks

Now let's make the meringue shell for that delicious Peachy Birthday Meringue. It's really not as difficult as it looks, and creates a uniquely grain-free pie crust that suits all kinds of fillings.

 

Start by beating four egg whites with 1/4 t. of cream of tarter until foamy. Add 1/2 c. of white sugar a spoonful at a time (yes, I gave in and used sugar since honey simple doesn't work in meringues). Continue beating until the egg whites are stiff and glossy, another 4-5 minutes.

 

To prepare the baking sheet, draw an 8-inch circle on a piece of brown paper or parchment paper. Place this (ink side down) on a baking sheet. Spread half of the meringue mixture evenly over the circle. Then drop the rest of the meringue by the spoonful around the edge of the circle, forming small peaks.

 

Bake the meringue in a preheated 250-degree oven for an hour and a half. Without opening the door, turn the oven off and leave the meringue inside to cool for another hour. Remove and cool completely.

Fresh from the Oven

Fill the meringue shell with your favorite filling - click here to see the delicious peach/whipped cream recipe I used. As a side note, this meringue recipe is best eaten within the same day it was made. Otherwise, the peaks will gradually get soggy and fall a bit. However, time does not detract from the exquisite flavor!

Peachy Birthday Meringue

Gluten-Free Gourmet

Peaches and Cream

This beautiful meringue pie was the highlight of my birthday celebration dinner this year. It was not an easy project but turned out very impressively! A rich fruit mixture and a sweet cream topping are alternated in a unique meringue shell. Check out my next post right here to see how to make the meringue.

 

I substituted peaches for raspberries in the original recipe, and I suppose that almost any strongly-flavored fruit would be delicious. I opted for frozen fruit but I am sure that fresh would be even better.

 

To begin, mix 3 T. cornstarch into 1/4 c. water in a saucepan. Add 14-20 oz. of frozen fruit, diced in small pieces. I used a 16-oz bag of frozen peaches. Depending on the juiciness of your fruit, add another 1/2 - 1 c. water. Also stir in 1/4 - 3/4 c. of honey to suit the sweetness of the fruit. Heat to boiling, and cook for a least a minute, or until the fruit is soft. Be sure to stir constantly or it will stick and burn! Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

 

Meanwhile, beat 1 c. of whipping cream in a chilled bowl until it forms stiff peaks.

 

Separately, beat til smooth:    4 oz. softened cream cheese       1/2 t. vanilla        1/2 c. honey

 

Fold the cheese mixture into the whipped cream. To layer the pie, spread a third of the fruit mixture over the meringue shell. Top with half of the whipped cream, another third of the fruit, and the rest of the whipped cream. Finish off with the last third of the fruit mixture, spreading carefully to make a nice, even topping. Chill in the refrigerator at least two hours before serving. Enjoy the taste of summer!

Birthday Treat

Happy Easter!

Do-It-Yourself Decorating 

Easter Garden

May this Easter be a blessed time for all my dear readers! This little garden is a perfect reminder of the significance of Easter. And it was easy to make at home! It started with spray painting a little clay pot gray. Then we turned it on its side in a flat plastic pan and heaped potting soil all around. The crosses were made from little sticks broken and glued together, stuck into a piece of florist's foam behind the pot. Teasing out green moss to cover the dirt was a challenge. A small piece of white fabric for the grave clothes and a round stone rolled away from the tomb finished it off. It reminds us of the wonderful proclamation that first Easter Sunday:

 

“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus Who was crucified. 

He is not here;

for He is risen, as He said.

Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

Matthew 28:5-6

Lighthouse Print

Artist's Gallery

Marblehead Print

After some frustration with our randomly-functional printer, I began to look into other options for printing cards. It turned out Walmart was quite easy and affordable. You could even type in the message for the inside of the card. The only thing was, I could not get just the picture on the front of the card. They all had colorful borders around the outside. Thus came the snowflake-bordered lighthouse you see above. It was a thrill to see a 'real' print of one of my paintings!
 

Last of all, Happy New Years!

Marblehead Revisited

Artist's Gallery

Marblehead Christmas Card

Presenting Marblehead Lighthouse, new and improved. Not totally satisfied with the previous year's painting, I created a new rendering the following Christmas. This one was on real artist's paper, using better paints. The thing most improved is the color tones - rid of that sickly shade of yellow ochre on the lighthouse. I really like how the texture came out too. I tried to make more 'prints' for Christmas cards . . . a little challenging with low-quality paper and home printer ink that only works half the time.

Marblehead Lighthouse

Artist's Gallery

Painted Lighthouse Card

This is one of the very first real Christmas card I made. You may recognize it as the Marblehead Lighthouse up on Lake Erie. My family actually visited the lighthouse several years ago - at Christmas time - and that's where I got my reference photo. You can see a similar photo over on J Beachy Photography's blog right here.

The card above, in acrylic paints, was my theme Christmas card one year. I liked it so much I couldn't bear to send it to someone! So I attempted to make copies ('prints') of the card to send to friends.

The card below is actually from the year before. On first glance it doesn't look much different, but maybe you can see, I actually did most of the card in colored pencil. My favorite part is the rosy sky in the background. Then I guess I cheated a bit and used white-out to do the snow on the lighthouse ledges, rocks, and path. It was certainly easier than leaving white spaces for the snow the whole time! Now this one I did send to someone. Which one would you rather receive?

Pencil Lighthouse

Cardinal

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Christmas Cardinal

May I present . . . cardinal version #2. As you can see, I do improve from year to year! I love how the snow-covered blue berries turned out on either side of the bird. (The card is pressed flat in the photo, so the front is on the right, and the back on the left.) Notice how the  reds on the bird are really tinted toward orange and yellow? Thus, the blues compliment the warm red color very nicely. Conversely, on the back of the card more clear and bluish. You can see how the green leaves go much more nicely with that shade of red. 

Merry Christmas!

Artist's Gallery

Christmas Cardinal

Happy holidays to all my dear readers! May your Christmas season be filled with peace and joy as we celebrate the greatest Gift of all. A quick note about the card above--a change in style, with real watercolor cardstock and a lot of white space. I think my cardinal came out decently enough, and the splattered snow gives a nice effect! And now, a verse to bless your Christmas season: 

In this the love of God

was manifested toward us,

that God has sent His only begotten Son

into the world,

that we might live through Him.

I John 4:9

Christmas Wreath

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Welcoming Winter Wreath

Well, the time has come to move on to lighter topics and put memories of the past to rest. It's hard to believe the Christmas season is already upon us - how time flies! - and wreaths like this one adorn many doors across the countryside. This was a quick sketch I did for a last-minute Christmas card a couple years ago. I like the look created by the watered-down blues on the door. I then used thicker, more opaque paint for the bright berries and snow. The candle was a nice touch, although I'm not sure I'd want a burning candle on a real wreath!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Do-It-Yourself Decorating

Autumn Arrangement

 Here's to a wonderful Thanksgiving to all my dear readers! The fall colors in this bright bouquet seemed just right for this year's celebration. I recently made this arrangement from a bunch of odd flowers my mom picked up from our grocery store. It brightened the room of my grandpa who is in the nursing home recovering from hip surgery. This cheerful bouquet reminds me of a passage from Psalm 95:1-2 to bless this Thanksgiving season:

 

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

 

Easter Eggs

Holidays

One Egg, Two Eggs, Red Egg, Blue Eggs

Here is another picture of our beautiful colored Easter eggs. There are all colors of the rainbow! My sister did a very nice job dying her duck eggs (these were the only white eggs we had). You can read all about her no-fuss method in my last post!

Happy Easter!

Holidays

Braided Bread

May I wish all my dear readers the same wonderful Easter celebration that my family had today! My younger brother and sister made this beautiful bread for our dinner. It used a special blend of gluten-free flour (rice flour, tapioca, xanthum gum, yes, even chickpea and buckwheat flour) and came out just like regular wheat bread! And just look at the eggs . . .  we dyed our own duck eggs since they were the only white ones we had--all our chicken eggs were brown.

The dying process was so simple: we mixed 2 t. white vinegar in 2 cups of water, which was enough to cover one or two eggs in a small container. We mixed food coloring in til quite dark, doing each color in a separate bowl. The eggs only needed to soak about 45 minutes, depending on how dark we wanted them. It was amazing--it really worked! The only catch was, if we hard boiled them, the color came off immediately. So hard boil first if you use this method. However, interestingly enough, the bread recipe used uncooked eggs, and once baked in the oven, they were just as if hard boiled!

 I just had the idea of making a little nest in the middle with another colored egg . . .

Happy Easter!

Another Fireplace

Artist's Gallery

Kitty by the Fire

 And, may I present, the next year's version of "the fireplace." Not quite as detailed . . . I wonder why? This is one of those leftover-paint cards that came toegther over several weeks of doing other paintings. That's why there's so much blue around the corners--I wouldn't do that again; it makes the picture feel cold and, well, not cozy or Christmas-y. And the plants look like tropical palm trees, not Christmas greenery. But I really like the wreath and hearth garland, and the cat adds some needed interest. You can just imagine he will be jumping down to play with those yarn balls in a minute!

 

PS: By the way, Happy New Years to all!

Christmas Fireplace

Artist's Gallery

Christmas by the Fire

What's better than a chilly evening spent in front of a roaring fire? This is probably the most detailed Christmas card I've done; believe me, I only painted this scene once! It would make lovely prints, if I could get it to print out well . . . Anyway, I love how the yellow light is reflecting on the stone and hearth around the fire. Also that glowing shade of royal blue on the chair cushion underneath the cat. The texture on the grout around the fireplace stone was done with a dry brush technique, and the shadows on the rug are a watery gray/black mixture. I painted this card two years ago for my penfriend in Georgia; now I wish I hadn't sent the original away!

Birthday Duck

Artist's Gallery

Daffy the Duck

Happy birthday to my Little Sister! This year I painted her favorite duck, Daffodil (affectionately known as Dafffy) on her birthday card. Daffy is one of the three ducks we raised from day-old ducklings this spring; however, the other two are brown and much smaller. I don't think Daffy cares! It's so cute waddling around after them. Of course I had to include a tub of water in my painting--Daffy sticks to its pool like, well, a duck takes to water! What strikes me about this painting is how impressionistic it looks. And I didn't even intend that when I painted it with leftover colors on my palette. Just look at that brown tone showing through the blue water surface; the splotches and strokes of green paint on the bushes; even how the blue sky is dabbed in around the leaves . . . it's sad how the nicest things come about by accident!

Shepherd's Pie

Gluten-Free Gourmet

Holiday Main-Stay

Christmas dinner wouldn't be the same without a hearty home-cooked casserole. Here is a wonderful dish, sure to please all your loved ones coming in for the holidays. Our family enjoyed this recipe for Thanksgiving, but it would be excellent for Christmas or New Years too. Here's the best part: you can prepare both the meat and topping up to 3 days ahead; on the holiday morning, just grab them out of the fridge and throw them into the pan!

To start, brown 1/2 c. chopped onion in 3 T. olive oil, in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add 2 pounds of beef (hamburger, chopped chuck roast, or your favorite cut of meat). Continuing to brown, stir in:

3 T. flour           1 T. fresh ginger, minced               2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 t. ground cloves             2 t. chili powder                    1 c. pitted prunes, chopped

Once the meat is about half browned, stir in 1-2 c. of chicken broth (or water), just covering meat, and simmer on very low for 1-2 hours.

Optional: blanch 10 oz. of pearl onions in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain, peel, and add to the beef stew. NOTE: We did not do this since we could not find pearl onions at our supermarket. It was fine without, though I imagine it'd be even better with!

Meanwhile, peel 2 pounds of red potatoes and 1 pound of carrots; chop in 2-inch pieces. Place in a pan of water with 2 T. salt and boil til tender. Drain and mash. Then stir in a heated mixture of 1 c. whole milk and 1/4 c. butter. Here is the point at which everything could go into the fridge until Christmas morning.

To assemble the casserole, spoon the stew into a 9x13 glass dish. Cover with the vegetable mash, then sprinkle with 1 1/2 c. grated gouda, gruyere, or sharp cheddar cheese. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until bubbling and golden. Dish out and enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Artist's Gallery

Christmas Peace

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

And the light shines in the darkness,

                                         And the darkness did not comprehend it."                             John 1:4-5

                                                                                                                

And now may I wish all my dear readers a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year! This painting seems to be a perfect picture of this wonderful verse. You could call this my theme card for the year; I did four assembly-line-style cards to send to our friends and relatives. Each one came out a bit different, but the meaning is still the same! Merry Christmas!!

Winter Bird

Artist's Gallery

Snowy Christmas Card

 This cheerful little bird is also from this year. Painting all that snow was the fun part--I added some blue and red at the top, gradually tapering off to all white at the bottom. The stick, painted once the snow was dry, wasn't too bad either. The worst part was putting the snow on the branches; I found out that it's harder than it looks! The paint was either too wet and clumpy, or too dry and didn't stick (does this sound at all like snow itself, when you're trying to build a snowman??). I actually broke all artists' rules and copied this picture just like I saw it on a Christmas card in a pack we found at the dollar store.

Candlelight Christmas

Artist's Gallery

Candle 2012

And . . . this year's version of the candle. That bowl of blueberries only got away on one card! A simple mug works very nicely. And adding the red curtain really balances the candle. I painted two copies of this card simultaneously, one of them for my art teacher--I'm waiting to hear his critique of the painting! Last year I actually set up an assembly line, doing four cards at the same time. In fact, you can see one of them here; can you spot the differences between it and the one above? I realized, after the cards were in the envelopes, that I forgot to paint in the snow piled on the window frame ledges, and the falling snowflakes! Oh well, I guess the blizzard is already over this year! Which of the two cards do you like better?