Cauliflower Gets Smashed

Having IBS is sort of like being either an infant or a 93-year-old resident at the Home at Boca del Vista.  Mashed up veggies are the only way to go.  The only difference is that I can actually feed myself. Cauliflower is on the IBS list of tread-lightly-indigestible-insoluable fiber. (See my IBS page). I happen to love cauliflower and I've found that if I mash it up real well it's much easier on me. Several years ago, when my kids were little, I tried to hoodwink them into thinking this was a 'new kind of mashed potatoes' after reading all those books for moms about sneaking vegetables into your picky eater kid's food. (I've seen it in cookbooks labeled "mock mashed potatoes", made with milk & butter and then pureed). I bombed miserably.  I couldn't fool those smarty pants kids for one second.  I, on the other hand loved it, which they still think puts me on the Crazy list.

Smashed Cauliflower
1 whole bag (16 oz) frozen (or a head of fresh) cauliflower florets (I use Wegmans frozen because when I buy fresh vegetables they tend to rot in my fridge).
Cook 'til tender, about 10 minutes.
Add Earth Balance natural buttery spread (several tbs depending on how creamy you want it) and mash away with a potato masher or chopper.
I add some Red Star Nutritional Yeast Flakes for a more savory flavor.  I don't know quite how to describe the taste of nutritional yeast, aka "nooch", but I've started adding it to foods like pasta & vegetables for enhanced flavor, protein & vitamins. It's neither sweet nor salty nor spicy... it's an umami flavor unlike anything I've ever had before.  It was popping up in so many vegan recipes that I finally had to give it a try and I'm so glad I did.

This is good all by itself as a side dish or to play it safe have it with some soluable fiber like on top of a baked sweet potato, mixed with mashed parsnips or turnips or over a low carb pasta.  I've even topped my veggie burgers with smashed cauliflower.

Note: Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast made from sugar cane and beet molasses. It comes in flake or powder form.  (It is not the same as the active yeasts used in bread making). Easily digested & packed with B vitamins and all the essential amino acids, it has a nutty, cheese-like flavor and is often used to emulate cheese in vegan dishes however, you don't have to be a vegan to enjoy it. Nutritional yeast can be sprinkled on pasta, salads, baked potatoes, soups, or anything, really, to enhance flavor. One of the most popular ways to eat nutritional yeast, it seems, is sprinkled on popcorn.