It’s been a while, but I thought I would take a brief break from the sewing posts, and do a little experimental cooking.

A friend of mine swears by a little bit of Slap Ya Mama to add a little spicy kick to everything.

I saw some the other day, so decided to buy some and give it a try, but this recipe also comes to you inspired by a spicy mac and cheese pie I had in Seattle, and the sad contents of my refrigerator.

Cheesey Cauliflower and Pasta Pie Recipe (Slap Optional)

Ingredients

Pastry

220g/ 8oz flour – I used a combination of wholewheat and plain white

50g/ 2oz butter, chilled

50g/ 2oz vegetable fat, chilled

pinch of salt

cold water to mix

Filling and topping

40g/ 1 1/2oz butter

25g/ 1oz plain flour

425ml/ 15floz milk

salt and freshly milled pepper

110g/ 4 oz cheese, grated

2 tsp (or to taste) “Slap Ya Mama” – optional

1/2 a cauliflower, cut into small florets

170g/ 6oz dried pasta

handful of breadcrumbs

Method

Place the flours and salt in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse to mix. Add the butter and vegetable fat, and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. With the processor running, add the water bit by bit, until it comes together into a ball. Remove from the processor, wrap in cling film, then place in the refrigerator to chill.

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C, place a baking tray in the oven to heat up.

Next, prepare the sauce. Place the flour, butter, and milk in a pan, and whisk to combine. Place over a medium heat and whisk until the sauce starts to bubble and thicken, then keep stirring with a wooden spoon, to ensure all corners of the pan are covered. Turn the heat down to low, then add the seasonings and cheese to taste, reserving a small portion of the cheese for the topping.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta as directed, adding the cauliflower florets towards the end of the cooking time, so that they are parboiled before adding to the rest of the ingredients.

Take the chilled pastry and roll it out on a lightly floured surface, then lining a 10″ quiche tin. Prick the base with a fork. Blind bake on the preheated tray for 20 minutes.

Combine the cheesey sauce with the pasta and cauliflower, and spoon into the part-baked pastry case, sprinkling the surface with breadcrumbs, and the remaining grated cheese.

Return to the oven, and bake for a further 30 minutes, or until the surface is golden and tasty looking!

Serve with some nice veggies.

If you must.

Yum!

Otherwise in the land of Lindsay, I made a teeny apron for a friend of mine to take to a little person’s birthday party:

I made it just like I did before in this post.

We also went hiking to Angel Island this weekend, and it was beautiful!

From the top of Mount Livermore, which is the highest point on the island, you get a full 360 view of the bay, San Francisco, Alcatraz, but also the Golden Gate (which spent the day totally obscured by fog), and up to Richmond and down to Oakland. It was a really great day out, a reasonably long (for my non-hiker friend and Mr M) but not difficult hike, interspersed with some old historical sites from when it served as the immigration station for entry into California, and later on a base during the WWII years. Plus you can do it by Segway tour – definitely going to give that a go in future!