Last nights dinner!

When I was younger, my mom rarely made mashed potatoes and usually made rice (my sisters favorite). Well, after a while of no mashed potatoes, one day I arrive to the dinner table and see a big bowl of what looks like my favorite side item. I ate some, they were good but different. I asked, "What is this?" My mom said, "Do you like it? It's cauliflower." I was so mad and betrayed that left the table in disgust. We laugh about it now.

I cook food often. Although it is nice to go out to a restaurant, I feel a homecooked meal is always better because you know where all the ingredients are coming from and who is handling your food. This isn't to discourage anyone from dining out, it's a risk. But, so is making your own food, especially something you have never made before. Last night I made maybe, in my opinion, one of the best meals I've ever made.

Leigh and I went to the farmstands in Hoboken and picked up olives stuffed with almonds, garlic artichoke hearts, two green peppers, two yellow squash, mixed unsalted nuts, and spaghetti squash.

Last night for dinner, we decided to make the spaghetti squash. We took the entire squash and microwaved it (to save time instead of baking it) for 12 minutes. After that, we cut it in half and saved one halve for another night. We took the halve and removed the seeds (which you can toast like pumpkin seeds) and then with a fork scraped out the spaghetti. We put the spaghetti in a grill pan with shaved zucchini, the chopped olives with almonds, the garlic artichoke hearts, and extra virgin olive oil. No spices were necessary.

Simultaneously, we took cauliflower and chopped it up, put it in a pot with chicken broth and some water, chopped garlic, ground pepper, and rosemary. We let it boil, then on medium covered for 20 minutes. After they were tender, we put the cauliflower in the blender with some of the broth, adding a little at a time if necessary.

The end result was spaghetti squash and mashed cauliflower. Like I said earlier, it was one of the best things we've made yet. The funny thing is, it was better than what we were substituting. The spaghetti squash is like angel hair pasta which is my favorite pasta. My favorite side item from when I was younger did not even compare to the mashed cauliflower. After the meal, we were full and we felt good. It just goes to show you can still enjoy your favorite foods on the paleo 30 day detox. Sure, there are differences, and in this case, the healthy alternative also tastes better!