Conversations with girlfriends….you never know where they will lead you but it’s usually great fun! Women love to share! They share their ideas, experiences, feelings and we always come away feeling inspired, comforted or enlightened. Sometimes we just need to vent too. I love my husband but there’s nothing like talking with your girlfriends!
Recently my friend Gina flew in from Texas to help our girlfriend Lynda find a wedding dress and to make a weekend of catching up with old friends. We miss you Texas girlfriend! The three of us and Janae, who was soon to be new friend for me, all met for dinner. As they were telling us about the different dresses Lynda tried on and how it felt picking out the perfect dress for her special day, it reminded me of a time, so many years ago, when my friend Kathy and I shared the same kind of day.
Picture the scene from “When Harry Met Sally” where Marie and Sally are having a typical girl conversation while Marie is trying on wedding gowns. Marie comes out in “the one” and Sally pauses, tears well up in her eyes and she says, “Oh Marie, it’s just beautiful” That’s the kind of moment you want to share with your best friend. Gina and Lynda did and so did Kathy and I. Kathy even said, “Oh Marie” to me as I glided around the room in my perfect dress and we laughed!
As female conversations will do, and I love that they do, we wandered in and out of a million different topics. We eventually made our way to the topic of food. It always cracks my husband up, that I can get fired up taking about food and recipes while I am eating. Talking about the next meal while I am eating the current one. Seems normal to me 🙂
Janae has gone Paleo! This has been an intriguing concept to me on several levels so I had to quiz her about my concerns. No potatoes…I might die….no grains/rice….I can’t picture this…..no legumes…..I could probably handle that. And then she asked me if I had tried cauliflower as a substitute for rice. Well, no but I could see how that could be very interesting! Tell me more! She proceeded to describe how to make cauliflower rice. This was to be one of the many little nuggets of new ideas I would take away from our girls night out.
Sometimes a recipes turns out better than you ever expected. I’m telling you, I could have this cauliflower risotto instead of rice all the time, or even…. dare I say it….potatoes! I was shocked! It’s so full of flavor! The cauliflower holds its shape (no more soggy rice) and it is faster to make than rice, low carb, no starch. What’s not to love? Try it and tell me if you don’t agree, it’s a pretty cool sub for rice!
Cauliflower Rice
Cut the cauliflower into large pieces: Remove the leaves at the base of the cauliflower and slice the large individual florets from the inner core with a sharp knife. Cut the large florets into smaller pieces.
Place the cauliflower in food processor: Add the cauliflower pieces to the bowl of a food processor. Fill 2/3 full and process in two batches.
Pulse the cauliflower pieces: Process the cauliflower in 1-second pulses until it is about the size of large rice grains. Don’t over process.
Simple cooking of cauliflower rice: Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil or real butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the cauliflower rice and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on how much cauliflower your head yielded, until the rice is tender. Serve immediately, or refrigerate the rice for up to a week.
But don’t stop here……. Jazz it up! This is where I digress from the true Paleo path. Guess this is Paleo on training wheels ‘cuz it’s got cheese! I think cavemen drink wine….Oh well, this cave-woman does! Baby steps to being a Paleo convert 🙂
Cauliflower Risotto (with “Cave-bear” wine)
Sauté shallots and garlic in butter until the shallots start to brown slightly. This will add an extra depth of flavor to the risotto.
Add the white wine, and then reduce the mixture by half. Season with salt and pepper.
Add in your raw Cauliflower Rice.
Stir to coat the rice with the wine shallot mixture. This is seriously happy cauliflower in it’s own wine bath!
Cover the skillet and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on how much cauliflower your head yielded, until the rice is tender.
Finish with grated Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons of butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The cheese will form a browned nutty favored crust as it sits in the skillet for another couple of minutes before serving. My favorite part, browned cheese!
Toss with the chopped parsley right before serving.
TIP ~ Freezing raw cauliflower rice: The raw cauliflower rice can be stored in freezer bags and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter before using or cooking. Add raw to salads, cooked as rice in a burrito, or any other way you typically use rice.
- 1 head of Cauliflower
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Cut the cauliflower into large pieces: Remove the leaves at the base of the cauliflower and slice the large individual florets from the inner core with a sharp knife. Cut the large florets into smaller pieces
- Place the cauliflower in food processor: Add the cauliflower pieces to the bowl of a food processor. Fill 2/3 full and process in two batches.
- Pulse the cauliflower pieces: Process the cauliflower in 1-second pulses until it is about the size of large rice grains. Don’t over process.
- *Simple cooking of cauliflower rice: Warm 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the cauliflower rice and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on how much cauliflower your head yielded, until the rice is tender. Serve immediately, or refrigerate the rice for up to a week.
- Sauté shallots and garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter until the shallots start to brown slightly. This will add an extra depth of flavor to the risotto.
- Add the white wine, and then reduce the mixture by half. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add in your raw Cauliflower Rice and stir to coat the rice with the wine shallot mixture.
- Cover the skillet and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on how much cauliflower your head yielded, until the rice is tender.
- Finish with grated Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons of butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The cheese will form a browned nutty favored crust as it sits in the skillet for another couple of minutes before serving.
- Toss with chopped parsley right before serving.
- TIP ~ Freezing raw cauliflower rice: The raw cauliflower rice can be stored in freezer bags and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter before using or cooking. Add raw to salads, cooked as rice in a burrito, or any other way you typically use rice.
Oh, Marie……it still makes me laugh today!
Love ya!