Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

Since my husband is on a diet, I really have to restrict what types of cheese, butters and pasta I cook.  I really like pasta so I don't want to cut it out of our diets completely. So I thought to myself, "there has to be a healthy version of Alfredo."

And I found it.  Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce and it tastes really close to the real thing.  Just have to mask the cauliflower with some creative seasoning and a bit of salt.

I boiled the cauliflower florets and then drained them.  I let them cool and then placed them in a blender with a bit of homemade chicken stock, sauteed minced garlic, some salt, a bit of lemon juice and a tiny splash of milk

Blended it up then tossed it with some undercooked penne.  I let the penne cook for only 4 mins.  Let it continue to cook and soak up the sauce.  I tossed in some sauteed mushrooms and fresh spinach.  Let the spinach wilt and then served it up.  I also added a bit of grilled chicken.

It was really good and only 400 calories a serving.

Here is a picture!

Getting creative with gyoza/chinese dumpling wrappers!

I bought a package of gyoza wrappers while in Norway.  They were so cheap! Only to find that my husband wanted to start eating less fat and carbs and when you make dumplings you have to use the high fat ground pork or it just won't taste right, haha.

So today I was thinking, "What can I do with these wrappers to make them still healthy but good?"

I made a stuffed "potsticker/ fried pirogi / gyoza thing" with raw spinach, ham and cheese.  It was so good and easy to make.

I choose not to wilt the spinach because I didn't want it to be wet.  I figured that it would steam a little in the potsticker pouch and it did.  It wilted slightly while still maintaining a good bite.  

Here are some pictures so you can salivate.  I would high recommend these.  So cheap and easy to make.

Back in Oxford, our huge haul, and creative packing

Hey!

So my husband and I are finally back in Oxford.  It was a great month in Norway and I honestly can't wait to go back.  I did even less than usual but the best part is that I got to cook whatever I wanted without having to pay for the groceries.
It is very weird to have a year off but it's been a good 5 months so far.  It feels longer but I've learned so much about how to support my husband and bad habits or reactions that I need to change, but this blog isn't about, thats on my other blog.  This one is about food and cooking!!

While we were in Norway we decided that there were two essential food items that we needed to bring back to Oxford and they were cheese and fish.  Cheese and fish are relatively cheap in Norway considering that everything costs an arm and a leg.  We got 1.3 kg of salmon for 6 GBP.  Basically a complete whole slab of Salmon.  Pictures below.
So we stocked up on salmon and cheese.
Since we were flying with ryan air, we didn't want to pay for more checked bags so my husband and I made it our mission to fit everything into two carry-ons.  Including all new clothes we got and books for school.
My mission was to make it fit.  And it did.  I ended up wearing all the winter clothes I got for Christmas and looked like a balloon but I didn't care.  Ryan air couldn't charge me for wearing too much clothes so I wore as much as I could.
We had about 12 kg of salmon, 2 kg of Cod and 3 kg of cheese.  In one hand luggage.  That hand luggage also included 1 kg of smoked salmon and random small items of clothes such as socks and underwear.  Anything that would fit into nooks and crannies.
The other hand luggage had an air-popper for popcorn, a ninja blender, a large wok and any clothes that could fit.
My purse had all my make-up, airplane necessities and any clothes that would fit.  My husband's backpack had books and clothes as well.

We ended up making it all the way back to Norway after a 2 hour plane ride, 3 hours of waiting and 4 hours of bus ride from London.
Some of the fish had defrosted so we ended up baking it and just saving it for later but all the other fish made it okay.  The cheese made it and all the electronics work fine.

It was a really stressful day because I was certain that my carry on was going to burst but it made it!
Now we have so much fish and cheese that we can mark that off our shopping list at least for the next month!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!
It's been a very long time since my last post but I can promise you it has been a very eventful time.  My husband and I went back to Norway for the holidays and there has been so much food that I haven't even had time to experiment and test out recipes.

I did make a honey rosemary pull apart roll courtesy of Chef John from food wishes.  His blog and youtube channel is really great.  If you haven't seen it, I would check it out.  I also made a lot of other dishes for the in laws, such as a roasted leg of lamb with an infusion of honey and rosemary that was a big hit.
Next week I'll post pictures of all the adventures we've had.
I'll be attempting a quiche and an avocado, key lime pie.

Here is the link for the honey rosemary rolls. http://foodwishes.blogspot.no/2012/12/rosemary-honey-pull-apart-dinner-rolls.html

How are you guys doing???

My new years resolution is to eat better and spend less! Will give more details on the next challenge next week.  I'm thinking of cutting out a lot of carbs and focusing more on local fresh but I don't want to break the bank so need to brainstorm!

First Pinterest recipe

Hi all,  I know that when I started this blog I said that I would try to do one pinterest recipe every Sunday.  Well somehow I just forgot about that.  I don't really know why, but it just didn't happen until last night.
I did my first one.  What I made is from my pinterest board "spoonful of good eats." http://www.pinterest.com/pin/125045327129815691/

Here is a picture of what the recipe looked like.

Here are the steps to what I did. 

THIS PART WAS THE HARDEST PART.  Of course on the blog post this recipe comes from it doesn't tell you anything about how to do this or the best technique.  I just scooped very delicately and did my best.  It wasn't perfect and the apples I had didn't have the toughest skin.  Of course I didn't use the honey crisp apples that they use in the blog, I just used whatever apples I had on hand.  It also seemed like such a waste to cut up and discard all the leftover apple so I recommend throwing it into a blender and blend with some greens for a powerful green smoothie. 

This is a before picture.  I placed them in these individual aluminum ramekins/muffin tin things.  It just seemed like a safer idea since the bottom of the apples weren't smooth.  I didn't want them moving about and it worked just fine.  I had just enough filling for three apples. 

This was the end result.  Of course mine didn't come out as beautifully as the ones on the original recipe blog but of course I'm not an expert in food photography, placement and photoshop.  I did allow my husband to eat one and I sprinkled homemade granola and honey on the top and he loved it.  He really really like it.  I had a small taste and it was really good.  My husband said the soft apple afterwards was a nice touch.  

I did modify the recipe a little.  I really don't like using a lot of sugar so I cut that in half and use less fat cream cheese.  Tasted great.  RECOMMENDED and very easy. 

REDUCED FOR QUICK SALE!

On Monday I went to Aldi.  This was the first time in a month.  I've been doing the rest of my shopping at other stores but only buying things that were listed on the checkout smart app and the shopitize app.  I also only buy things that are reduced for quick sale.  I don't buy any meat because I don't think that it's all that much reduced but fresh veggies and fruit I will usually buy.

For example,
I've learned that Food Co-Op marks down their prices extraordinary at the end of the day.  I bought a few heads of lettuce for .10 pence.  .10 pence, thats all! I went back the next time during mid-day and the same head of lettuce was only marked down to .60 p.  Not a good bargain considering that M & S next door was selling fresh heads of lettuces for .60 p.

I also bought a bag of potatoes for .10 p the other day at Tesco, not end of day.  They also had bags of salad and fresh that were reduced so much that I bought all the bags.

I've also learned that the person that is marking them down has a lot of wiggle room regarding price.  Some days they are reduced heavily and other days they aren't.  I sincerely believe that this has to do with the person marking them down.  I'm still trying work out the best days to go shopping at the stores but so far it really seems like hit or miss.

I also tried to follow some advice given but this youtuber about going at the end of the day and most of the time that doesn't work.  Either all the items are gone or they haven't been reduced further.  There's no reasons for me to wait all day and then go in the evening when its exponentially colder to try to score some basement prices.

I've also learned that I can bargain for lower prices.  Once, just once, there were something on reduced and I saw another item that was similar for a lower price and I thought why aren't these the same price. I ask if I could have both for the same low price and the manager said yes.  So don't be afraid to ask.

Now, the freshness of reduced for quick sale items. I've generally found that veggies last a week past the use by date.  They stay fresh as long as you keep them in the crisper and keep them dry.   I'm happy to announce that the many bags of produce I bought lasted for more than a week and I was able to eat salads and fresh cooked veggies for days and days.  It was wonderful.
So go for the clearance items and hope these tips work for you.

:)

Taking time to stop eating!

Last week my husband and I decided we should do a fast.  It is a discipline and a way for us to remember that man does not live on bread alone.  We live by the words of God as well.  I'll just say this now...It was really really hard!
I love to eat. I really do.  I love to cook and think about food and planning about food and everything that has to do with food.

I also complain very loudly about being hungry something that really annoyed my husband.  It's hard for me to feel hungry because it's natural for people to just reach for food when we are hungry.

It made me think about how much time I think about eating and planning and how much I take for granted having food in the fridge.
I have food in the fridge most of the time and if I don't I just go out and buy something more to eat.  It's very simple and I couldn't help but think about the people in most of the world that don't have things to eat for days.
If not eating for one day was this difficult I can't even imagine how difficult it would be not to eat two days in a row.
It was very eye opening for me.  Just thinking about food gives me happiness.  I love planning my meals and figuring out new recipes but to stop all of that put so many things into perspective for me.
I just want to challenge you to try to not eat two meals.  Don't do breakfast because that's too easy and don't do it on a day where you have work all day because you won't really think about it that much.
On a Saturday when you have time at home, try to not eat lunch or dinner.  Or just don't eat dinner and see how you feel.  Suddenly you'll see that you have lots of time on your hands and how much you appreciate living in a country where food is easily accessible.
Food is a great thing and we only live because we eat food but our soul also needs to eat.  Our soul needs to be woken up to all the things in the world and grow to have compassion, patience and gratitude.
If you think you can do it, give it a try and let me know how it goes.

The husband and I have decided to fast three meals a week, mostly dinners on different days and to save the money and give that amount to the poor.  Hopefully we can do and I hope you try.
Fast so that you can go slow and give thanks.