Smashed Cauliflower with Feta goes double duty as a Breakfast Faux-tata tomorrow!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am looking to add more diversity to my vegetables when grocery shopping. I never, ever buy cauliflower. So...I bought one. Now what to make with it??? Steamed? Boring. Steamed with cheddar cheese a la it's cousin the broccoli? Too suburban housewife of the 50's. I searched all types of recipes online and will be trying some unique ones in the future. I decided to keep it simple and make smashed cauliflower, similar to mashed potatoes. Chris is spending the night in Charleston, so I figured it would be a good night to try something different. The result - crumbly, nutty cauliflower mixed with salty feta and a hint of spring onion. Not as creamy as regular potatoes, but then again...this side has virtually zero carbs. Bottom line - nice & light. It also doubled as the base for my breakfast tomorrow!

Smashed Cauliflower

Ingredients

1/2 head of cauliflower

2 ozs feta cheese

2 spring onions, diced

Milk, splash

Kosher salt and pepper, optional

Directions

Cut the base and leaves off of the bottom of the cauliflower. Put into a shallow bowl with about 3/4 cups of water. Top with plastic wrap and microwave for about 8 minutes. Drain well. Pat dry. Add the feta, spring onions and a tiny splash of milk. Mash with a potato masher until your desired consistency. (You could transfer cauliflower to a food processor and puree until smooth.) You may have to pull out any long pieces from the stalks. Salt and pepper, to taste. Personally, I left mine without seasoning, as the feta added enough saltiness.

Knowing that Chris may not eat the leftover cauliflower, I was inspired by another recipe that combined cauliflower, feta and eggs. I whipped up a quick breakfast for tomorrow with the leftovers. FYI - a faux-tata is a makeshift frittata, without the fuss of putting in on the stove and then the oven.

Cauliflower and Feta Faux-tata

Ingredients

3 eggs, scrambled

Milk, splash

Leftover smashed cauliflower

Crushed red pepper flakes

Olive oil

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350. In a small bowl, combine 3 eggs and milk. Whisk together.

Grease the bottom of a small casserole dish with olive oil. Pour the smashed cauliflower mixture into the bottom of the dish. Add the eggs.

Top with red pepper flakes.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Let set before serving.

Chick Pea & Feta Salad

This past weekend I went grocery shopping and decided to stray from my "comfort" veggies and pick up new items. One of the items was chick peas. Chick peas can be a nice addition to White Bean Chili or other stews. However, I did not have much experience with more unique recipes. I stumbled upon a recipe for White Bean and Chick Pea Salad. It sounded fresh and lovely with a hint of mint. Due to my lack of ingredients, I modified based on what I had in my fridge and pantry. This salad was a delightful, simple lunch today and a snack tonight. I even have enough for a small snack for tomorrow.

Chick Pea and Feta Salad

Ingredients

1 15oz can of chick peas, drained and rinsed

2oz feta cheese (abt 1/2 a package)

2 spring onions, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

4 pepperoncinis, diced

1/2 lemon, juice and zest

dash of red pepper flakes, to taste

2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine all of the above ingredients. Gently mix well. Chill in refrigerator overnight.

That's Amore!

When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine

That's amore

Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling

And you'll sing "Vita bella"

Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay

Like a gay tarantella
When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool

That's amore!

Good morning morning yall. I hope that you had a fabulously romantic Valentine's Day. I think that the closer we are getting to completion with our new kitchen, the more I am finding myself falling back into love with food. I received the sweetest Valentine's card from Chris. I think that it is always special when people write personal messages inside. Chris commented how he can't wait to get our little family back into our house to enjoy our kitchen and proposed the question: What will our first meal be?

Ever since we attended a festive Valentine's Party at our friend Geno and Tony's house in Mill Pond, my mouth has been watering over the briny green olives that they served on the antipasto tray. They were stuffed with feta and tossed with red pepper flakes and olive oil. More info to come about these olives, because I have to get my hands on them again. It was a wonderful celebration with good friends, GREAT food and lots of bubbly! Geno and Tony really outdid themselves...once again! The food presentation was perfect and what a special touch by hiring a bartender. So fun!

I googled Red Pepper, Feta, and Olives and while I was doing a little research I stumbled upon this foodie blog and had to share it with you.

Choosy Beggars

You have to check out their recipe for Pasta with Olives and Feta in a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. Who's watching carbs? Also look for the Roasted Red Pepper, Walnut and Feta Dip. I am definately going to be trying that one!

Geno and Tony had a large amount a heavy hors d'œuvres: from shrimp cocktail with a killer sauce (so retro...I love it!), stuffed mushrooms, asparagus, chicken salad, tenderloin, and that to die for antipasto bar. I could nibble on that all day, every day. Just give me a big ole glass of red wine and some spicy meats, rich cheeses, sinful olives and hot peppers. Heaven.

One simple dish that took center stage were their Roasted Brussel Sprouts.

Here is the homemade recipe, courtsey of Geno, but don't let him take the cake for it....it is Tony's recipe!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Toss brussel sprouts with olive oil sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. 400 degrees for 30 minutes shaking every 5-7 minutes. Also try it with bacon crumbles and chopped onion while roasting.

Now that's amore to me. Back to my original thought: What do you think our first meal in the new kitchen should be?