Cauliflower Garlic Potatoes

Once again, I wanted to mention that I don't care for cauliflower. I have heard of cauliflower potatoes, so I had to try it. Our local farmers' market had organic cauliflower.

This is the original recipe, which I tried the first time. I am not a fan of buttermilk, but since I had unsweetened almond milk original, I added the vinegar. I know that they used regular milk, but we haven't drank regular milk in years.

This cauliflower measured 10 inches in diameter and can someone say, "A lot of cauliflower!"

This is the original recipe that I made:

• 8 cups bite-size cauliflower florets (about 1 head)
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
• 1/3 cup nonfat buttermilk (see Tip)
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  

  1 teaspoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• Snipped fresh chives for garnish

PREPARATION

1. Place cauliflower florets and garlic in a steamer basket over boiling water, cover and steam until very tender, 12 to 15 minutes. (Alternatively, place florets and garlic in a microwave-safe bowl with 1/4 cup water, cover and microwave on High for 3 to 5 minutes.)
2. Place the cooked cauliflower and garlic in a food processor. Add buttermilk, 2 teaspoons oil, butter, salt and pepper; pulse several times, then process until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and garnish with chives, if desired. Serve hot.

TIPS & NOTES

• Tip: No buttermilk? You can use buttermilk powder prepared according to package directions. Or make “sour milk”: mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 107 calories; 7 g fat (1 g sat, 4 g mono); 3 mg cholesterol; 10 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 5 g protein; 4 g fiber; 339 mg sodium; 288 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (150% daily value), Folate (22% dv).

I didn't care for it, but then I don't care for buttermilk. The second batch, I used almond milk unsweetened original. I ran out of fresh garlic, so I used garlic powder. OMG! I like it so much better. What I am saying is, "Make it like you would regular potatoes. You still need to steam the cauliflower and put ingredients in the food processor. Just add the ingredients that you would use for potatoes, minus the potatoes."

Thunder-thigh thinning Veggie Soup My Version

I saw this the Tunder-thigh thinning veggie soup recipe on our local KTLA morning news recently. Since I wanted a new soup recipe with cauliflower in it, I chose to make it. As with any recipe, I usually ad my own touches. Since I don't care for cauliflower florettes, I used our food processor to chop up the broccoli and cauliflower. Since, I already had some chopped up the broccoli stalks and carrots, I decided to use it in the soup. The recipe calls for broccoli florettes, but like the cauliflower, I preferred the broccoli chopped up. I do however, prefer the larger pieces of carrots vs. using chopped up carrots. I added barley to the soup recipe because it helps to make soups tasty and more filling.

I used our instant pot, which is an electric pressure cooker to cook the soup. I like that I can just add the ingredients, put the lid on, plug the cooker in, and push the soup button. The cooker will beep when the soup is done. The soup stays nice and hot for a long time. My husband requested that I make more of the soup, so I did that this morning.

This is what my finished soup looks like.

Broccoli Slaw

Well....this doesn't look the broccoli slaw that you see in the grocery store. I usually make it finer, but my husband wanted it chunkier. Instead of wasting the stocks of the broccoli, I cut up the stalks along with carrots. The stalks and carrots are then chopped in our food processor. I use this in soups, mix it with tuna, salads, plus so many other dishes.

Exercise Journal-Getting Back To Exercising

I am sure that no one even knows about this blog. I guess you could say that this is an exercise and weight loss journal for myself. If someone reads it, maybe they will find that it will help them out as well.

Today, was the first time in 2 weeks since I have been to the gym. No, I am not being lazy but our son got married and our other son was down from college. Just like we need exercise, we need to take time to enjoy our family. Sooner or later they are off to college or getting married. I only have two sons, but now I have a daughter-in-law, whom I consider my daughter. She may not be of my own flesh and blood, but she married my son.

I thought that it would be hard to resume where I left off at the gym. I was surprised that I didn't have any problems. Although I haven't been to the gym in 2 weeks, but I have been keeping myself active.
It is so easy to give up and get in the mood to go back to the gym. We can say, "Well, I haven't been going to the gym, so why should I ever go back?" It is not only exercise that I find at the gym, but I have gained new friends as well. It is amazing how there is no generation gap at the gym. Both young and old find a common goal. The goal is to be healthy.

Keeping A Regular Exercise Routine

Well, the Thanksgiving holiday is over. I didn't exercise most of the week because our oldest son was down from college and our younger son was going to spend time here as well. I can tell you that it was hard to get back to my regular exercise schedule. It is weird to say that I have a regular exercise schedule now because I really never had one. I enjoyed sleeping in a little after my hubby got up for work, but now I rely on him to drop me off at the gym on his way to work. It keeps me going because he will know when I do and when I don't exercise at the gym.

So....I started exercising again and the thing is that when you stop, it is hard to get back on the horse and make yourself go to the gym or even do exercise of any kind. It is hard because I had to back track on the amount of exercise. My body just didn't want to be there and it was letting me know. I am gradually working my way back up.

With the coming of the Christmas holiday and with the impending wedding of our younger son, plus another event that will be happening in January, I will probably experience the same thing. 

Family Traditions

While cycling on the bike at the gym, I got into a conversation with an older lady. We talked about family traditions. She told me that while growing up, everyone had to be together for the holidays. Not everyone wanted to do it, but they did it for their mother. She said that after her mom passed away, her brothers and sisters all went their separate ways. No one really talks to each other, neither do they get together for the holidays. Looking back at the old photos, she said, "These smiles are all fake. The true colors came out after mom passed away." It is hard when this happens to a family. This is family and we should put aside the differences because we are family.

I think about my family, but our family is the complete opposite. We enjoy each others company and having the time with each other. Yes, things have changed. Our youngest son will be getting married, but he has told me that they want us over next year for Thanksgiving. After my parents divorced, it was about spending time with each parent. This changed even more after dating my soon to be husband. It was tough because we had a family dinner with all of our relatives: my dad, stepmother, and her brothers, sisters-in-law and the cousins on their side. Then, we had dinner at my mother-in-law's house, with all of my husband's relatives. Later in life, we would pick up my mom and she would join us at my mother-in-law's house for Thanksgiving. My mom enjoyed visiting with everyone and just having all that delicious food that my mother-in-law cooked. My mother-in-law wanted to make it all and delicious it was.

This year, our oldest son will barbecue our turkey. Our youngest son will join us the day after Thanksgiving, since he has to work that Friday. Although, we won't all be together for Thanksgiving, I am glad that we will have some quality time together.

Veggie Omelet

This is one of our favorite ways to eat our vegetables. I begin by cooking the following ingredients in a pan, just like a stir-fry:

bell pepper
zucchini
onion
tomato
spinach

Sometimes, I make my own broccoli slaw and use it in the omelet as well.

After the veggies are cooked, I will then add eggs. We usually have more veggies with only a small number of eggs. The second picture shows that there is liquid. This is not the raw eggs, rather juice from the tomatoes. You can use your own seasoning. This time, I used Herbs of Providence.