Remembering Dad

Today is the anniversary of my father's death. He passed away when I was 19 ... 27 years ago. 27 years and not a year goes by that this day passes without tears and remembrance. Actually I usually begin the process at the beginning of the month ... counting down the days. He died from heart disease at the age of 57 ... way too young. Do you ever really get over the loss of someone you love? The pain lessens ... thank God the pain lessens, but does there ever come a time, this side of heaven, when it is completely gone?

Mom passed 10 years ago. That was devastating. More so than losing my father. Not that I loved her any more, but when dad died at least I still had mom. Oh geesh ... I didn't really plan on writing all this. Now I'm really crying ... but it's OK. I guess I need to. With mom's passing, along with the pain and sorrow, there was also the joy in knowing she was with the Lord. I had that assurance, knowing that she had accepted Jesus as her Savior. I pray that my father knew Him, but I am not sure. We never discussed such things.

OK ... this is actually what I planned on writing about when I started ... smashed cauliflower. I made this lastnight, although I have to admit, I didn't photograph mine so I borrowed a picture from the internet and added the text. It looks just like mine, though. This was as wonderful, if not more so, than mashed, or smashed, potatoes.

Here's my recipe:

Smashed Cauliflower

Ingredients: 1 head of cauliflower; 1/4 cup fat free cream cheese; 3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast (adds a cheesy flavor); 1 Tbsp. butter buds; 1/2 tsp. garlic powder; salt/pepper to taste, chives for garnish

Boil or steam the cauliflower for about 10-13 minutes until soft. Retain the liquid to use as necessary for desired consistency when mashing. Mash the cauliflower with a potato masher, or, for a creamier consistency, you can use a hand mixer or food processor. I like the texture of smashing them. While smashing or mixing, add all the other ingredients, except chives, and the reserved steaming liquid as needed for your desired consistency. Garnish with chives. Makes 4 very generous servings.

If you don't keep nutritional yeast on hand (not to be confused with bread or brewer's yeast) you can omit it. Or throw in some Parmesan or other cheese. This will, however, increase the calories and fat content. Also, if I had the time, I would roast some garlic and use that instead of the garlic powder. But this was a really fast, delicious side dish that got my husband to eat some cauliflower. I bet it would work on kids too!

The scale is becoming more friendly ... coming back down. One thing I did notice this morning is even though it is still up a couple pounds from last week, my percentage of body fat has actually come down 5% from last week. So I'm losing fat and/or building muscle ... I'll take that. And I know I've lost inches because I've been having fun trying on clothes that I haven't been able to get into for, probably, a couple years. When I hit the 50-pound loss mark two years ago, before my daughter's wedding, I had bought a bunch of clothes, some of which I have not even worn yet. It will be fun getting into them in the next few weeks.