Hash Brown Cauliflower-

We have been preparing our house to sell over the past eight weeks. Barbecue was not high on the list of activities during this time. Mostly it was packing and hauling and storing and fixing and painting and cleaning. Food was largely an afterthought. In addition, I have been working on correcting my diet, per the directions of my doctor. I have gone as far as I safely can along the path of negligent eating, and to continue down the path I have been on would unwise.

So, I have been experimenting with my diet over the past few weeks, trying to find a path back to a more reasonable weight and healthier lifestyle. There were days of frustration, low energy and depression. Other days were more successful and even on occasion fulfilling. I discovered that restricting carbohydrates or fats or calories alone was not a good way to go. Indeed, with regard to controlling carbs at the same time as fats I found that I would be working at cross purposes.

A lot of research has been part of my diet. In doing this research, I discovered Hash Brown Cauliflower. I do not like cauliflower that much. Very little, really. Yet this was a low carb offering to replace Hash Brown Potatoes. I was up for a bit of exploration, and so placed a request with our food manager (my daughter Beth) to arrange for the necessary groceries.

I had an electric skillet for the preparation. I chopped onions, a task I apparently have done seldom. I was not anywhere as skillful as the chefs I watch on The Food Network. I suppose I need a bit of practice. Anyway, a prep bowl of chopped onions was soon made ready. I then chopped some bacon. I really like bacon. Then the fun began.

It was necessary to shred cauliflower. I quartered the heads, and used a grater we had that was a plastic box with a grater for the lid. It was quite a bit of work. It was messy. Cauliflower does not maintain it's structural integrity under this kind of stress. I suspect that a food processor would be a very good tool for this job. I don't have one available right now, but it may soon be on my wish list.

Onions and bacon in the pan. Cook until browned. Add the cauliflower. Cook until browned on one side. Flip, cook the other side. At least, that is how it would have gone with a little more real estate devoted to cooking. The skillet was just too small for the amount of stuff I was cooking. I did my best, and once I deemed it done I put it in a bowl and placed it in the oven to stay warm.

Next, scrambled eggs. This I have done often enough it was not too hard. Once the eggs were ready it was time to dish it up. I pulled out the Hash Brown Cauliflower and scooped up a serving into my bowl, adding an equal measure of scrambled eggs. I mixed them up in the bowl and gave it a try.

It was definitely different. I really liked it! Quite surprising for a fellow who really really does not like vegetables. I tried a bite with a bit of ketchup, and found that quite tasty. However, ketchup is a bit high on the carbohydrate scale, so I tried adding some Sriracha sauce. I usually go easy with this sauce, since it is quite hot. I found it needed a bit more than my usual drop or two.

This adjustment was very good, indeed. A single serving of Hash Brown Cauliflower was quite satisfying, an important point when adjusting a diet. Smaller portions, no seconds, etc.

Chopped peppers could be added to this dish. Also, mushrooms. Yes, definitely mushrooms. I also look forward to testing herbs, and maybe a bit of roasted garlic.

I would also like a good sized griddle to allow preparation to be done so as to brown the hash a bit better. That, or doing smaller batches in this same skillet.

Anyway, that was my most recent food adventure. The selling of the house and moving and buying a new place will keep me a bit busy for the next several months, but I really do want to grill up some vegetables in the near future. Vegies are a big "YES" on a low carb weight loss diet. Time to master those vegetables!

First Burn of the Season and Sourdough Bread-

My first burn of the season was this last weekend. We had a 2.5 pound Tri-Tip Roast seemingly sufficiently thawed, and I had cleaned the Winter out of our Char-Broil Silver Smoker. Central Coast California Winters are not particularly cruel, but we get enough cold evenings and precipitation to prevent a lot of Winter outdoor cooking. This particular roast was already prepped in the package, so once thawed it was ready to go.

I got the fire going. This being the the first burn of the season I got a full chimney of charcoal going and ran the Smoker with the vents wide open to really cook out any nasties I hadn't gotten during cleaning. The thermometer read about 425 degrees at peak. I scrubbed down the hot grill and turned down the vents. I then tossed in about a dozen fresh charcoal briquettes. I was using Kingsford Charcoal, the kind with Mesquite bits in the briquettes.

Once the cooking chamber had cooled to the 200 degree range I introduced the meat. I placed a thermometer probe in the thickest part of the meat, which was in the center of the cooking chamber. I got an initial temperature reading of Lo, indicating that we were still below 40 degrees internal temperature. I planned on a cooking time of about two to three hours.

Every thirty minutes I checked the fire. Generally it needed a half-dozen briquettes to keep the heat up. I generally just place them on top of the hot coals, rather than do a fresh start in the starting chimney each time. I haven't found the Kingsford introducing off flavors when doing this, and so this has been a general practice.

At three hours the internal temperature was around 128 degrees, and had been there for about thirty minutes. It was past the anticipated dinner time for the family, so I decided to speed things up a bit. I had been running with nearly closed vents. I added a dozen briquettes to the fire and opened the vents all the way. About thirty five minutes later we reached 160 degrees internal temperature, and I declared the cooking finished.

Just before adding the extra heat at the end of the cooking I laid four strips of bacon onto the roast, to prevent excessive drying of the exposed surfaces. It seemed to work, and the bacon was done just right at the end. After resting the meat for fifteen minutes under a foil tent, I cut into it and found it to be just right. A good smoke-ring, and finished cuts from medium rare to medium depending on the thickness of the meat at the cut.

As to other cooking adventures, my daughter Beth purchased an Oster 2 Lb. Breadmaker. We have done four loaves so far. None in the express bake mode, however. One loaf of Raisin Bread, one loaf of  white bread, and the third and fourth were sourdough. It took a few days to create the sourdough starter. This last loaf came out quite nicely, since I used actual bread flour as the recipe directed. Prior loaves were a bit dense, since I used the flour from our kitchen canister. Beth did the first loaf, a raisin bread that came out quite nicely. Bread flour is apparently very important.

We have a fresh bag of whole wheat flour for the next bread bake. This thing is really easy to use. I just measure out everything in advance, and then pour the ingredients into the bread pan. Measurements and order of ingredients is important, and I follow them precisely. Then the pan goes into the baker, I hit the settings (which are almost light-switch easy) and wait. Three hours, plus a cooling time of fifteen minutes.

There are a number of recipes yet to try just with the ones in the manual. There are plenty more recipes on-line. Not bad at all.

Forman and Kirkland prepare our dinner-

Sometimes you just don't want your meal to be particularly involved. Sure, fresh ground and blended meats cooked as burgers over an well laid charcoal fire are a fine meal. However, tonight we invited Foreman and Kirkland to provide us with a meal.

My daughter, Beth, did a lot of the preparation. Slicing tomatoes and red onion. "Why didn't you use the mandolin?" I asked. My wife had given us a mandolin slicing tool for Christmas. "I forgot we had one."

I like my onions sliced thin. So, I got out the mandolin. It is a V blade model. I used the safety grip to push the onion through the blades. Ah, nice and thin. Not as well shaped as I wanted. The onion was just a bit wide for the guides on the mandolin, and hit the blades at a sleight angle.

The meat was Kirkland brand ground beef, formed and frozen into uniform patties. I broke off half a dozen meat bricks and tossed three onto the George Foreman grill. We hadn't used this particular cooking tool on the frozen patties. I guesstimated eight minutes, based on grilling experience on the barbecue.

The first three were well done, a bit more than I care for. The next three were done for six minutes. The George Foreman grill does not require turning the meat. The drippings run off into catch trays. Easy-peasy. Paper towel clean-up, most of the time. Not a bad tool. Very little smoke, and set-up is pretty easy.

"Bacon." said Beth. She set up a half-dozen slices on the Foreman. We closed the lid. After a few minutes we peeked. Hmmm. Turning black at the tips, still white and fatty in the middle. I closed the lid and let it go a couple more minutes. The finished bacon was not particularly nice. The middle of each slice was still just barely cooked, the ends burnt (but still edible to a bacon mad eater such as myself).

The components brought together with inexpensive factory buns, honey mustard, ketchup and whatever else anyone wanted, and it was a fast and reasonably satisfying meal. Don't forget those cheese slices that come in little plastic jackets. Great burgers? By no means. A good meal? Unquestionably.

So, what did we learn, Dorothy? Kirkland burgers done from freezer to Foreman are best cooked about six minutes. George does not do bacon well. If you like to slice your vegetables on a mandolin, be sure they are the right size to fit between the guides. The George Foreman grill is not a bad grilling tool for indoor use, quick set up and fast clean up.

I still want to experiment with mixed freshly ground meats. I want to experiment with that for the rest of my life. However, for a quick meal, the team of Foreman and Kirkland make an adequate burger.