Cauliflower: the great pretender

Brought to you by Victoria Abbott alias Mary Jane Maffini and Victoria Maffini

We’re hearing rumors that cauliflower is the ‘vegetable of the year’.  Is it true or is cauliflower just pulling the florets over our eyes? Let’s face it. Cauliflower is the great pretender. It’s a cruciferous vegetable that behaves like a green and yet tastes like … well, you tell us. It can taste like almost anything, except possibly chocolate, steak or jelly beans.

Psst! Isn’t cauliflower the secret ingredient in so-called fauxtatoes?  I mean the mashed and whipped version of cauliflower that can almost fool you into thinking it’s really mashed potatoes?.

In summer (or anytime) roasted cauliflower makes a great and filling salad and tastes nothing like any other kind of cauliflower. 

 

Bake those tiny florets at 400 with oil and salt and you have a worthy substitute for popcorn.  Not every husband agrees with this, but never mind.

The one thing we don’t suggest is boiling it to death and serving it plain. Just promise you won’t do that.

Today, we’re talking Nice As Rice.

As you may know, we’re on the wagon where big white things are concerned. That means flour, rice, pasta, and ice cream. We think potatoes are really yellow, so they don’t count.

The only big white thing that is included on our diet  is cauliflower. But is it white, really?

On a recent visit, MJ’s doctor dropped his voice conspiratorially and said, “But you know that cauliflower is really green".   See? That’s all part of the camelion qualities of this apparently unassuming veggie.

You can find various recipes for cauliflower ‘rice’ in low carb cookbooks and online. We really love any cookbook by Dana Carpender.


Here's our version - it's a mash-up of many.

NICE AS RICE

1 head cauliflower, trimmed, cut into manageable bits and put through the shredding disc of a food processor.

1 ½ tablespoons butter

½ cup slivered almonds

4- 5 green onions, sliced, reserve some green bits for garnish

2 tablespoons prepared parsley. We use Gourmet Garden and we like it better than fresh parsley in this – but suit yourselves.

1 Tbsp chicken bouillon concentrate or 2 sachets (or some other flavorful salty add-on)

Put the cauliflower in a microwave-safe bowl with a couple of tablespoons of water and ‘steam’ for about nine or ten minutes. You don’t want it overcooked!

In a heavy skillet, heat butter until foamy and add the first batch of green unions to the pan and cook for five minutes. Add the almonds and continue to sauté.  As you can see, we forgot to take the picture of the green onions, but trust us.









If you can’t do the butter thingie, you can toast the almonds in a pie plate at 350 F for about ten minutes or until brown. You could then sauté the green onions in a non-stick pan until slightly carmelized.  (We hope you can have the butter. After all, you’re not having the big white things.)

Add the parsley and the bouillon to the pan and stir until bouillon is dissolved. Stir in the cauliflower and blend well.



 

People who are not on low-carb programs like this too.  Just sayin’












  Enjoy your nearly carb-free treat!

You could add bits of chicken or shrimp or chicken and shrimp to this. Or slivers of fried egg. There’s endless fun to be had.

We chopped some cooked shrimp.

 We beat two eggs with a bit of water in a bowl, then fried them. After this part of the photo, we flipped the egg like a pancake and cut the cooked egg into strips.

We added the shrimp and egg to the Rice is Nice.  We think it would be good with strips of chicken too.




There you have it:  Shrimp fried Nice as Rice!



 Let us know how you make out with the great pretender.

Okay, who are these people? Well, we're not sure who the guys in the hats are, but
here's a little bit more about Victoria Abbott, author of the book collector mysteries. 

Victoria is an artist and photographer and MJ is the author of 13 books in three other series, as Mary Jane Maffini.  They really really like dogs. They try not to fight when they're working on their books or recipes.


Deep down, they really love each other and they really really love their book collector mysteries and are happily at work on The Wolfe Widow, third in the series.   







They're very excited about the The Sayers Swindle which is out now!

  
The Sayers Swindle, the second in the book collector mysteries is now available.

You can click here to order The Sayers Swindle!

Or here for the Kindle version!

Or order through your favorite bookstore - in person or online.

And don't forget to ....

Watch the trailer for The Sayers Swindle!










  

The Christie Curse, the first book collector mystery, launched in March 2013 to great reviews.








 
The Christie Curse is also available in Large Print! Tell your local librarian!

 Walter, the pug in the series is a dead ringer for Peachy, Victoria's new best friend. 

 Come over and friend Victoria on Facebook

www.facebook.com/BookCollectorMysteries   www.facebook.com/maryjane.maffini

Tell  her  you love the pug!
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