When the moon hits the sky like big pizza pie...

Hi guys

I was so excited to write my next post about the most delicious aubergine I'd ever eaten...Then I had 10 minutes to kill while waiting for my trainer and was googling food (as always) and came across the most bizarre thing I have ever heard of - cauliflower pizza.

Now I for one stand firmly against food substitutes, especially one this bizarre.  I mean pizza is pizza, don't screw with the man.
But strangely enough, I found so many recipes, some of them from reputable sources and one of them from the diet and healthy living anti-Christ, Paula Deen.  Logically, it couldn't be that bad then.

So here's what you do:

You take one medium head of cauliflower and chuck it in the food processor until it's nice and fine.  Place the product in a glass bowl and cover with cling wrap and microwave on high for about 5 minutes until the grains are soft.
Wait for it to cool and add half a cup of finely grated mozzarella, 2 eggs and some salt and pepper.
Take this mush and place it on a baking sheet covered in foil sprayed with lots of non-stick spray, use your hands to shape it into whatever shape blows your hair back.  I made mine just less than a centimetre thick.  Bake this at 200 degrees Celsius for around 20 minutes until firmly set and the edges start to brown.

Okay, now comes the pizza part.

Spread on some tomato sauce (I just used plain passata from the jar), sprinkle on your grated mozzarella and place what ever toppings you want on top.  Since this was highly experimental, I just used some finely sliced smoked chicken.
Place the pizza (can't help but cringe a little when I call it that...) under your grill/broiler and let it sit for a few minutes until the cheese is nice and golden and bubbly.

I sliced mine with a pizza wheel and I was very surprised by how a slice stayed in one piece while being chomped like a regular pizza.

The verdict:  I liked it.   I think my husband is very sceptical about it, has difficulty wrapping his head around the idea, but the point is - it's NOT a pizza, but what ever the hell it is, I really really like it.

To make changes to your lifestyle requires a new way of thinking about food, especially if these changes are to be permanent, and as for making a pizza crust from cauliflower - I'm totally okay with that.

God bless

Janie B

Meeting the cousins

Hi guys

This weekend I flew up north with the baby so he could meet his maternal aunt and uncle and the cousins.  I was rather nervous for a couple of reasons: 1) babies and planes don't mix 2) no dad for 5 days, so no one to give baby to for an hour to get some much needed nappage myself 3) major changes and babies also don't mix (his sleeping pattern took a serious knock) and 4) and this is the biggest one of them all: my sister-in-law is a PHENOMENAL cook, and I don't take throwing around complements like that lightly, as a product of my own culinary vanity.

I was absolutely terrified of this last part.  Bracing myself, I made the trip up north and was greeted at the airport by a svelter-than-usual looking sister-in-law, which of course prompted me to ask - what is going on?  The answer came as music to my ears, I could practically hear Julie Andrews bellowing "The hills are alive with the sound of music" out over the pick-up and go parking.  She had given up wheat and sugar.  I was safe.

We had a discussion about the new way we ate and it turns out she lost 5 kg in a month and a half by just eliminating wheat and sugar - she still had any other kind of carbohydrate, and still indulges in her drug of choice - the humble potato: mashed, boiled, but especially deep fried.  Her story just reminded me of exactly how toxic sugar and gluten are. 
I do also believe that each person has a carbohydrate threshold, if I ate things like potato chips, I'd almost certainly pile on the weight, which is not true in her case.  Like her, I think we all need to push the limits and see what works for us.

So, recipe time.  I've been eating a lot of aubergine lately.  Now that I'm eating fats again, aubergine is just the most wonderful thing in the world.  You simply can't prepare a good aubergine without a good glug of oil.

I have no idea what to call this recipe, but I've been making it for some time now.  And over the course of this weekend, the two of us just took it to a whole new level.

Aubergine and tomato tray-bake

• 2 medium sized aubergines or about 300g of those dwarf ones (my fav) - sliced or in the case of the little ones, halved
• the same amount of tomatoes - peeled and sliced thickly
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 2 rounds of feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts

 

Place the aubergines and tomatoes on a baking tray or large oven proof dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Douse with a good amount of olive oil - I use at least a 1/3 of a cup.  Season with salt and pepper and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 40 minutes, turning the veggies halfway through.  They should look nice and caramelised.  Crumble the feta over and put back in the oven for a final 5 minutes.  Now sprinkle over the vinegar and stir gently with a spatula and garnish with a handful of toasted pine nuts.

 

 

I have one more aubergine recipe up my sleeve, but I have to make it myself first (something I ate in a restaurant)

 

I hope you enjoy this one!

 

God bless

Janie B

Big change: your help needed!

Hi Guys
 When I say big change, I mean huge.  After 3 weeks on Dukan I've barely lost 4 kg, it just broke me and I sat down and looked at every thing I ate, and realised that I really ate pristinely, the weight was just not moving.  I was especially bummed because before I fell pregnant I lost 12kg in the first month, and this time I did everything by the book, PLUS I'm training like an animal.

So I decided to go to the dark side.... I've started doing Atkins.  I've been at it for a week today and I've lost 3kg on it so far.  I know you guys will probably hang me out to dry for it, but right now, for me it works and who knows, perhaps I'll switch again some day.

So I want to ask you guys for your opinions: should I continue here and post my recipes (clearly I'm a much better Atkins cook than a Dukan cook), or should I start a new blog?
Please let me know what you think.

God bless
Janie B