Smashed "Cauliflower-Potatoes"

Ugh, it's time to get back to the Beach....South Beach that is (so that I can go to the beach this spring;-). You see,  when I'm actually trying to eat healthy, I follow the South Beach Diet principles.  I learned a lot about nutrition and how our bodies process carbs, fats, and proteins from this book.  So did my parents when I passed the book on to them.  (Mom and Dad - I'm so proud of you).  For instance, did you know that your body reads a slice of typical white bread (the kind stripped of all the bran and fiber) the same way as a tablespoon of sugar.  It's true according to Dr. Agatston.  Anyway, I highly recommend the book.  When using the South Beach Diet as a guideline, I eat a lot more vegetables, more fiber, less bad fats, and more good fats which results in weight loss.  Here is another vegetable side dish that I make once or twice a week.  Even my meat-and-potatoes husband enjoys this recipe.

Note:  I updated this recipe on 5-18-13 with new pictures and revised instructions

Smashed "Cauliflower - Potatoes"  (South Beach - Phase 1)
1 Medium-size head of cauliflower  (I have also used a couple of bags of fresh cauliflower already cut up like they sell at Trader Joe's, or 1 (20 oz) bag of frozen florets)

2 - 3 cups milk (use low fat milk 1% or less to be South Beach - Phase 1 friendly)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Core the rinsed cauliflower leaving large florets.

2. Cut each large floret into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices so that they lie flat in a medium pot.

3. Place the florets in a medium pot, sprinkle with salt, add milk, and cook over low heat for 35 minutes.

4. Periodically stir the cauliflower in the milk and to keep the milk from scalding.  Sometimes when I get distracted the milk gets scalded on the bottom of the pot.  If this happens, stir gently so that that the scalded milk browned bits do not get mixed up into the cooked cauliflower.

5. Drain, and discard or freeze the remaining liquid for a creamed vegetable soup (like cauliflower-cheese soup).  Using an immersion blender, blend cooked cauliflower until the mixture resembles mashed potatoes.  At this point use this mixture as if it were mashed potatoes and turn this "Smashed Cauliflower" into your favorite form of potatoes.  In other words, you can add roasted garlic, scallions, low fat sour cream, chives, butter, or any combination.  However, most of the time I eat it as is, with salt and white pepper to taste.

Note:  the picture below shows the actual yield which I would guess to be approximately 3 cups. Sometimes I double or even triple the batch and freeze the rest in 2 serving portions for another time.
This is my original picture from this post. I've kept this picture because I didn't want to break the original Pinterest link.