DIG IN AND DEVOUR CAULIFLOWER

Dig in and Devour Cauliflower A crispy crust and mild flavor add pizazz to pizza WIN A COPY

BY AMY HIGGINS | RECIPES@COLORADOCOUNTRYLIFE.ORG H ave you noticed? Cauliflower crust crept its way into mainstream pizza recipes. While traditional dough hasn’t lost its pizza power, many people are looking for ways to cook gluten- or grain-free recipes. But even those who are unconcerned about dietary restrictions need only flip through Amy Lacey’s cookbook Cali’flour Kitchen: 125 Cauliflower-Based Recipes for the Carbs You Crave to catch cauliflower cravings. Use the recipes on page 13 to create cauliflower meal and the delicious Cali’flour Pizza Crust. Then top it off using one of the recipes below or to the right. Before you know it, you’ll be perusing this cookbook for breakfast, soup and dessert ideas that will put a tingle in your taste buds. Delicious pizza to help you catch the cauliflower cravings. Enter our contest to win a copy of Cali’flour Kitchen: 125 Cauliflower-Based Recipes for the Carbs You Crave. Visit Contests at coloradocountrylife.coop for details on how to enter.

It’s Magic “You’ll be amazed at the magic pepperoni, red sauce and cheese make atop a Cali’flour crust. My boys would happily eat this pizza all day long, and it’s a favorite of 6-year-old Gavin who, after a diagnosis of brain cancer, was put on a ketogenic diet limited to 10 net carbs a day. A serving contains few enough carbs that Gavin gets to enjoy pizza like any other little boy. Make sure the quality of your pepperoni matches that of your crust by choosing a brand that’s allnatural, nitrate-free and gluten-free.” — Amy Lacey

Pepperoni Pizza

For Marinara Sauce: 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 yellow onion, minced For Pizza: 1 Cali’flour Pizza Crust 1/4 cup marinara sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced 1 ounce pepperoni slices

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese 1 tablespoon torn fresh basil or parsley leaves Sprinkle of red pepper flakes (optional)

3/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

For Marinara Sauce: Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the oregano and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and cook uncovered until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Add the basil and remove from heat. Use as directed in your recipe, or cool and store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer for up to two months.

For Pizza: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or get out your pizza pan and put your crust on it. Spread the sauce over the crust and arrange the pepperoni on top. Add the cheese, covering part of the pepperoni to keep it from curling as it bakes. Place in the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven to a cutting board and add the basil and red pepper flakes, if using. Then slice and serve. If you’re looking for a great pizza loaded with meat, try the Meatlovers Pizza Get the recipe at coloradocountrylife.coop.

For Marinara Sauce 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 yellow onion, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For Pizza 1 Cali’flour Pizza Crust (read below or visit coloradocountrylife.coop for recipe) 1/4 cup marinara sauce 2 ounces mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced 1/2 small to medium tomato, thinly sliced Fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil For Marinara Sauce: Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the oregano and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and cook uncovered until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Add the basil and remove from heat. Use as directed in your recipe, or cool and store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer for up to two months. For Pizza: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or get out your pizza pan and put your crust on it. Spread the sauce over the crust and top with the cheese. Place the tomato slices over the cheese. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Remove to a serving plate, top with the basil, then slice and serve.

Cauliflower Meal

1 (3-pound) head cauliflower Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the cauliflower into quarters through the core, then cut out the core and leaves from each quarter in one cut. Trim any remaining core and leaves (it’s OK to leave a little of the stems from the cauliflower attached to the florets). Break the cauliflower into approximately 2-inch florets. It’s OK if they are a little bigger or smaller — it’s more important that they be more or less equal in size. Put half of the cauliflower in a food processor and process, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula a few times, until the cauliflower is uniformly broken down to the texture of wet sand. You might be tempted to stop here, but keep on going. Continue to process, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula a few times, until the blade easily moves the mixture around to create a wet, smooth, creamy mashed potato texture with little flecks. If any chunks larger than a green pea remain from the first batch (check by spreading the first batch over the baking sheet and running your fingers through it), add them to the second batch. Repeat with the remaining cauliflower. Spread the cauliflower on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 15 minutes. The object of baking is to release moisture from the cauliflower without browning it. There won’t be much of a visual change — if it starts to brown, remove it from the oven immediately. Cool the cauliflower on the sheet completely. Put about 1/4 of the cauliflower meal in a nut milk bag or wrap it in four layers of cheesecloth. Twist, then wring the liquid out over a bowl or the sink. Break the soon-to-be meal apart, then twist again until it is as dry as you can get it. Repeat this four or five times, until you can’t squeeze out any more liquid. Expect to drain up to 2 cups liquid (the amount will vary for each batch). You should be able to form the final product into a smooth round that can crumble somewhat easily but still hold its form fairly well, like soft clay. Use as directed in your recipe, or cover and refrigerate immediately (cauliflower meal starts to turn very quickly when left out). It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Do not freeze.

Cali’flour Pizza Crust

Ingredients 5 ounces (1 cup loosely crumbled) Cauliflower Meal 1/2 cup shredded low-moisture whole milk mozzarella cheese (not fresh)

1 large egg Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula to incorporate. Form the dough into a disc shape then, using your hands, press the dough out onto the prepared baking sheet to form an even 9-inch circle. Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until firm and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to slide the crust onto a wire rack to cool before adding your toppings. If you’re not using the crust right away, store in a zip-top freezer bag in the freezer for up to 9 months. Do not refrigerate.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET Do you have a great story about your pet? Do you have a dog that found its way home after being lost? Have a cat that does fun tricks? Enter Colorado Country Life’s Pet Story Contest by May 22 and share what makes your pet special. Tell us how your dog learned to yodel or how a hamster taught your child responsibility.

The best story will win $250, with second place earning $150 and third place $100.

Visit our website at coloradocountrylife.coop and click on Contests and then Pet Stories for a full list of rules and a form to enter the contest. Those without a computer may send entries to Pet Stories, 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216, but make sure to include a photo of your pet, your name, address, phone number, email and local electric co-op name.

STATEWIDE COOPERATIVE SUPPORT

The Colorado Rural Electric Association is the statewide trade association for all of Colorado’s electric cooperatives. Following the sixth cooperative principle, the organization provides communication, education, safety and legislative services to local distribution cooperatives.

Review those services and how they benefit you as a consumer-member of the electric co-op by reading the 2019 Year in Review. It was published for CREA’s recent annual meeting. The 24-page booklet highlights the value the statewide organization brings to its member co-ops through each department.

More than 100 water filters are ready for distribution to homes in a primitive village in Bolivia. Colorado’s electric cooperatives are sending another international team later this year to build power lines to a village without electricity, this time in South America. In preparation, co-op directors, managers and employees from around the state worked with Wine to Water to assemble this year’s water filters.

The project was part of the Sunday, February 9 annual meeting banquet celebrating CREA’s 75th year of serving as the co-ops’ statewide association.

Wine to Water is a nonprofit organization providing clean water around the globe. The organization digs wells, repairs well equipment and provides water filters in places where clean water is hard to find. CREA has also been dedicated to bringing clean water along with electricity to the Guatemalan communities where it has built power lines with NRECA International. In each village, the team left a water filter with each family.

This year’s filters will be added to buckets once the team is in Bolivia to create a system that will last 10 years.

Wine to Water founder Doc Hendley, also participated in the CREA event, telling the story of how, as a bartender, he launched an organization. He explained how he became passionate about clean water and wanted to do something to make a difference.

Anyone wishing help make a difference by donating to fund these water filters and other humanitarian supplies that will be left behind for Bolivian villagers, can do so through crea. coop. Click on Community Outreach.

Cooperative leaders assemble filter kits with help from Wine to Water volunteers.

Board members carefully assemble water filters that will be given to Bolivian villagers.

VISIT CREA.COOP/COMMUNITY-OUTREACH/CURRENT-CAUSES AND MAKE A DONATION TODAY!

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SIMPLY COLORADO 2020 Photo Contest Winners E lliot Erwitt said, “The whole point of taking pictures is so you don’t have to explain things with words.” Colorado simply speaks for itself through the photos readers submitted to Colorado Country Life’s 2020 photo contest. More than 870 photos were entered into all categories of the contest: Sunrise, Sunset; Outdoor Activities; Wildlife; and Colorado Landscapes. And new this year, we set up specific parameters for a cover contest. The photos we received were impressive. Sunseekers in the golden hour captured stunning oranges, reds and pinks painting Colorado skies. Outdoor weekend warriors caught sleighride, hikes, ski days and ballooning adventures. Wildlife enthusiasts snapped bears, snakes, beautiful birds of all sizes, bees, bighorn sheep and even a spider spinning a web. Colorado landscapes, which never disappoint, were captured beautifully by readers. Shots of iconic snowy Maroon Bells, vast expanses of fall’s changing colors and unique points of view in obscure corners of the wilderness came together to tell a story of our state’s natural beauty in all seasons.

We hope these winning photos capture your imagination like they did ours. We’re sure they will bring you an indescribable connection to this state we all proudly call home.

The photos on the following pages are all the first- and second-place winners across the four categories. You can find all these photos and the third-place winners on our website at coloradocountrylife.coop. You’ll also find a video featuring the winners and other favorite photos on our YouTube channel at /COCountryLife1. Enjoy more of readers’ photos of Colorado all year on Facebook (/COCountryLife) and Instagram (@COCountryLife).

COLORADO LANDSCAPES - 2ND PLACE Dawn Lit Peaks by Shane Morrison, Colorado Springs Mountain View Electric Association consumer-member

SUNRISE SUNSET - 2ND PLACE The Golden Hour by Emilie Gunderson, Windsor Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association consumer-member

WILDLIFE - 2ND PLACE Cedar Waxwing by David Dahms, Windsor Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association consumer-member

WILDLIFE - 1ST PLACE Reassurance by Donnell Allen, Colorado Springs Mountain View Electric Association consumer-member

COLORADO LANDSCAPES - 1ST PLACE Old House on the Plains by J.R. Schnelzer, Millikin Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association consumer-member

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES - 1ST PLACE Colorado Winter Fun by Jim Bommarito, Durango La Plata Electric Association consumer-member

SUNRISE SUNSET- 1ST PLACE Bear Lake Sunrise Submitted by Bob Toepfer, Walsenberg San Isabel Electric Association consumer-member

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES - 2ND PLACE Morning Float Over Hot Springs Submitted by Kimberlee Hutcherson, Pagosa Springs La Plata Electric Association consumer-member