A Snowless Snow Day

Well, yet another birthday has come and gone and pretty much the highlight of my birthday was the promise of Snowquester coming to the District. I love, love, love a good snow storm [and more importantly, a snow day off work]. Just the other day I was lamenting how upset I was that it has been years since our last substantial snowfall or snow day in the District. With the impending storm I thought, finally, a birthday miracle, I'm being given the gift of snow!

Naturally, I waited with baited breath yesterday for the rain to begin, but nothing. Even when I returned home from my birthday happy hour, there was still no rain to be found. And so, Bax and I retired for the night, but each time I awoke from slumber I'd frantically look out my window like a giddy child to see if the snow had begun to fall. As morning was beginning to near and my hopes of a snow day were beginning to fade, it began. I was ultimately greeted by an email saying the feds (and most of the town) were closed for the day which made me happy and allowed me to catch up on my sleep. 

My Shepherd dog, however, was not happy. Despite the fact that we got to spend the day together, the weather was not her cup of tea [recall: she HATES to be damp]. When we ventured out for our morning walk I underestimated how much it was raining, and despite dressing her in her rain slicker, it wasn't enough (she was upset that I hadn't brought an umbrella). Needless to say, we ended our time outside in a spat and with her refusing to pee. The snow came down on and off throughout the day, but each time I just became increasingly angrier that it wasn't sticking. What a disappointment [Insert renewed desire to move to Colorado least I never feel snow on my person again]. 

The day was not a total loss though. I got to try a new, non-baking recipe and have spent the majority of the day getting caught up on Scandal. I'm officially obsessed with that show! I will also say that, in true Gian fashion, I am stretching my birthday festivities out throughout the course of the weekend and thus will share a full birthday recap in a later post. But for now, I present to you today's creation...inspired by the cold and my love for mac and cheese:

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

Based on this Runner's World Version

• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 medium cauliflower
• 1 cup whole-wheat penne pasta
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (I used a cheddar-blend)
• 2 Tbsps olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Italian herb seasoning
• 1 tsp minced onion seasoning
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup whole-grain bread crumbs

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 F and bring a large pot of water to a boil

2. Remove stem and chop cauliflower into large chunks. Add to boiling water and cook for 25 minutes, or until tender

3. Scoop cauliflower out of water using strainer spoon and put in a food processor

4. While making cauliflower sauce, cook pasta in boiling water for five minutes

5. Add vegetable stock to cauliflower in food processor and begin to process. Continue by adding cheddar cheese, olive oil, and spices

I found the sauce to be almost apple sauce like, but it was a really quite divine!

6. Drain and rinse pasta to cool slightly. Combine pasta and sauce [I will not that I had a substantial amount of sauce and ended up tossing the pasta with some of the sauce and then just saving the rest for another batch of pasta at another time] 

7. Spread pasta coated in sauce evenly around in baking dish. Top with Parmesan and bread crumbs before baking. Bake 20 minutes or until bread crumbs begin to brown