Cauliflower Mashed "Potatoes" with Goat Cheese and Parmesan

So last fall I went hard core no carbs, South Beach Diet phase 1, for a few months and dropped over 20 pounds. It was really hard to not eat carbs since I love sweets and bread products, but losing the weight made me feel better about myself, and it was something I just needed to do for my health.

Well, I got lazy, started chowing down on all my favorite carbby foods again, with no restraint, and I re-gained a few of those pounds. The husband's pants have been fitting a bit tighter lately as well, so we decided to give South Beach another try, but this time focus more on less carbs, rather than NO cabrs, because let's face it, carbs taste good! And no carbs gives me headaches and makes me crabby- I'm no ray of sunshine on a normal day, so doing something that puts me in a bad mood is no way to live life.

In our quest to cut the carbs, I pulled out this recipe for cauliflower mashed "potatoes", which obvs contain no potatoes. Let me tell you, I am not a fan of many vegetables, and cauliflower is definitely on that list. But, once they were pureed, then combined with goat cheese and parmesean cheese, I could.not.stop eating them! The consistency was spot on- smooth, creamy, velvety. Yummm. The two different cheeses added extra creaminess, as well as amazing flavor.

The husband, who is a veggie hater and steak lover, commented that this dish was the star of the meal and better than the steaks we had for dinner. If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is!

Cauliflower Mashed "Potatoes" with Goat Cheese and Parmesan Cheese
Source: Kayln's Kitchen
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 - 1 Tablespoon half and half or cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2-3 ounces goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Chop up cauliflower into small chunks, discarding the stem and leaves.

Put cauliflower and minced garlic in a saucepan (or microwave safe bowl if you want to microwave it) with enough water to cover the cauliflower. Cook for 20 minutes, until cauliflower is soft.

Drain the water and let cauliflower sit in a colander for about 5 minutes to allow extra water to drain off.

Puree cauliflower in a blender or food processor (I used my immersion blender for this, with the cauliflower in a saucepan. It worked great!). Put pureed cauliflower in a saucepan over medium-low heat, and mix in the goat cheese, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Stir to melt the cheese, then remove from heat. Sprinkle chopped chives over the top and serve warm.

Beer Delay...

Sorry for the delay with the second half of my beer round up. I typed out the entire thing, but like a bonehead, forgot to save it before closing the window. :{ Since my thesis is sorely neglected right now, and we're going on vacation soon so I really must get more done, Part Two will not be up on the blog until later in the week. Go re-read Part one instead! :)

"What's Not on Tap" Part One

So I've got something a little different here tonight. Instead of the usual recipe blog post, we'll be discussing beer. Specifically a beer tasting class I attended at Total Wine. Do you have a Total Wine near you? They're like BevMo, but bigger, and according to The Husband, better.



Total Wine does beer and wine tasting classes every month, and I've been wanting to attend one for quite awhile now, but either grad classes conflicted with the date/time, or I would just plain forget about the class until the day after is happened. Yeah, seriously, it sucks to remember you wanted to do something pretty much right when it ends. Lame. This month the stars aligned and I actually remembered before the class passed. (Well actually, we were at the store on Sunday, buying some new gin for an at-home gin taste taste, when I saw the sign and immediately signed up.)

The beer class was $15 a person and I went alone because the husband is a party pooper and didn't want to join. Well that and he has nearly zero listening comprehension skills, because no matter how many times I described the class to him, mentioning it was a beer TASTING, he thought it was a class on homebrewing. What??? I mean it makes a teeny tiny bit of sense because I have been talking about a desire to homebrew recently, but that never came up in the conversations we had about taking a beer tasting class. :/ I called the afternoon of the class, once he finally realized it was a tasting not a brewing class (which by the way, I think would be an awesome class to take!) and said he wanted to go too, but they were sold out. Ha! Maybe next time he'll learn to listen to me...who am I kidding, no he won't.

Anyway, if you've made it through that long intro, I applaud you; I'm sure you are thinking to yourself "when is she going to stop yapping about nonsense and get to the goods?!" Well, here we go.

As the title of the post suggests, this was not a tasting of Bud Light or Coors. (People of the world, put down your shitty beers!) Actually, I stole the title from the class, which was called "What's Not on Tap: Uncommon, Extraodinary Beers You Must Try". I was really hyped to try beers that would require CIA-like intelligence to find, but being as this was in Total Wine, a store that sells beer, it's not that hard to find them. Just walk down their aisle of beer, and there you go! However, you're not going to pony up to your local dive and find these on tap, so I guess there is some truth to the title.

Upon arriving and checking in, I found a seat at a long table, and then headed to the back for some fancy cheese (ok, it was really just regular ol' cheese from Fresh and Easy. but still good.). We were all given a packet of tasting sheets to record the beers we tried, along with our thoughts on their appearance, aroma, taste, and mouth feel, as well as 2 glasses, a bottle of water, and a cup to spit into (I choose to actually drink all my beer. Why would you waste perfectly good beer?!). We were also given a copy of the evening's PowerPoint which contained information on each style of beer, foods and cheeses to pair with the beers, beer trivia, and a few websites for more beerformation. Don't get wigged out by the PP aspect! It was not boring in the least, and was a good way to know what the heck was going on. Plus, having a copy meant I didn't have to write down all that info, but could instead focus on drinking-I mean tasting- the beers, and recording my thoughts on each. I was thankful for this because I felt the pourings moved at a bit of a quick pace and I wasn't always sure how to describe the beers, so referring to the PowerPoint, which listed characteristics, helped me out a bit.

Let's get into the beers, shall we? Just a quick note before you leap into judgement--all of these photos were taken with my iPhone. I didn't want to bring my DSLR and feel obnoxious or deal with trying to figure out the right settings while trying to enjoy the beer. Also, I forgot to take pics of a couple of the beers because I was too busy having fun drinking.

Beer #1



Name: Reissdorf Kolsh
Style: Kolsh
Country of Origin: Cologne, Germany (many of the beers I tasted were from Germany)
ABV: 4.5-5.5%
Recommended serving temperature: cold, 39-45 degrees
Food pairings: grilled food, spicy food, German food, chicken, fish, shellfish
Cheese pairings: Brie, Camembert, Montery Jack, Edam (WTF is that??)

Okkkkkkkk, I have like zero notes on this beer. LOL. It was a pale gold color, clear, with a diminishing, fizzy head. Since I have no notes, I can only deduce that it wasn't a favorite. I think I remember it was kind of bland and boring. Not for me. Maybe good if you're not a big beer fan? Though really, I think shitty beer is what keeps people from liking beer. Not that this is a shitty beer.

Some other beers in this style are one by Flying Dog, Tire Bite Golden Age, and Alaskan Brewing's Summer Style. Who cares. This beer was not in my top anything.

Ok, let's move on.

Beer #2



Name: Lost Coast something or other (helpful, right? Don't worry, I actually improve as we go on)
Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer
Country of Origin: no effing idea, but it is over 1,000 years old
ABV: varies, but low (what the eff type of information is this? Sorry, this is copied from the PowerPoint. Stick with me past this beer and I promise improvement here people. Besides, it's not like YOU paid $15; this information is free...Ok, sorry for the hostility there. Let's keep going, shall we?)
Recommended serving temperature: cool, 46-54 degrees
Food pairings: salads, desserts
Cheese pairings: none given...effin' Total Wine screwing up my blogging...

Alright, well with that intro this must be a promising beer. So an herbed/spiced beer means that the brewer added in plants and herbs beyond the normal hops to give the beer a sweeter taste. Informative, yes? So this technique, called gruit, is actually really old; they were doing this back in the Middle Ages before hops. Do you think serfs were drinking it up, or was it just a royalty thing? I'm sure Google could tell us, but let's move on to my assessment of the beer.

This beer was not as forgettable as the first one; it had a light, summery, slightly perfumey or herbal taste to it, with the hazy, pale straw color of an unfiltered beer. But again, not a favorite of mine. Too boring. Maybe I should mention at this point, I tend to go for dark, bold, flavorful beers. And sometimes Bud Light Lime. What, a girl's allowed to slum it sometimes.

Beer #3 No Picture.
Name: Pike Kilt Lifter
Style: Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy (what a cute name, wee heavy!)
Country of Origin: Scotland (say it with a Scottish accent for more fun!)
ABV: 6.5-10%
Recommended serving temperature: cellar, 55-57 degrees
Food pairings: roast/grilled lamb, game, pork, grilled smoked salmon, deli sandwiches
Cheese pairings: aged and smoked cheeses, asiago, gruyere (we had a smoked Gouda in class and it was really delish with this beer)

I enjoyed this beer much more than the first two, though I didn't take many notes beyond circling attributes on my tasting sheet. The beer has a honey/caramel color, with some cloudiness and a lasting head on the pour. It smelled caremely, but tasted more nutty, toasty, and slightly smokey, with a smooth moutfeel. This beer has a bit of warmth to it, but I wouldn't shy away from drinking it during a summer BBQ (cook out for those of you not in The Golden State) either. This was a nice, drinkable beer that I'd recommend for someone who is ready to move past the yellow fizz that is Bud and Coors and into a real beer. (Yep, I am a beer snob.)

Beer #4 No picture
This is about the time people started loosening up and the room got noiser and a bit rowdier. People were talking beer and having a great time. I was pretty quiet since I was there alone and the woman next to me disliked pretty much every beershe tried. As did the woman with her. WTF? Why come? Even two of the guys in their group weren't enjoying the beers. These were clearly MBC people (MBC is Miller, Bud, Coors for those of you not in the know.)
Name: Old Suffolk English Ale
Style: Old Ale
Country of Origin: England
ABV: 6-12%
Recommended serving temperature: 55-57%
Food pairings: baked ham, roasted/grilled game, lamb, beef (so, perfect for Easter dinner! Now when you need to bring sometime to a spring dinner, you can bring this beer.)
Cheese pairings: Asiago, Gloucester (an English cheese I haven't seen in the states. I was a big fan of this cheese during my stint in London.), Gorgonzola, Gruyere, Roquefort, Stilton (another English cheese I haven't seen stateside. Let me know if you know where to buy it!)

Ok, I actually took some notes about this beer. It is a brown ale with a diminishing head, and a sweet, chocolately, toasty, smokey, slightly spicy aroma. It had a sweet, chocolatey taste, with some dark fruity flavors, almost like a wine. I thought this was an enjoyable beer that I would drink again. It was very smooth with a balanced body and a long finish (you're still tasting it awhile after that last swallow).

Beer #5 Not pictured
Name: Weihenstephaner
Style: Weizenbock (meaning "strong-wheat")
Country of Origin: Germany
ABV: 6.9-9.3%
Recommended serving temperature: cool, 46-54 degrees
Food pairings: roast pork, roast beef, smoked ham, desserts
Cheese pairings: Gouda (including smoked....again MMMM!), Manchego (a hard, Spanish cheese)

Let me get this out there right away. I love wheat beers. Hefeweizens are a big favorite of mine. And actually, I thought all German wheat beers were Hefs, so it was pretty cool to learn that is not the case. According to my handy PP handout, Weizenbocks are stronger in alcohol and flavor character than Hefeweizen or Dunkleweizens, and are characterized by clove spiciness and fruity-banana flavors. Typically, I do not like wheat beers with banana notes, but this Weizenbock showed me that some beers can get it right.

The Weihenstephaner looks like your standard unfiltered wheat beers: golden color, cloudy appearance, a fizzy head. It has a clean, yet spicy aroma, which mimics the taste. (Look, I'm actually giving you some real information now! Aren't you excited? I'm excited.) It is slightly sweet, with a fruity, spicy/clove taste, and a small hint of bananas. Which, as I said before, normally I am not a fan of--nor do I like wheat beers that have a bubble gum taste (what the eff is up with that?! Why would you want a beer to taste like gum? Go drink a Jones soda if that's what you're looking for and leave the beer to those of us who don't want to junk it up!). But this beer pulls off the banana-clove taste very well.

If you're not a big beer drinker, but you're looking for a brew you can actually enjoy, I'd suggest giving a weizenbock a try. But don't get the one at Gordon Biersch; it has that weird banana-bubble gum taste. yuck.

What number are we on now?

Beer #6



Name: Spaten Monchen Dunkel
Style: Munich Dunkel Lager
Country of Origin: Germany
ABV: 4.5-5.6%
Recommended serving temperature: cool, 46-54 degrees
Food pairings: roasted meats, BBQ, sausages
Cheese pairings: Gruyere, Munster

So the first note I have at the top of my tasting sheet for this beer is *buy. Guess I liked it. LOL. So the Spaten Brewery has been around since 1397, which I guess means they know what they're doing. Here's another fun fact for you: Lager in German means "cellar" and lager beers are aged, or rested, to mellow out the flavor. What does that mean to you, a beer layman? Basically it means that this is a smooth, balanced, drinkable beer. It's an amber color, with a diminishing, fizzy head. It has a sweet, caramely, chocolately aroma, with a chocolately, toasty, and bisquity flavor. It has a very mild bitterness to it, which plays nicely against the chocolatey, bisquity, or bready, flavors.

I'd definitely recommend giving this beer a try, especially if you're looking for an easy to drink, yet flavorful beer. This is another one I'd like to see at summer BBQs and get togethers. Again, if more people were trying quality beers, less people would say they "don't like beer." Though then again, if those people keep thinking that way, it means there's more good beer for me.

Ok, since there were 13 beers sampled in the beer class, I'm going to break this up into two parts. Read about the rest of the beers on Monday! And it would be awesome if you commented and told me how much you're enjoying my beer roundup...or how lame you think this all is. I just like comments.

Grilled Summer Vegetables

The husband and I can be a bit of picky eaters when it comes to veggies, which leads to us eating far fewer vegetables than we should. But one of our favorite ways to incorporate more vegetables into our diets is by grilling them. The grill brings out the sweetness in the veg, similar to oven-roasting, while the burning charcoal imparts a nice smokey flavor into the food.

Usually, I just slice up the vegetables and sprinkle them with some salt and pepper, and maybe a drizzle of olive oil, before grilling em up. This time, I decided to make up something of a simple marinade to add some pizzaz. The lemon and lime juice adds a bright note to the veggies, without overpowering them.

The best part of this dish is that it works with whatever veggies you have on hand. The husband loves broccoli, so I threw some florets in for him, but you can easily leave them out. Onion slices would be delish, as would carrots or asparagus. Make it your own, but make it soon!

Grilled Summer Veggies
Source: A Cooking in Cucamonga Original
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
about 1 pound of summer squash (I used 1 yellow crookneck, 1 patti pan, and 1 round squash I don't know the name of)
1 medium head broccoli, stems trimmed and discarded
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2 a lemon
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
heavy shake salt and pepper

Directions
Prepare a charcoal grill for direct heat.
Slice the squash into planks or into bite-sized chunks.

Combine the squash and broccoli florets in a large bowl or Ziplock bag. Pour the remaining ingredients over the vegetables and stir or shake to combine.

Once the charcoal is medium hot (I usually cook my meat first, then the veggies, so the charcoal is at the appropriate temp) and the coals are glowing, but there aren't any flames, place a grill pan over the center of the grill. Pour the veggies into the grill pan and cook until the veggies are soft and slightly charred, about 5 minutes. Shake the grill pan and stir the veggies as they cook to ensure all the vegetables cook evenly.

Remove from heat and serve.

7 Layer Bars

I recently brought dinner to a friend of mine who had a baby. The night before I planned to visit, I realized I didn't make any kind of dessert-you can't bring someone dinner and leave out the sweets! I didn't have a lot on hand (no milk really limits you in baking!), but I figured I could throw something together. A quick Google search lead me to these 7-Layer Bars, and luckily I had nearly all of the ingredients in my pantry; I did have to sub milk chocolate chips for the white chocolate, but really, who's going to complain about more chocolate?!

These bars are thick, a bit chewy, and wonderfully sweet. They're easy to whip up and a complete crowd pleaser. What more could you ask for in a dessert?

PS If you're looking for an easy, yet impressive dessert for the 4th of July, these cookies definitely fit the bill.

Seven-Layer Bars
Source: Brown-Eyed Baker
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
9 graham crackers (5 ounces), crushed
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
½ cup butterscotch chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Directions

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Line the pan with two overlapping pieces of foil or parchment paper, leaving overhang to act as handles for lifting the bars out of the pan. Spray with non-stick spray.

Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake until the outer flakes just begin to brown, about 4 minutes. (Keep a close eye on it – coconut can go from slightly browned to burnt in a matter of seconds.) Set aside.

Melt the butter and combine with graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl. Toss together until the butter is evenly distributed. Press the crumbs evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan.

In order, sprinkle the walnuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut over the graham crumbs. Pour the condensed milk evenly over the entire dish.

Bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Remove the bars from the pan using the foil or parchment handles and transfer to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife or bench cutter, cut into 2" by 3" bars.

Strawberry Nectarine Vodka Collins Popsicles

Wow, that's a mouthful of a title, isn't it? What about strawberry nectarine boozesicles? Better? Summer vodkasicles? Ok, ok, I'm getting a bit ridiculous here, I know. Whatever you want to call them, go for it, but the important thing is that you make these. Soon.

These are extremely customizable too what you have on hand; the original recipe calls for peaches, but I had nectarines. I bet mangoes would be wonderful as well. I also used half white sugar, half brown sugar because I didn't have enough white. And now I'm thinking I want to try switching the vodka for Malibu rum next time for a tropical twist.

If you're making these for non-drinkers or kids, you could switch out the alcohol with juice. I bet Kern's Nectar peach would be fabulous.

I picked up my popsicle mold at Target for about $4, though I've heard they have them in their $1 spot right now (I checked 2 Targets and couldn't find any). If you don't want to buy a popsicle mold, you could also use Dixie cups or cordial glasses.

Note: The Husband and I agreed the vodka taste was a bit strong in these, but I am not sure if that's because I put 3 Tablespoons of strawberry puree in each, rather than the 3 teaspoons the recipe calls for, or that they really are just strong. My best guess is, with the right amount of strawberry puree, the vodka won't be an overpowering taste. I do want to try making these with gin soon!



Strawberry Nectarine Vodka Collins Popsicles
Source: Endless Simmer
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
10 strawberries, pureed
nectarine syrup (recipe at the end)
12 ounces tonic water
2 ounces plus 3 ounces vodka (divided usage)

Directions
Stir 2 ounces vodka into the strawberry puree.

Pour 3 teaspoons strawberry vodka mixture into the bottom of popsicle molds. Set aside.

Pour the tonic water into the nectarine syrup and stir to combine. Add the remaining 3 ounces vodka and stir.

Spoon the nectarine mixture into the popsicle molds over the strawberry puree. Stir to combine.

Place in the freezer for 8 hours.

Nectarine Syrup Ingredients
1 nectarine, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1 cup water
1 cup sugar (I used half white, half brown sugar)

Directions

Puree the nectarine slices in a blender or food processor.

Combine the nectarine puree, water, and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.

Pantry Organization

I am a hot mess when it comes to organization and tend to just throw things on the floor or counters, rather than putting them away. My desk at work it often piled with papers that are in the process of being graded, have already been graded and need to be passed back, or need to be graded. My student assistant cleans up my desk for me at least twice a month!

Even worse than my desk is my pantry. I buy a lot of items in bulk, and then just toss them in the cabinent, still in the plastic bag from the grocery store. Or I transfer it (flour, sugar, dried coconut, etc) to Ziplock bags, which I label, but then again, just throw them in the cupboard, with no real rhyme or reason.

Look at what I am talking about! A huge mess, right?!



Beyond the fact that my pantry looks extremely disheveled, the mess also leads me to forget what items I have in stock, so I tend to buy the same things over and over, despite having a plentiful stock on hand.

Last Sunday, while the husband napped on the couch, and after finishing my 3 store grocery shopping trip, I finally decided to tackle the mess. I headed out to Wal-Mart, bought tons of glass storage jars and a package of labels, then headed home to empty and organize.

This is that same cabinet from the last picture, but all cleaned up. Amazing, right?!



Here's the shelf above it, which was just as messy to begin with.






I have what seems like a million types of flours (AP white, AP whole wheat, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pastry), brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon sticks, sesame seeds, slivered almonds, whole almonds, milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips (we kept pulling our bag after bag of these delicious morsels; I'd even bought more during my grocery trip that morning, thinking I was running low!), and a ton of other pantry staples. Now, rather than digging through bags and bags of bulk items, I can just grab the canister it resides in and go.

There are a few items that are still in ziplock bags; most of those items are things I don't purchase often, so I didn't feel the need to spend the money on jars for them, when a ziplock bag will work fine.

Next up cleaning and organizing my spices, liquids, and other cooking supplies (bread crumbs, panko, cornmeal, etc).