Cauliflower Gratin

After my sons birthday party we had a lot of veggies left over so I was trying to think of ways to use them up and in a way that my husband would eat it. So I decided on adding cheese, cheese makes everything better. So because we had the most cauliflower left I decided to make a cauliflower gratin.

For this recipe I used two types of cheese, a sharp Celtic cheddar which is tastes almost like a Parmesan and a mild monterey jack.

1/4 head of cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces
3 tbsp. Butter
1 1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. Flour
1/4 lb. or 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 lb. or 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
Pinch dry mustard
Pinch nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1/8 cup bread crumbs

Boil the cauliflower in salted water for about 10 minutes just until tender. Drain and put in a buttered casserole dish. Set aside.

Bring milk, butter and flour to a boil until it starts to thicken. Add about 3/4 of the cheese, the mustard, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until melted and combined.

Pour over cauliflower. Top with remaining cheese and bread crumbs.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 mins, just until golden and bubbly.

Now, if my husband doesn't like cauliflower smothered in cheese I don't think he will ever like cauliflower.

And what a birthday it is...

Today is my sons first birthday and what a great day it should be, right? Well for my son today is the most uncomfortable painful day he has experienced thus far in his short life. He has one of the worst diaper rashes I have ever seen, and on top of that he has a yeast infection and what I believe is a stomach virus; which isn't helping either cause. To see him in so much pain breaks my heart, what mother wants to see their child hurt? My husband and I have done everything that we can think of; putting on anti-fungal cream, zinc-oxide creams, baking soda baths, natural...I am out of ideas. He won't even put his little tushy in the water. I never thought that I would cry over something like diaper rash, but I feel like I am failing him and there is nothing I can do to help. Hugs really only go so far.
Different websites say different things from: use talc powder to don't use talc powder, browned flour, Maalox, making your own wipes, baking soda baths, and oatmeal baths to don't use oatmeal baths. The list is endless. I just want him to feel better, and I think the stomach is just making the whole thing worse. I finally called the doctor (again, I did call about the yeast infection) and got the rudest receptionist, but hopefully I will hear back from his doctor soon. His 12 month appointment is Wednesday but because it is getting worse I don't know if I should wait.
I am sure that there are other mother's that have dealt with this, I would love to hear how...

11.10.10

The past few weeks have been really over whelming and cause for much anxiety. Other than the normal stresses of life: money, work, and family. We have had the stress of dealing with my husband’s mother, who had a heart attack which resulted in a quadruple by-pass plus a stint. So my husband, who is an only child, was with her in the hospital and when she was brought home (a week later). Leaving me and my son home basically alone all week, now I am not complaining because I know if the roles were reversed I would have been doing the same thing. This all happened last week, right at the planning stages for my son’s first birthday.

Now I could go off on a tangent, and vent all of my feelings and I probably should because I have A LOT built up. But…I know that I can’t because I don’t want to hurt feelings or make people feel like any of it is their fault. I am full of anxiety over my life; certain things that are happening now are just increasing it. I have been on the verge of tears for weeks, trying to hold it together. The stress of everything is just becoming over whelming. Is it just normal this time of year? Time change? Holidays? I don’t know.

But even though I am feeling this way I just keep on trucking…I have a first birthday to plan. I need to keep a smile on my face and keep moving forward. As much as I want to curl in a ball and lock myself in my room, I can’t. I am a mother and a wife; those duties don’t get vacation time, or sick time. So I need to go to the grocery store and get the last few things, and tonight I am going to have to start prepping, because if you have read earlier blogs, Saturday is going to be consumed with decorating cup cakes.

On to the plans, we are having my son baptized in the morning, he will have time for a nap (hopefully) and then a birthday party that afternoon. Because it starts at 2, I am not planning on serving real food, just appetizers and snacks. That should be ok, right? I wouldn’t assume I was being feed a meal if I went to a party at 2. The sad thing is that there are people that are invited that probably would assume we will be feeding them a meal. But that is just how those people are. I was also hoping that since the party is on a Sunday afternoon some people wouldn’t make it, we don’t really live close to anyone. But to my surprise, everyone is coming, so let us pray for a nice day so people (at least the kids) can go out side. I don’t have any other plans to keep kids entertained so fingers crossed.
Well time for another deep breathe and move on.