Sunday, October 26, 2014

Longing for Winter

I Skyped my parents today and they told me that they've already turned on the heat at home. What!?

Oh, right, forgot we're in October (almost November) and other places--outside of Austin--start getting chilly this time of the year.


I know there are plenty of people who can't deal with cold weather; plenty of people that prefer endless sunny (and warm) days. However, I'm not one of them. I actually enjoy the change of seasons and I certainly don't mind cold weather--I actually like it to a certain extent. And I love snow. Don't get me wrong, I won't spend my years in Austin complaining about the sunny days, because that would just be preposterous. But, every now and again, I'll express my longing for temperatures in the lower digits accompanied by flurries (an inches on the ground) of snow. I'll even take the occasional slush-storm if it means I can have a snow day later on!


In other news, this weeks marks the last of the so-called fun days of my first semester in law school. Apparently I'm about to embark towards the scary depths no-fun November and then the utterly feared finals period in December. I'll try not to fret it too much just yet, but this might be one of the last posts you see this year. But let's hope not.

Here's my dinner from tonight.


Cauliflower pizza! This is a dish I've been wanting to add to my repertoire for quite some time, and tonight I finally got to do so. Yes, it is as odd as it seems (at least to all of us who were oblivious to the wonders of alternative cauliflower uses); and yes it is as delicious as it sounds (at least to all of us veggie-loving-health-freaks). I subbed some ingredients with what I had at home, but I'm sure any pizza topping would taste delicious.


Cauliflower Pizza Crust (adapted from iFOODreal)
Active time: 30 minutes; total time: 1hr15mins.
Makes about 6 servings.

  • 1 head cauliflower (about 7" wide)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup parmesan or mozzarella cheese, grated or shredded
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
  1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray a large cooking sheet with cooking spray. 
  2. Rinse cauliflower, remove leaves and cut into florets. Place florets in a food processor (Ninja Blender in my case) and process until it resembles a fine rice mixture; some chunks are fine. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes.
  3. Remove cauliflower mixture from oven and transfer to a bowl lined with 3 layers of cheese cloth. Using your hands, squeeze out as much liquid as you can, patiently squeezing about 15-20 times. 
  4. Bring oven temperature to 450F. Line a pizza baking sheet (or regular baking sheet) with parchment paper.
  5. Transfer dry cauliflower mixture to a large bowl and mix in egg, cheese, spices, salt and pepper. Transfer dough to prepared baking sheet and press with fingers until about 1/2-inch thin. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until golden .
  6. Remove crust from oven and top with desired toppings. Return to oven and cook for about 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and toppings are cooked. 



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