What I "Do" + Cauliflower Mash

The question has been asked, 'What do you do?'

Well, during the day, when my name is 'Teacher' and I am surrounded by nine and ten-year-olds, I do band-aids and hugs, lesson delivery and grading.  I do encouragement. I do discipline. I do high-fives and shushes. I do parent/teacher conferences.  I do report cards and I do assistance with math problems.  I do real-life problem solving.  I do love.

When I am at home and my name is 'Babe' to my husband, I do many other things.  I do laundry and cooking.  I do dishes sometimes and toilet scrubbing when necessary.  I do long conversations over dinner and laughter, a lot.  I do sharing and receiving, compromise and support.  I do kisses and hugs. I do love.

Other times, when my name is 'Friend', I do phone calls and facebook commenting.  I do talking and listening.  I do fun.  I do movies and dinners.  I do nights out and weekend trips. I do hand holding when times are tough and silly dances when times are light.  I do love.

And then, in my free time, I do new recipes and pictures. I do blog posting and very little TV watching.  I do globe-trotting and life-living.

Ultimately, though, I hope the thing that defines me is that I do LOVE.


#BlogEveryDayinMay

CAULIFLOWER MASH WITH GARLIC AND THYME
Recipe inspired by Love & Whimsy

SERVES 4 •  PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 25 MINUTES

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• salt, to taste
• ¼ cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, plus more to top

directions

1.      Wash cauliflower and remove green parts.  Cut into large chunks and steam for 10 minutes with salt.

2.      Remove of pot and carefully spoon into a food processor. Add milk and butter, along with thyme. Blend until pureed.  Top with remaining thyme.

 COST: $2.00           COST PER SERVING (4): $0.50

Nutritional Information
calories 104   •    total fat 8.9g    •    fiber 3.3g    •    sugars 0.9g   •    protein 1.4g

A Week of New Recipes -- Day 4: Roasted Caulifower Quiche with Garlicky Green Beans

White and green, with a hint of yellow/tan thrown in.  That was the color scheme of dinner for night four. 

I have never made a quiche before, but I have eaten plenty of them, and I knew that I was excited to try to make one.  My husband was also excited to have some "quich-ee" (as it is pronounced in Portuguese).  I just wasn't so sure about the cauliflower.  I am really not a cauliflower girl unless it is raw and dipped in Ranch... then all I taste is the Ranch, and that tastes good ;)  But, alas, it was on the menu for the night and I decided to give it a try.

The recipe was meatless, but I had no worries about getting our protein in: we had eggs, and plenty of them! (Eight to be exact.)  According to weightlossforall.com, "Egg protein contains all the essential amino acids in the exact proportions required by the body for optimum growth and maintenance of lean, metabolically active muscle tissue."  Yeah, a little tough to break down, I get it, but in essence: Eggs are healthy for you.  Eat your eggs.  (We definitely did!)

When we combined those eggs with cottage cheese, the roasted cauliflower, some garlic, and a little bit of cheese, we got this:

Oh, it smelled so good.  So good!  And doesn't it look beautiful?  The first thing I said was, "It's so easy!  Next time we have a potluck get-together somewhere I am bringing quiche!"

Well, maybe I will.  But I won't be bringing roasted cauliflower quiche.  It was good, don't get me wrong, but it was not great.  The smell was great, it looked great, but it tasted... OK.  Paulo gave it a 6.5 (he says it didn't have a lot of taste) and I gave it a 7.5 (the egg part was a good enough, but that darn cauliflower taste!  and yes, it was a little bland...).  So, not necessarily a repeater for us, but if you like cauliflower, GO for it.  You just might want to add a little more cheese to intensify the flavor.

But the green beans were pretty good.  I will make them like this again, for sure.  Time to go find a quiche recipe with five stars to put them next to!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)
• 4 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 5 cloves garlic, 3 thinly sliced and 2 finely chopped
• 1 cup (about 2 ounces) fresh coarse whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 8 eggs
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 pound green beans

DIRECTIONS:

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Grease a 9-inch pie plate. On a foil-lined baking sheet, toss the cauliflower with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil; season with salt and pepper and arrange in an even layer. Roast until tender and lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the sliced garlic and cook until lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper, and toast until golden, 5 to 7 minutes; transfer to a plate. Wipe out the skillet and reserve.
3. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the cottage cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, the parsley and chopped garlic; season with salt and pepper. Spread half of the garlic breadcrumbs in the pie plate and top with the cauliflower. Pour on the egg mixture, gently shaking the plate to settle the mixture; sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan. Bake, rotating halfway through, until set and browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
4. In the reserved skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beans and 1/4 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining garlic breadcrumbs.

(Recipe from rachaelray.com)

COST = $7.75        PER SERVING (4) = $2.00