Cauliflower Pizza

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

As found on my "Exercise / In Shape" board which is full of exercise and healthy alternatives to nommies.

http://pinterest.com/pin/141089400797136784/


That picture makes it look like the most delicious, crispy pizza crust. Not exactly like dough, but similar enough in its crispy thinness that it could easily be taken as dough. So out I went to buy my ingredients and whip this up.


The "dough"
1 head of cauliflower grated via cheese grater
2 eggs
2 cups mozzarella cheese
basil (I used paste)

Mix the ingredients together by hand. Spread into 4 mini-pizzas. Cook for 10 minutes by itself at 400 degrees.


Pull out of oven.

The "topping"

I used spicy marinara (premade, bottled)
Thin sliced Squash (yellow)
Thin sliced Zucchini
Mushrooms (sliced)
Onions (chopped)
Ricotta Cheese mixed with basil paste (1 cup)
Sprinkle Mozzarella on top for true "pizza" feel

Cook 18 more minutes.

This was the result. It looks maybe like pizza if pizza exploded in the oven.

It tastes....nothing like pizza. Even a little. It was delicious, don't get me wrong. I loved it. But it wasn't pizza. It didn't come close to pizza. This wasn't even pizza's ugly step-cousin. This was just good baked veggies with cheese and sauce. Which...there's nothing wrong with that...so long as you don't expect pizza.


Marlipaige rating: B (A for taste, but C for deceiving me into thinking it was Pizza)
Effort: Easy/Medium
Total time: 35 minutes (the biggest time consumers besides cook time are grating cauliflower and dicing veggies)

Cute Enough to Eat

So, I was on pinterest tooling around and thought "I bet there's cute halloween nails out there"

I saw these, Candy Corn, and thought to myself "i'm so dumb. why didn't I think of that on my own?"

http://pinterest.com/pin/141089400797418024/


Now the real sugary sweet confection looks like this:

Because the orange is in the middle (and it's the darkest color) I painted half my nail yellow and half white. I let this dry then painted an orange stripe in between.

Clearly the orange stripe is too wide, but it was a first attempt. However, I did get several compliments and "Oh! Her nails look like candy corn!" comments.


Time taken: 15 minutes
Difficulty level: Low
Pro-tip: DO NOT USE SCOTCH TAPE. It will take the paint off. If you want perfect lines either buy the stuff designed for nails or use something flat and straight to make an edge. The whole "just use scrapbook scissors and scotch tape to make cute nails" BS. Doesn't work. It strips the pain.


Best of luck and Happy Halloween month! May you have a Boo-tiful October!

Ribbons in Her Hair

Saw this adorble pin that had a waterfall braid that was tied off with a ribbon (and the ribbon was also the headband) for a side pony.

http://pinterest.com/pin/141089400796183770/

I decided to do my own variations on this:

My first try was actually just pinning the ribbon as a headband and then bowing it off at the top of the braid and braiding the remaining ribbon down. I was less than satisfied.

This way took 15 minutes and minimal effort.

Take 2 I waterfalled the back, tied the bow, and continued the braid down still integrating the ribbon.

This way took 20 minutes and medium effort (mostly because of the waterfall on the back of my head)

Take three I did the same maneuver, but I moved the bow down to the bottom of the braid.

Better views of the side and back

This took 35 minutes and medium / hard effort because I had to keep redoing the waterfall on the back of my head to make it look decent. I did not have a mirror behind and in front at this time, and it made it REALLY hard. 

Basically, if you'd like to braid a ribbon into your hair and have it as your headband, I think the bow looks better at the bottom. Or perhaps just try like the original pinner did...waterfall, bow, pony. However, I did like the way the blue looked in my braid.


BIG TIPS:
If you're going to use the same ribbon for braid and headband:
1. PIN IT IN!      You absolutely must bobby pin it to both sides of your head before you begin the waterfall braid or it will fall out.

2. Have access to a mirror in front and behind you.     I'm lucky to have a mirror front closet that is split doors so I can have a front and back mirror to do back of head braids. If you don't have this, it will be harder for you to accomplish.


3.  Have spare bobby pins!    There will be little whispies that insist on getting out of line. You need bobby pins to secure them back into place. Just twist as you work them into the braid, and they'll be almost seamless.



Happy Hairdos!

In my Field of Paper Flowers

So I caught onto the DIY paper flower craze from pinterest. However, it really didn't turn out like they all claimed.

The Spiral:
http://pinterest.com/pin/141089400797206905/

So...I went to the website from the link...just that picture. So I followed what seemed to be "directions" in picture form. And what I created was...nothing. I could not figure out how to make them actually turn from random spiral paper to flowers. So...fail.



The Petal
http://pinterest.com/pin/141089400797078567/

Again, this was just a picture with no explanation. But it was a series of pictures that seemed to provide instructions. So I tried...this time...with some success.