Easter, 2013

Easter is only a week away.  I remember growing up and looking forward to finding the sugary treats that the Easter Bunny would leave us.  Funny....I had three brothers and no sisters - and all of us always knew which easter basket was ours.  Mine, of course, was easy - it was PINK!  But how the boys knew which one to take is still a mystery.

Another favorite memory is eating sweet potato casserole.  Outside of a random baked sweet potato throughout the year, it was really the only time our family strayed away from white potatoes.  I loved sweet potato casserole - especially with the miniature marshmallows on top!  Gooey, warm and incredibly sweet.  How could I resist.

These days, I really don't eat potatoes of any kind.  I love cauliflower as a substitute for white potatoes and have several different ways to fix them.  I also have finally tried "radish browns" - just shred up a bag of radishes and pan fry like regular hash browns.  YUM!

But whenever Easter rolls around, I still want my sweet potato casserole.  Luckily for me, Maria of http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/, has come up with a wonderful recipe using cauliflower and canned pumpkin.  Yes it does sound strange, but it is oh, so delicious.  I, of course, have tweaked the recipe a bit to "make it my own".  This will definitely be on my menu next Sunday.  Why don't you give it a try, too?

Sweet "Potato" Casserole 

3 cups cauliflower - steamed and mashed

1 cup pumpkin (or more...if you want a deeper color) 

1/4 cup xylitol (or erythritol and 1/4 tsp stevia glycerite) 

2 eggs, beaten 

1/2 cup whole milk or almond milk 

1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt 

1/3 cup butter, melted 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg (try grinding your own with this spice grinderl!)

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Topping: 

1/2 cup xylitol (or erythritol and 1/4 tsp stevia glycerite)

1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup butter, melted 

1 cup chopped pecans 

Cut cauliflower into florets and place in a steamer basket over boiling water, cover and steam until very tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Place the cooked cauliflower in a food processor and blend until very smooth. In a mixing bowl, combine the cauliflower, pumpkin, sweetener(s), eggs, almond milk, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, 1/3 cup butter and vanilla. Mix together and pour into a greased 13x9 inch baking dish. 

 

For the topping, combine the sweetener(s), almond flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, 1/3 cup melted butter and pecans. Mix together and crumble over "sweet potato" mixture. 

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 35 to 45 minutes. Serves 10.