GF Recipe: Oatmeal Cookies

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

I made these wholesome cookies this past weekend and they were YUMMY!! I took a regular recipe and modified it just a bit. I dramatically decreased the amount of sugar by using Sun Crystals All-Natural Sweetener (3/4 cup replaced the granulated sugar & brown sugar). I replaced the wheat by using my favorite gluten free flour recipe (I will post mine in a later post). I also baked the cookies on stoneware and also silpats. I recommend baking all of them on silpats. They didn't flatten out so much as will the stoneware.

1 cup Margerine or butter (2 sticks)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp GF Vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1.5 cups All purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt (optional)

1 tsp cinnamon

3 cups GF rolled oats

*optional: 1 cup raisins or another dried fruit. I like chocolate chips or M&Ms.

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 F.

2. Beat butter or margerine together with sugar.

3. Add vanilla and eggs.

4. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and mix well.

5. Stir in oats and any other optional ingredients.

6. Drop by rounded Tbsp's of mix onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

7. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown - cool 1 minute then remove to a wire cooling rack. Makes about 4 dozen.

Spring Seedlings

Every Spring, I'm always excited to plant my herbs that will grace my backyard and later flavor my food! It's always amazing to me the power that lays inside each seed waiting to burst forth with a little sun and, dirt and water!!

In the Spring, I want to take that same power and "spring clean" the house. I always see the dirt and clutter around the house and I know my work will never be complete. This year I want to try something different! I have vowed to myself that I will spend time going through every closet, drawer, box, etc in the house and decide whether I really need everything that is there. How much could we really live without in order to live clutter-free?

I find myself daydreaming about cleaning the dust-bunnies out under the furniture. It would be a real accomplishment to get this place ship-shape! I plan to make this a May Project. Every room / space in the house needs something: pictures hung up, dusted, picked up, items to Goodwill, trash disposed of, etc, etc.

Track my progress throughout May.

Personality Traits of an Artist

It's been said that artists are mostly introverted. Mostly true! (I'm sure there are others that are not, but I definately am introverted!) I like my time and space. I find that I need to be alone about 6-8 hours a day. That seems rough right now when I am "on duty" taking care of our three and half year old daughter. I am eternally grateful when she has preschool and playgroup during the week. The silence or background hum of the stereo allows my ideas to flow. This also allows me to get to work and let me slip away into my little "work world" that seems so far away right now.

I'm shy. I don't LOVE talking to people. In college I learned how, only because if I was going to run my own business, I needed to be the face of that business. So, I started going to networking meetings and speaking to a lot of people. It got easier as I went, but it will never be my favorite activity.

I am full of mood swings, I am very observant, I am a good listener, and maybe a bit obsessive compulsive. I am a perfectionist -- I can't leave a piece until it is exactly what I pictured, or close to it. I want people to have a clear understanding of what I had in mind. I want them to see what I saw when I got my inspiration. If my viewers don't have a clear picture, what's the use!

I am a bit scatter-brained! I make lists of lists I have to make. I write everything down if I don't want to forget it. I carry notebooks that I chicken-scratch ideas down for illustrations, drawings, paintings, blogposts. If something needs to get done, I have to write it down. Otherwise, no go! Something in my brain says, "it wasn't written down so I'm not doing it! So there!!"

Finally, I'm among those artists who can't dance! I don't know, I think I'm too self-conscious or something. I don't see the point whatsoever. Dancing --- why?? When I was younger, in Jr. High, they had school dances after school. I kid you not I made sure I had a piano lesson on everyday they had a dance. The only dancing you will catch me doing is when I get a book deal!

An Immoveable Force?

I dream of illustrating children's books for the "Big 5!" You know -- Scholastic, Simon Schuster, Harcourt, etc. New York City - Avenue of the Americas! I would even work for the small publishers -- they have great projects as well. I know I was born to do this. I want this! A small piece of me believes that I even deserve this. I mean, I work hard, overtime, too much time to be exact! I pour myself into every project that is mildly interesting! Right now, I am cranking out samples to send to publishers for examples on postcards. I am doing everything I can do right now to market my business of illustration!

On the other hand, I need something very important! I need God to open the floodgates. Sometimes everything feels stagnant while I wait for publishers to call. I'm prepared to wait for awhile. I know this is not an easy endeavor. It takes patience -- I just hope I have enough!

Sometimes God feels like a BIG IMMOVEABLE FORCE!! No matter how hard I push to make things happen on my own -- I fail! I know He has to be with me AND it has to be the right time. Sometimes I just wish I could have a tiny sneak peek into the plans he has for me. Speaking of all this -- my business plan has been blown to smitherines!! I wonder why I bothered making my own plan because I seem to be on His plan.

I know that I AM ENOUGH! Without it all -- I am enough! I don't look to my art for a sense of identity or status. It provides me nothing short of the pleasure to create it and maybe a "peanut paycheck." Yet I know I have the ability to earn a healthy income -- if only money was important to me!
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I would have told you all of this had I written the post a week ago. Don't get me wrong -- I still feel like this at times. It is amazing what happens when we get that "glimpse" that I have so long been wanting. Maybe it is not me that is the hold up here -- maybe others need to be in the right place for everything to fall just right!

An Artist Retreat

Here's an interesting idea!

If I had my way -- I'd take a vacation all by myself! I'd head to the mountains and find a home-y cabin to stay in -- ALONE!! Leaving the lights, sounds, blaring TV's and the hustle and bustle of the "city" behind. A funny thing happens when the world fades away and you are left to your own "personal peace." You start to hear your own personal thoughts loud and clear. They are no longer strangers living inside. They have center stage. In this kind of peaceful quite state, we can find ourselves -- come to know ourselves better then we ever thought!

I would bring sketchbooks, watercolors, a camera, pencils, pens, pastels, erasers, ink, whatever I thought I needed to express myself. I would create work that is personal, spontaneous and for ME!

I would use this tranquil time to sit in silence and to focus on God. I would pray out all my desires for my life and for others. I bet I would have conversations with God that I could have with no one else. I would present my requests and then SIT & WAIT!! There's power in this -- waiting and listening. Through the listening, we find answers!! Gold nuggets can still be mined in the Rocky Mountains!

I would walk, run, hike. Whatever my body thought it needed to do. I have no schedule, no one to take care of, no one to please, no one to cook for. I would bring healthy, clean food. Quick to prepare -- open the cooler and eat. Raw veggies, light meats, snacks and plenty of my own liquid gold -- GREEN TEA!!

How long would I stay? A couple of days at least, maybe a week. Maybe I would have the sudden urge to build a cabin and move!

Introducing ....ME!!

Hello! I have been looking forward to starting this blog for a while. My hope is that it will be a very open and candid snapshot of my life as I walk the path I have set for me.

To give you a foundation, I would like to share a little bit about me. I am married to a devoted, and very active guy. We have been married 9 years in September. We have a daughter that will be 4 years in August. We have a Gordon Setter which we enjoy taking on evening walks and playing with in the backyard. As a family, we enjoy skiing, camping, watching TV, movies and cultural events. I enjoy roadbiking, walking, listening to music, reading, drawing, painting and photography!

The scope of this blog will cover:
Book Reviews
Working Artist Issues
Parenthood & Career Issues
Creativity
Gluten Free Living
Recipes
Photography & Illustration
Some Mild Christian Viewpoints

My hope is that this blog will be a blessing to all who read and follow it!