Weekend Dinner Recipe: Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I must admit, this is my second attempt at making a cauliflower pizza crust, and unfortunately I still haven’t nailed it yet – but I am much closer and hopefully with a few of my tips, yours will turn out perfectly. This recipe probably isn’t for the feint of heart, it did take me quite a while to make and I was a bit disappointed in the end when I couldn’t remove the parchment paper from the crust. I am hoping this was because I did not put an oil or cooking spray on the parchment paper before baking. That is my first pointer – do NOT forget to grease the parchment paper before forming the pizza.

Cauliflower pizza crust, how strange right? Well, the taste of the crust is actually quite good! Yes you can tell that it isn’t dough – mainly because of the consistency, however, it doesn’t taste like cauliflower either. Top the crust the same way you would if you were using dough, i’ll leave that up to you – I pretty much use every veggie I can find!

So without further ado, here is the recipe.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Inspired by: http://lindawagner.net/blog/2012/01/grain-free-gluten-free-low-carb-cauliflower-pizza-crust-recipe/

For the crust:

• 1 very large head of cauliflower
• 1 small package of soft goat cheese (about 4oz.)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp oregano

Ingredients: cauliflower, soft goat cheese, and an egg - not so hard right?

Step 1:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

First you will need to rinse and chop the cauliflower into small pieces and process in a food processor. Mix until a fine “rice” like consistency is achieved. I had to do this in three batches because my food processor was too small.

You should end up with something that looks like the second picture when it is "riced".

Step 2:

Boil about an inch of water and then add the “riced cauliflower” to the pot with the water and let it steam for about 6 or 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain well using a fine mesh strainer.

Step 2

Step 3:

Place the well drained “riced” cauliflower on a large dry dish towel. Pull the sides of the towel together and squeeze out all of the remaining moisture. Make sure you really wring the towel out, the less moisture, the better your crust will turn out. Just a note, the cauliflower and water is very hot – be careful.

Once you are confident all the moisture has been removed, place the cauliflower into a large bowl and add the egg, goat cheese, and oregano. This is the fun part, mix the ingredients together using your hands – really make sure everything is combined. Things should start to stick together a bit.

Step 3

Step 4:

Line a cookie sheet [or pizza pan] with parchment paper and GREASE WITH OIL [or cooking spray]. Do not, I repeat, do not forget this step. You will be sorry… and picking parchment paper off the bottom of your pizza crust – like I did.

Drop the cauliflower onto the greased parchment paper and use your hands to form a thin, even circle. I kept the sides higher to mimic the crust of a pizza – I would recommend doing that.

Unbaked cauliflower "pizza" crust.

Step 5:

Bake in the middle rack of the oven for about 35-40mins. Remove and top with your favourite pizza toppings. Place the pizza back in the oven for about 7 minutes to melt the cheese and soften the veggies.

There you have it, homemade cauliflower pizza crust.

I meant to take a picture of the whole pizza but I was too hungry to wait.

You can see in the picture above that the parchment paper was ripped to shreds and stuck to the crust, but I am pretty sure greasing it with oil or cooking spray will fix that problem. My guests told me it was a hit and would definitely eat it again.

Hope you enjoy!

PS – GO SENS GO!!!

Sens swag is taking over the office!!

Betsey Johnson It’s My Pink Scented Nail Polish Product Review

Here are two facts you should know about me:

1. I love Betsey Johnson – I am usually found sporting her dresses to any formal event I attend.

2. The words limited edition (or exclusive) when it comes to beauty products = instant purchase for me.

So you shouldn’t be surprised that I ran to Sephora when I heard about Betsey Johnson’s collaboration with Sephora and OPI –  limited edition scented nail colour.

It’s My Pink! - (opaque hot pink scented with Too Too Perfume)

I was more than intrigued as to how the “scented” part would work. After sniffing the bottle immediately after opening [ew] – I realized that it wouldn’t smell until it dried. Two base coats of OPI Nail Envy later, my nails were primed to smell like roses [or Too Too perfume]. This polish went on very smoothly and surprisingly opaque. I would have been able to use just one coat – but I couldn’t leave it at that, I’m not a single coat kind of gal. Once dry, the scent was very noticeable – in a pleasant way. It smells very floral. I wish I had taken the time to sniff Betsey’s Too Too perfume before writing this to see how similar it really is, but I haven’t had a chance. The scent, although not overly potent – which is probably a good thing – lasted at least two full days, almost three. Unfortunately, the polish itself started chipping after day 1. This is probably because I didn’t use a top coat – which I assumed would mask the perfumed smell… thus being a waste. I love the idea of scented nail polish, and I must say, the colour is quite striking – but, the lack of staying power is a bit of a deal breaker for me.

Here is what it looks like:

Two coats of Betsey Johnson's It's My Pink! scented with Too Too perfume nail polish.

It's My Pink scented nail colour

And because I am rarely satisfied with just a single colour on my nails, here is what I added – inspired by a Sephora in store nail polish ad.

Betsey Johnson's It's My Pink and Sephora with OPI Leotard Optional

Dairy and Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

A few months ago I received a few silicon muffin tins from a friend, I had been dying to try some new recipes using them but life got in the way and I never really got around to it. Last night I decided to whip up some delicious allergy friendly blueberry muffins. I was inspired by a recipe I found on Pinterest for healthier dairy free muffins but  I chose to try quinoa flour so they would be gluten free. If you are vegan you can substitute the one egg for a flax egg or another vegan egg substitute. I used a combination of natural sweeteners because it was all I had left in the house – it makes for an interesting flavour but is definitely not necessary for the recipe. You could use between 2/3 and 3/4 of a cup of either honey, raw agave, or natural maple syrup instead – depending on how sweet you like your muffins.

Dairy and Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Inspired by: http://www.squidoo.com/whole-wheat-blueberry-muffin-recipe 

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 cup raw agave nectar
• 3/8 cup natural maple syrup
• a few drops of stevia if you like your muffins a little sweeter
• 1/3 cup coconut oil melted (or other vegetable oil)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (could use another milk substitute depending on your preference – or regular milk if lactose isn’t an issue)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg (or vegan egg substitute equivalent)
• 2 cups fresh blueberries  (I prefer fresh because they stay in tact and don’t turn the batter blue)

What to do:

Step 1 – Pre-heat the oven to 400F

Step 2 – Combine the first3 ingredients into a bowl. If you are using quinoa flour, don’t be alarmed by the smell, it isn’t the most pleasant but I promise you won’t taste it!

Step 3 – Melt the coconut oil and set aside, you will add it to the wet ingredients last. Just to clarify, it should be 1/3 of a cup when melted.

Step 4 – Using a large bowl, mix together all of the wet ingredients (raw agave, natural maple syrup, stevia, egg, almond milk and apple sauce). Stir together and then add the melted coconut oil. The reason for adding it at the end is that once it touches any ingredient that is wet and cold it will begin to solidify – you want to avoid this.

Step 5 – Slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix well with a fork until there are no clumps.

Step 6 – Fold in blueberries.

Step 7 – Grease a metal muffin tin, or use a silicon muffin tin and fill 12 spots to the top. These muffins do not rise much at all.

Step 8 – Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Muffins in the oven!

They should look something like the picture above. Just a tip, if you are using silicon muffin pans, be sure to put them on a baking sheet before filling them. It will be much easier to get them in an out of the oven.

Step 9 – Remove the muffins from the oven after 20 minutes have elapsed. If you used a silicon muffin tin, take them off of the baking sheet to allow them to cool faster and then place the silicon tins of a wire rack. It is important to let them fully cool before removing them. These muffins are very moist and will not come out of the tins easily if they aren’t at room temperature. This is always the hardest part for me. I hate waiting!

Step 10 – Share with friends and enjoy!

NOM NOM NOM!

So there you have it! Dairy and gluten free blueberry muffins (with a vegan option). I must say, for such a healthy muffin, they taste absolutely amazing. If you use the ingredients I used in the same quantities the muffins come in at just under 150 calories each with 3 grams of protein and 25 grams of carbs – not so bad!

Hope you like them as much as I do!

Easter Nail Tutorial

Okay, so maybe the colours I chose aren’t all that Easter like, but you could definitely change them to fit.

Step 1:

Paint your nail with a base coat. I used two coats of nail envy (check out my product review here) to make sure my nails are extra strong. Once the base coat is dry, choose an opaque colour and paint your entire nail.

Step 1 - I used American Apparel L'Esprit

Step 2:

Once the first colour is entirely dry – I’m talking bone dry, I usually wait a day – you can proceed to step 2. Using scotch tape, cover all but the corner of each nail. See the photo below. I find it works best if you stick the tape to your hand first to remove just a bit of the stickiness.

Step 2 - Tape nail to cover everything but the corner.

Step 3:

Paint over the tape, concentrating on the uncovered area using your accent colour. Now this is the important part, make sure you take the tape off immediately. If you let this layer dry before removing the tape the lines will not be as clean.  I suggest painting one nail and taking the tape of it before moving onto the next. This is the one piece of advice I wish someone had given me before my first nail art attempt. I used Quo by Orly Filthy Rich

Step 3 - Paint over the tape. I used Quo by Orly Filthy Rich

Step 4:

Once your nails are dry, use a top coat to make your nail polish last longer, once again I use nail envy. Et voila!

The Final Product!

Hope you enjoyed! I would love to see pictures of your nail art!

Hope In A Jar Product

As promised, today I am reviewing philosophy’s Hope In A Jar.

My container of Hope In A Jar - 60ml size

I bought this facial moisturizer after reading numerous rave reviews in magazines. Unfortunately, I do not share the same enthusiasm for this product. I must admit, I had very high hopes but I was immediately turned off by the design of the container. To me, facial moisturizers should not come in a pot, they should be pumped out. I dislike putting my fingers in the jar because I feel like bacteria will start to get into my product – and then on to my face. If philosophy changed the container to something that was dispensed, I would likely have a much more favourable review.

My advice to you; use this product sparingly – if you buy it – the whipped, milky lotion does not absorb well into my skin. I have very dry skin and I find if I put too much on my face looks greasy, but when I only use a little bit I am left with dry patches. The scent is anything but pleasant – I can’t even describe it. Luckily the foul odor seems to vanish once it is absorbed.

Texture of the product.

I wish I could agree with the masses and tell you that I loved this product and will never buy anything else – but truthfully, I probably won’t buy it ever again. I have had this container longer than I am willing to publicly admit and I am only just passing the half way mark. I try to use it consistently to see if prolonged use will have positive effects on my skin but I have not noticed any difference yet [except for a few extra breakouts – probably from my fingers and germs being put into the jar].

With that being said I do not recommend this product if you have dry skin, it is much too greasy and does not absorb enough to smooth my patches of dryness. Feel free to check out the reviews on the Sephora site to see what others have to say. I am just telling you my opinion – which is to find a better product for the price. I have yet to find a go to moisturizer; I was really hoping that Hope In A Jar would be it… and so the search continues.

I’ve got a fun nail tutorial for tomorrow. Here is a preview of stage one – feel free to follow along and paint your nails an opaque colour tonight so they are good and dry to finish tomorrow. You’ll need tape and another colour that will complement whichever base colour you choose. I used American Apparel’s L’Esprit for my base.

Stage One - American Apparel L'Esprit

The Smoking Loafers Arrived!

Tuesday’s Outfit by ellepottsie

I received my new leopard print smoking loafers in the mail last night. They are perfect – exactly what I was hoping for and they fit like a glove… or a sock?

This is how I wore them today. Hope you like it!

Stay tuned for another product review tomorrow!