Almond Muffins

I have created a fun piece of art to bring everyone some brightness & to cheer up my kitchen.  This is part of the "When Artists Cook" Series.  I have had an interesting couple of months around my food intake causing me to be even more creative in the kitchen with limited ingredients.  I found out that I have very high cholesterol, even if the only foods I am eating with lots of cholesterol are butter & eggs.  I am the last person I would think of who would need to be watchful for this elevation.  Since Thanksgiving I have cut out butter from my recipes.  

Last month I had a severe reaction to fructose that created a lot of havoc in my system.  Thank goodness the medical staff in the ER were able to get my reaction & severe stomach/ intestinal spasms under control.  This has left me only being able to eat chicken broth, white rice, and rice noodles for the past several weeks.  I’m slowly adding chicken, fish, potatoes, and this muffin… back into my diet.  One day soon I hope to find a way for my body to accept more foods.  If anyone has any suggestions for food intolerances & food allergies, please email me.  After an eventful start of the year, I am ready to play in the kitchen again.

This piece of art is on Yupo paper, which is made of plastic.  I love color and whimsical themes and since Yupo paper has its own character, it is fun to see what emerges.  I used Twinkling H2O’s and ink on the surface.  The colors and shine pop.   

This is my version of a muffin loaded with joy.  I have had this image in my mind for years to paint, but it wasn’t until I started playing on Yupo that I knew this was the time to paint it. 

I found this muffin on Dianne’s blog www.deliciousasitlooks.com  & adapted it a titch since I am not able to have canola oil or lemon.  Thanks Dianne!  They are gluten free, fructose free friendly, dairy and soy free and easy to digest.  They stay nice and moist too.  The sauce is great for these muffins, waffles, tarts, and more.  I pretend it’s my jelly by thickening it a bit more.  

Almond Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour

½ cup dextrose

2 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

4 large eggs

¼ cup olive oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

• Preheat oven to 300° F.
• Grease muffin pan with olive oil spray or other non-stick spray
• Mix ingredients together.
• Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 cup full with batter.
• Bake 15-18 minutes, or until center of tops of muffins are set.
• Makes 32 tiny muffins or 12 regular size muffins.

Sauce

Ingredients

1/8 cup dextrose

1 ½ tsp. corn starch

Sprinkle of Celtic Sea Salt

¼ cup unsweetened rice milk

¾ tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. caramel unsweetened LorAnn Flavor Fountain

1/8 tsp. pomegranate unsweetened LorAnn Flavor Fountain

Directions

• Mix dextrose, corn starch and salt together in a pan.  Add rice milk & vanilla and stir together.
• Slowly bring mixture to a boil stirring constantly until thickened beautifully.
• Cool slightly and add pomegranate and caramel flavoring.

Enjoy!

For more information on Colleáyn, please visit:

Website: www.qigong.ckgalleria.com

Etsy shop: www.ckgalleria.etsy.com 

Fructose Intolerance: www.qigong.ckgalleria.com/Fructose-Intolerance.html

For more information on the "When Artists Cook" Series, please visit:

http://www.diondior.com/search/label/WAC 

I Love Aprons & Almond Sesame Bread Recipe

Hi Everyone, here is a peek into one of my favorite kitchen accessories- Aprons.  I love aprons- New ones, Vintage ones, Ruffly ones, Simple ones and all the ones my Brother and Sister-in-Law give me and my Mom makes for me.  There is a Senior Center in the building that I work in and I recently found these wonderful Vintage aprons for sale that I couldn't resist adding to my collection.  I couldn't pass up the blue polka dots apron and the red one with white ruffles.  

The person who helped me with my purchase said she was afraid no-one would buy them because it is a lost kitchen art form.  I helped her see that aprons can still make someone’s day and are an important part of the cooking process.  I have to be careful each day to take off my apron before I see clients.  I’m sure one day I’ll walk out of the house with one of my fun ones on. 

I thought this would be a perfect time to blog on this since I am also learning how to draw ladies.  I am stepping out of my box this year and trying new art techniques. I couldn't resist doing some ladies walking down the catwalk modeling these fun aprons. 

Today as I woke up to 18°F on a cold winter day, I decided someone needs to make fleece lined aprons for the long winters.  That would make me a very happy cook.

This is one of my favorite gluten free & fructose friendly breads for the "When Artists Cook Series".  It has great flavor, and if you slice and freeze it right away, it doesn't get too crumbly.  It makes a smaller loaf, so you’ll need to help yourself to more pieces.  I love eating it with garlic salt and creamy goat cheese with scrambled eggs for breakfast.  My favorite sandwich is bacon, butter lettuce and mayo on this tasty bread.  It is very simple to make.

Gluten Free Almond Sesame Bread

Ingredients

1 ½ cup blanched almond (I love Bob’s Red Mill or California Almond flour)

¾ cup tapioca starch

1/8 cup sesame seeds

½ tsp. sea salt

½ tsp. baking soda

4 eggs

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. glucose syrup

1 tsp. white vinegar

Directions

*     Combine almond flour, tapioca, sesame seeds, salt and baking soda. 

*     In another bowl, blend eggs for several minutes, until frothy.  Stir in olive oil, glucose syrup and vinegar into the eggs. 

*     Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

*     Pour batter into a well-greased 7 ½” x 3 ½” loaf pan. Add a piece of parchment to the bottom of the pan so it comes out smoothly.

*     Bake 350° for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

*     Let cool.

*     Slice and freeze within a day to keep it nice and friendly.

Enjoy!

Queen of Nuts

"Queen of Nuts" (c) 2012 Colleayn T. Klaibourne

Watercolor and ink

Hi Everyone,

The new post is up for the  "When Artists Cook"  series for my recipe of Cashew Chicken. For more photos and to see the post, please click here.

Doodle before it was painted

The leaves are starting to turn into beautiful reds, golds, & rusts and fall is right around the corner.  This is the time of year for harvest and is also time for our squirrel's to go crazy for nuts!  I couldn't help but laugh as a little squirrel went running by with two large green walnuts hanging out each side of his cheek.  Up the tree, down the tree, race around the yard - that is what makes up our manic squirrel's day. Each day is about finding that golden nut and magical hiding space to enjoy during that long winter. The squirrel in me likes to gather art supplies, pens, paper, sparkly glitter and more as I prepare for a long Minnesota winter.

This drawing is of one of my busy squirrels.  As I began drawing and painting her, it kept getting more and more complex- which fits these rascals very well. 

The Bragg Liquid Aminos is one of my favorite finds to replace soy sauce.  It is gluten free and delicious!  This is new to so many of my family, friends, and clients that I wanted to introduce it to people who haven’t tried it yet.  It is full of good things for your body and great in many dishes.
After watching our goofy squirrel's loving their delicious treats, I thought they would be great inspiration for another favorite recipe of mine- Cashew Chicken.  If the squirrel's had their way, they would have a nice stash of cashews, but they can't figure out that bird feeder.  Instead, you can enjoy this recipe for these busy little guys and stash this away into your recipe collection.  This is gluten free, dairy & fructose intolerance friendly, and delicious.

Colleáyn’s Cashew Chicken

Ingredients

2 Chicken breasts, cubed

1-2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 cup basmati rice cooked in 2 cups water

Roasted salted cashews

Sauce

Dry Ingredients

1 ½ Tbsp. dextrose

2 ½ tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. garlic salt

Wet Ingredients

½ cup + 1 Tbsp. water

2 Tbsp. Bragg Liquid Aminos

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

½ tsp. regular sesame oil

Directions

*     Cut chicken breasts into cubes with a kitchen scissors  

*     Start cooking basmati rice according to package instructions. 

*     While rice is cooking, fry the cubes of chicken in the olive oil. 

*     I like to put the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in a large bowl, then combine together.

*     When chicken is done, pour the sauce over the chicken and simmer on low until it thickens to a nice sauce.  Stir constantly.  This only takes a few minutes. 

*     Serve the chicken and sauce on top of the rice 

*     Sprinkle with cashews and enjoy!

*     Feel free to modify the salt and Bragg Liquid Aminos to your taste.  I am on a high salt diet, so feel free to cut this back if needed.  The Bragg Liquid Aminos is salt free and gives a great burst of flavor.

Excellent!

Have this often!

When Artists Cook- French Fries

Hi Everyone.  I am happy to share that I am part of a blog series called "When Artists Cook".  Each week an artist will share their art which is focused around food, recipes, cooking, and more. This month I am sharing one of my favorite recipes of oven baked french fries.  I could eat these every day!  

Joy

(c) Colleayn T. Klaibourne 2012

Mandala of oregano & basil growing in my garden.  

Twinkling H2O watercolors on watercolor paper

This is a peak of some of the paintings, information and recipe I've added.  You'll find the full post at: http://diondior.blogspot.com/2012/08/when-artists-cook_15.html.  To see other great works of art by Dion Dior and other artists in the series please visit: http://diondior.blogspot.com/  Dion's work is so vibrant, colorful and happy. I'm sure you'll love her blog as well.

Oven French Fries:

Ingredients:

4 large russet potatoes (peeled if you have fructose intolerance)

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

½ - ¾ tsp. Celtic sea salt

¼ tsp. garlic salt

1/8 tsp. ground cumin

¾ tsp. basil leaves

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

¼ tsp. chili powder

Instructions:

Peel and cut potatoes into strips.  In a large mixing bowl, drizzle potatoes with olive oil and add salt and herbs.  Stir until the potatoes are evenly coated.  Place potatoes on a non-stick cookie sheet that has the lips on each side.  I like to spray the pan first with an olive oil spray.

Bake at 420° for 45-55 minutes, flipping every 15 minutes.  Some days the fries cook faster than other days.

Feel free to modify the salt and herbs to your taste.  I am on a high salt diet, so feel free to cut this back if needed.

I love using herbs from my garden.  The recipe below is with dried herbs, but if you have fresh cut herbs it makes the French fries even better.  

I love dipping them in Mayo seasoned with Salt, Garlic Salt, Italian Seasonings, Basil and Oregano.

Eat often!

Crispy Kale Chips

I am addicted to Kale Chips!  At a nutrition class we learned how great Kale is for us and to eat it regularly.  This is my favorite way to get this nutrient packed veggie into my life.  Kale chips are great as a snack or sprinkled on a salad.  Once you start eating this crisp treat, you can’t stop. 

Kale ready for the oven.

Ingredients

1, 10 oz. bag of Kale pieces or a large bunch

1 Tbsp. Olive oil

½ tsp. salt

Love

Directions

*     Preheat oven to 350 degrees and put out 2 large cookie sheets with the small sides.

*     If you are using a bunch of Kale, remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces.  The bag of Kale I found at Trader Joes was already cut into nice sized pieces.

*     Wash the Kale and dry thoroughly.   Dry using a salad spinner then put the kale on a large dishtowel patting down to make sure it is very dry.

*     Drizzle the kale with olive oil massaging oil into each piece until they are nice and shiny.

*     Arrange leaves in single layer on 2 large baking sheets.    

*     Sprinkle sea salt over the top of the kale.

*     Bake until the edges are brown but are not burnt, 15-24 minutes.  Rotate between shelves ½ way through cooking.  Some will be done sooner than others.  When they are crisp, place the finished ones on a plate and continue cooking the others until they are done. When you move the pans, they will sound crispy.

*     Store in a container if you have any left.

Love

Excellent!

Have these often!

Nummy Biscuits, Gluten & Fructose Free

These are great biscuits to eat with a meal, or to cut in half and use for a simple, light bread. They are best served warm with lots of butter.

Nummy Biscuits

Ingredients
½ cup potato starch
¾ cup corn starch
1 ½ tsp. Xanthum gum
1 Tbsp. dextrose
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup softened butter
¾ cup milk or rice milk
1 Tbsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
Love
Directions
Soften the butter.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the first 5 dry ingredients together. (It needs all the salt to raise well.)
Add milk and butter to dry ingredients. This will be soupy at the start, but it will soon start to thicken as you stir it.
Add baking powder and baking soda at the end for them to raise the best.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Drop by good size spoonfuls onto parchment paper.
Bake 12 minutes until lightly browned.

Note: Follow ingredient amounts carefully. They tend to not work very well if alternate ingredients are used, or if too much or too little of something is put in.

Full batch makes 18, This recipe is works well when cut in half.
Eat warm with butter

Chocolate Pudding Pastry of Love (Gluten & Fructose Free)

Love
This is a delicious recipe that I tweaked a bit to make it fructose-reduced so it could be enjoyed by people who can’t eat fructose or gluten. It is also converted to US measurements. Credit goes to this blog: http://piginthekitchen.blogspot.com/ . She has a really fun blog with many recipes for people with food intolerances. She was so kind to let me share it with you. These won’t be as sweet as hers since dextrose isn’t very sweet, but this recipe is great if you are used to the fructose restricted diet. It is so much fun to have a wonderful desert that tastes like it is from a restaurant. I know some people are unable to eat cocoa, but for some reason I have been able to tolerate a little bit of Hersheys unsweetened cocoa with the help of some digestive enzymes. A direct link to her recipe is: http://piginthekitchen.blogspot.com/2008/02/valentines-chocolate-pudding-of-love.html Enjoy!
Love
Chocolate Pudding Pastry of Love
Love
For the sponge:
1 1/3 cup Butter
2/3 cup dextrose
1 cup rice milk or other tolerated milk
¾ cup + 1 Tbsp. corn starch
1/3 cup + 1 ½ Tbsp. rice flour
½ tsp. xanthan gum
¾ tsp. gluten free baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. sugar free caramel delight flavor fountain by LorAnn. Or see note below to use cocoa instead. (Caramel Delight resource: http://www.barryfarm.com/beverageflavors.htm or http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Fountain-Ice-Cream-Flavoring/dp/B000GABZ6W .)

For the sauce:
1 1/8 cup hot water
1/3 cup dextrose
2½ Tbsp. glucose syrup
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Love
· Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
· Grease 20 muffin tin cups. Olive oil cooking spray works great.
· Put the butter, sugar and rice milk into a large saucepan and heat gently until melted
· Add the flours, cocoa powder, xanthan gum, & baking powder to the saucepan and stir. Use a mini whisk and whisk like a dervish until all the lumps are gone.
· Add the baking soda and stir again
· Add the sugar free caramel delight flavor fountain until well blended.
· Divide the mixture equally between the muffin cups; they should be half to almost three quarters full.
· Carefully put the muffin tin into the oven with only the sponge batter. (This will be loose.)
· Let them cook for about 8-10 minutes. You want the center to still be runny, and the sides slightly higher than the middle when you take them out.
· While the sponge is baking, prepare the sauce. Boil the water. Put the dextrose sugar, glucose syrup and cocoa powder into a bowl, then pour in the hot water and whisk until all lumps are gone.
· Then use a ladle to lovingly pour in some sauce. Divide the sauce equally between the muffin cups. The sauce is very liquidy, but it magically turns to pudding during the baking process.
· Cook an additional 16-20 minutes.
· They are cooked when the sides are done and the center is a rich, creamy, pudding like consistency. Some of the sauce may even be bubbling up from the bottom.
· Leave the puddings to cool for 5-10 minutes, if you can. (They are so good; you want to eat them right away. In my opinion, it has been worth a burnt tongue to taste right away.) Serve warm.

· This recipe works really well divided in half, making 10 pudding pastries of love.
Love
Note for the Sponge: If you do well with cocoa, You can substitute the 1/2 tsp. of Caramel Delight flavoring for 4 Tbsp. of Cocoa. Just omit 1 Tbsp. corn starch and 1 1/2 Tbsp. rice flour if you add the cocoa instead.
Sugar note: If you are not fructose intolerant, sugar can be substituted for the dextrose and you can use corn syrup instead of the Glucose. Enjoy.

Waffles (Gluten & Fructose Free)

It took me several years to come up with a good waffle recipe that wasn’t heavy or funny in the inside. Since these aren’t very sweet, I also use these waffles for making crumbs for breading, chopping them up and putting them in spinach balls, etc.

Ingredients1 cup GF and fructose free safe flour mix (I like a blend of white rice flour, with a bit of tapioca starch)
½ cup potato starch (not potato flour)
¼ cup amaranth flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dextrose
¼ cup olive oil
2 eggs
1 ½ cup milk or safe milk alternative (goat milk, rice milk…)

Directions
* Mix dry ingredients together and whisk wet ingredients together into separate bowls.
* Combine wet and dry ingredients together, whisking them well. Add more rice flour if too thin, or more liquid if too thick.
* Pour into waffle iron and cook according to waffle iron directions. (Around 4-4 ½ minutes)
* These freeze very well. Pop them into the toaster to reheat.

Note: ** Since there are different forms of Fructose intolerance, Always consult your doctor and/or nutritionist before trying any recipe.

Living with Celiac Disease & Fructose Intolerance

"Faery Dance" (c)2003

Acrylic on Panel, 12"x16"

(c) All Rights Reserved

I decided to write down a bit of my life story because I get a lot of questions from people going through similar experiences wondering what I eat, how I was diagnosed, etc. In 2003 I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (No gluten- wheat, barley, rye & oats) after living a life of digestive distress. Then in 2006 I was diagnosed with fructose intolerance (no fruit across the board, and very limited veggies in my diet). Even though my diet is very restricted, I am the healthiest I have ever been and feel good for the first time in many, many years. My life back. It is wonderful!

My story in a nutshell: (Well, it is longer than I thought.. You might want to sit back with a cup of tea)
I have always had problems with my digestion; starting as an infant where part of my intestines were removed. Problems remained throughout time. (I can tell you where most bathrooms are in any place I have been- true story!) I always knew it was caused from food, even when doctors told me that there was no such thing as food allergies or problems (this is when I was a child). But to feel well, I kept trying to figure it out by eliminating foods that I “thought” made me sick. For the longest time I blamed everything on meat- so I thought being a vegetarian (14 years) would answer all my problems. It didn’t. I kept getting worse and remained a medical mystery. Because I was misdiagnosed for most of my life, Gluten & Fructose took a toll on my system and caused other health problems. Finally, in my mid-30’s a medical abstract came across my desk on Celiac Disease. I thought someone wrote a book on me. Thankfully, I found a good doctor who tested me for it, and sure enough, this is the problem. Within weeks, I began seeing improvement. But I didn’t fully get better. Then after another Mayo Clinic quest, I was tested & diagnosed with fructose intolerance. I am feeling so much better following these diets- better than I have ever felt. With diet, Spring Forest Qigong, Psych-K, traditional & complementary medicine, etc. I have found much improvement. So now I am basically a meat & potatoes girl, which is kind of funny after being a vegetarian for so many years. Family & friends still take a double look at me when I am eating meat. So even though my life has been a rollercoaster; I can thank prayer & insight/intuition, great doctors & healers, determination & persistence, etc. as helping me live each day creating wellness for myself & helping others. I am a testimony that life can improve and can become full again.

So, in future Blog entries, I’ll share more tips, food ideas & recipes, & things that helped in my healing process. I want to share this information so that no one else has to suffer for decades with a disease that is very treatable with diet. It might not be fun, but it is so worth it to feel good again! One of my doctors said “You can do this” as I stared back at her with wide eyes. And she was right. It can be done.