castlehouse + co

Lifestyle, one of a kind.

[castlehouseco]

killer cauliflower buffalo wings

Yesterday I had the biggest craving for chicken wings, but was also not in the mood to feel guilty for having yet another quarantine cheat meal. That’s when I remembered that I had a cheat code to the cheat meal, in the glorious form of cauliflower! All you’re gonna need for this buffalo chicken wing hack is:

- 1 head of cauliflower

- 1 cup of almond milk

- 3/4 cup all purpose flour

- equal parts garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, adobo (popular latin all purpose seasoning), and cumin (I use 1 tablespoon of each in my recipe).

- a jar of your favorite breadcrumb mix. I use Italian breadcrumbs, since its garlicky and has dried herbs in it.

- a bottle of your favorite wing sauce. I was in the mood for buffalo wings this time, so I used Frank’s Red Hot Wing Sauce. This recipe is compatible with honestly any sauce, so go crazy lol.

First, Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Chop your cauliflower into chunks. The key to making your cauliflower look like actual chicken wings is to not chop them too tiny! The smaller you chop, the more likely your pieces are to fall apart in the battering process as well.

Combine all of your dry ingredients with the almond milk in a bowl, and whisk until it forms into a smooth batter.

Dunk your cauliflower pieces into the batter, and then into the breadcrumbs, this will give your wings that “fried chicken” crunch your looking for!

Bake your wings on a baking sheet for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. Once 20 minutes are up, take our your wings and dunk them in your wing sauce and pop ‘em back in the oven for another 20 mins.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy!

This recipe is stupid easy to make, and incredibly filling for how light the wings are, not to mention that my brother loves these wings and he is a certified carnivore lol. Give em a try and leave in the comments how you enjoyed them!

xo, Sam

[lavendul]

[castlehouseco]

silverlinings: the art of remaining optimistic during hard times

Quarantine is by no means an easy feat to conquer. During this time many of us are either unable to work, haven’t seen our loved ones in weeks, or are currently experiencing financial hardship. I, myself, am well into week two of self quarantine.

Aside from castlehouse  + co, my online lifestyle shop, I am a singer and dancer in a Chicago-based cover band called Boy Band Review, as well as a choreographer. I am currently off work indefinitely, since my jobs typically take place in clubs, bars, and music venues. Though my life and career have essentially been flipped on its head, it’s crazy to think that I am still one of the lucky ones. To quote the great Kourtney Kardashian, “Kim, there are people that are dying!”. Real people. These people are our neighbors, our coworkers, mentors and peers. So how could I spend my time moping around about not working, or not seeing my best friends for drinks at our favorite bar, when we are losing people in our very own communities? Quarantine may not be an easy feat to conquer, but it sure as hell seems like a piece of cake to what others have to go through right now.

Remaining optimistic, on the other hand, is another thing that’s easier said than done. It’s pretty hard to believe that all this will subside soon when you turn on the tv, or logon to Twitter, just to learn about the number of positive cases continuing to rise. So the golden question seems to be, “Where do we go from here?”

“How do I remain optimistic in this climate?”

This may sound really damn redundant, but you just have to push through. Self isolate if not for yourself, then for those around you or dear to you. This isn’t easy for anyone of us on this earth, but if the worst you have to do is readjust to now work from home, then so be it. For all you know, you could be a carrier and not even know it. Protect yourself from potential exposure and protect others from potential exposure. Stay. Home.

“But what about the human spirit? What will I do now?”

Honey, I love going out and having a good time as much as the next person does, but there are so many things to be worked on within the four walls you call home. I, for one, am an extremely creative individual. I’ve spent the last year or so working very heavily in the realm of live performance. When work came to a screeching halt, I spiraled for a few days. I literally felt like I was going through the stages of grief. I spent moments upset at everyone, moments freaking out about how I was going to make money, moments worried about the uncertainty of tomorrow, moments filled with determination to get through it.

My creative energy shifted. I picked up a paint brush, a pen. I began writing original music, which isn’t foreign to me, but this time I was doing it all on my own. I taught myself how to garden. Now, I’m not telling you the key to happiness is to become some type of artsy fartsy lifestyle guru and everything with be okay, but I’m telling you to use this time to discover what that outlet is for you and act upon it. Rearrange your house, pick up that book you’ve been putting off, cook that recipe you’ve had saved in your bookmarks for weeks now. This won’t save the world, but it definitely will become that “Chicken Soup for the Soul” that you thought you didn’t have enough time to make.

-castlehouse