Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Recently, I posted on social media that I found riced cauliflower (which is simply a head of cauliflower that's been whizzed about in a food processor until it becomes the same size as small-grain rice) at Trader Joe's, which is just the greatest time (and mess) saver I've found in awhile, and is a much healthier, low-carb alternative to rice or pasta. My foodie friends commented with recipe ideas, and my wonderfully creative friend, Kirstie, suggested making a pizza crust out of it. 
So, I tried it. And, OHMYGOSHYUM. 

I thought I would share a recipe I created tonight in case any of you would like to try it. 




Serves 2-4, depending on the hunger factor! :-) 

Cauliflower Crust: 
1 package Trader Joe's riced cauliflower (or one small/medium head of cauliflower, zipped through the food processor until it resembles small grains of rice)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup parmesan, asiago and/or romano
1/2 tsp crushed oregano
1/2 tsp crushed rosemary
1/2 tsp crushed basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder 
Dash of kosher salt and pepper
1 egg
1/2 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven and cookie sheet, cast iron griddle, or pizza stone to 450° (preheating pan with the oven will help the crust to bake up with a nice caramelization on the bottom). 

Place riced cauliflower in a bowl and microwave for approximately 4 minutes. Carefully remove from microwave and invert bowl onto a clean dish towel and allow the cauliflower to cool. Once cooled, gather up the corners of the dish towel and wring out as much water from the cauliflower as possible, leaving only cauliflower "pulp" remaining. Place pulp into a mixing bowl and add cheeses, herbs, salt & pepper. Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined, then add the egg. Mix well until the egg adheres to the cauliflower mixture to create a ball of "dough". Place "dough" on a piece of parchment paper that will fit the pan. Press "dough" out to a 1/8" thickness. Pull pan from oven (don't forget to use mitts!), and place the parchment in/on pan. Bake for 10 minutes, until crust is lovely and golden. This is the time when cauliflower goes from smelling stinky to smelling so heavenly, the "Hallelujah Chorus" may burst forth from the oven when you open the door. Be prepared. ;-) 

Note: As part of my toppings, I wanted to use roasted caramelized carrots and garlic. So, before I put the crust in the oven, in a cast iron skillet (which I also preheated in the oven to help the carrots to caramelize beautifully), I cut 3 peeled carrots into quarters lengthwise  (I used "Carrots of Many Colors" from Trader Joe's ((in case you haven't noticed, I'm a big TJ's fan!)) because they're just so dang pretty), and tossed them in 1 teaspoon olive oil, then added salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon coriander seed and coated them evenly. I peeled 8 cloves of garlic and added to carrots. Place in the oven about 5 minutes ahead of the crust. When you put the crust into the oven, give the carrots a flip with a spatula, then continue to roast the next ten minutes in the oven with the pizza crust. 

While the crust is baking, prepare your other toppings.

Toppings: 
The aforementioned carrots and garlic (which at this point should still be roasting with the crust)
3 sliced fresh vine-ripened tomatoes
Fresh spinach leaves (1-2 cups) - you could also use fresh basil leaves! 
3 slices Trader Joe's thin sliced Rosemary Ham, cut into bite-size pieces - or cooked, crumbled, blessed BACON. I opted for the ham this time, and it was a good choice. (I'm sorry, Beloved Bacon. It's just this once - my heart still belongs to you.) 
3 slices red onion, separated into rings
1/4 cup shredded parmesan, or whatever sharper cheese you wish
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella 

Pull crust and carrots & garlic from oven (you can leave the peeled cloves intact - they'll be all soft and melty and delicious), and add your toppings to the pizza. I didn't use any pizza sauce because the crust itself carries so much cheesy yummy flavor and I didn't want to steal it's thunder. ;-) Start with the cheese, then add the other toppings, and a finishing sprinkle of the cheeses. 

Return to oven for 5 minutes more or until everything is beautifully roasted, bubbly and melted together. 

Before serving, drizzle the 1/2 teaspoon olive oil over the pizza. You could also top with some fresh arugula at this point as well. Finish with a sprinkling of shaved parmesan. 

You can cut this like regular pizza and you can even hold it like pizza, but I advise using a fork because the toppings carry a bit of weight, which could end up in your lap if you try to eat it like regular pizza! 

Enjoy! 

Here We Go!

Well, hello there! 

First off, welcome to my new blog. I'm glad you're here! I know your time is precious, and it means quite a lot to me that you'd take time out of your day to read words typed by a girl who's just figuring stuff out and sharing it. I hope you'll grab a cup of tea and stay awhile. 

My hope and prayer is that here, you'll find rest for a few minutes, and that, at the end of each post, you go forth in your day feeling a little more encouraged, comforted, joyful, uplifted... or... maybe even inspired. Hence, the blog title, "Comfort and Joy" (there are other reasons for the title, too, which I'll get to shortly). 

This initial blog entry is, for me, truly exciting, and I hope it marks the beginning of something beautiful that my readers (that would be you, you awesome person!) and I will experience together. 

As I've spent recent months pondering this blog and it's purpose, I've gone round and round in my mind wondering where to begin. They say the first blog post is the hardest (don't they?). Anyway, I determined that it might be best to pretend I'm sitting with you in a coffee shop, and we're meeting for the first time. What would I say? That made it a little easier. Thinking in those terms, the obvious starting point would be to give you an introduction as to who I am, what I'm about, and why I even started this blog. So, here goes! 

Who I Am, What I'm About, and the Purpose of this Blog

The mountain that grew me. :)

My name is Kristin. I was fortunate to be raised in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California (pictured, above). Here, I enjoyed an almost magical childhood playing among the pine trees year-round, enjoying perfect summer days at the lake, crisp autumn nights with the scent of wood-burning chimneys filling my senses with the "cozy" of fall, followed swiftly by my favorite season: winter, when I spent my days happily sledding down my backyard hill and building snowmen until I could no longer feel my hands and feet, at which point I'd run inside and thaw out by the fire, a warm mug containing my mom's hot chocolate in hand. In our mountains, spring brought forth woods joyfully bursting with brightly colored tulips, irises, daffodils and dogwoods in full bloom. It was, for me, the best place to grow up, and I loved every minute. It was there, as far back as preschool and kindergarten, where I met some of my dearest friends, with whom I still enjoy close relationships to this day. It's also where I met my future husband. Yes, that little mountain was good to me. :)

I met my husband, Matt, the summer before my sophomore year in high school. We've been married almost 23 years (to even be able to say that is, in and of itself, truly a miracle of God that deserves it's own book, which I'm currently working on, but I'll definitely share parts of that story here, too). Over [a short period of] time, God gifted us with three incredible, magnificent, talented, kind, loving children, all of whom are now official, card-carrying adults. (What?! I have ADULT children?! When did this aging thing happen?! *Sigh*. I guess it happened while I was busy looking for missing socks in the dryer.) 

Over the course of the past 23 years, we've moved from Southern California to Middle Tennessee, where we lived for almost 12 years, then relocated back to the west coast in 2007, where we now reside in the insanely beautiful state of Oregon. Matt and I have always had dreams of moving back to "our beloved mountain" in California, but Oregon is a very close second in my heart, and I am content. 

The past two-plus decades, mostly through adversity, I've learned a lot about myself: being a woman, a wife, a parent, a friend, and what it really means to say I'm a follower of Christ. I'll be blogging about such things with the hope that it may offer some encouragement to someone out here in the blogosphere. :) This is another reason for the "Comfort" bit of the blog title. 

I've also learned what I am truly passionate about, and what truly matters to me: God. Family. Friends. Creating a home. Loving and serving others (and taking care of myself so I may do this well). Over the years, I've discovered a love for all things creative: culinary arts, painting, writing, crafting, and decorating (I especially enjoy repurposing - bringing life back to something old, making it new again and even more lovely than it was before. It's kind of symbolic to my own life, namely my marriage). I'll be blogging about all these things, too, and I'll share some fun ideas, DIY projects and recipes with you. Hence, the "Joy" piece in the blog title. :)

The final reason for the title of this blog carries a special meaning to me. I have a long-awaited dream of someday opening a shop called Comfort and Joy. I can see it clearly in my mind's eye: the exterior will have large windows, with flower baskets resting on each sill, exploding and overflowing with cheerful florals and greenery, welcoming and beckoning you to come inside for a visit. Inside, the lighting and atmosphere will be bright and fresh, yet cozy, filling your senses the moment you enter with the scent of fresh flowers intermingling with the smell of coffee and baked goods. Comfort. Joy. 

On one side of the shop there will be plush, comfy chairs around a warm fireplace; books, board games, (okay, maybe wifi, too), hot beverages and delicious scones, biscotti and pastries. I see myself there, donned in an apron, greeting the cute little siblings playing a game of checkers as I walk over to Bill, a daily visitor - a sweet, gentle, elderly man. I cheerfully deliver his daily cup of coffee, newspaper and danish. We'll chat for a few minutes about his beloved wife, his latest fishing catch, his children and his adorable grandkids. 

Comfort. 

On the other side of the shop, there will be repurposed wooden tables and furniture pieces (by yours truly) which will hold all kinds of unique and special gifts. There will be custom-made greeting cards, and buckets of fresh flowers, ribbon and craft paper for you to create your own bouquets to brighten that special someone's day. 

Joy.  

My hope is that maybe, just maybe, (if I can convince all of my kids to live nearby - wink, wink), it could be located on the lake where I grew up, where its beauty and charm can be viewed from the shop windows. 

Ironically, someone posted a photo of the very view I'm speaking of on Facebook yesterday, and one of my best friends happened to share it with me. I'm hoping if I give photo credit, he won't mind me posting it here, because I'm all about visuals. :) 

Photo credit: John Smeby
I don't know you, sir, but you take a nice photo! 

But, if that location doesn't pan out (i.e., if my kids don't want to uproot their lives in Oregon! Go figure!), I'm perfectly content to open Comfort and Joy wherever it's meant to be. :) 

I kind of wanted to share that dream, not only to keep myself inspired, but writing about it just gets me excited about the future, you know? I also can't help but think what fun it would be to be sharing with you what is currently just in the dream stage, but to one day have it become reality and be able to share it with you here, every step of the way. 

Maybe one day, Comfort and Joy will go from a written blog to an actual place where you could come visit me in person! We could sit by the fire and chat over a hot beverage and I could send you off with a lovely bouquet of flowers and hopefully a bit more happiness in your heart than you came with. That's the coolest thought ever. :) 

Well, there you have it. My first blog entry. Wow! That was fun, at least for me! Hopefully, it was at least mildly entertaining for you, too, and that you'll come back again! 

Until next time...  be well, and be blessed!