Cauliflower Rice w Mushroom Stir-Fry

The primary reason for my going on a plant-based journey was weight loss. I've tried every, each and every, diet plan out there and knew that what I needed was a complete transformation. I've done a post about it before (see here) so I won't go into the gory details. Suffice to say that weight loss doesn't come by eating starchy grain based products like rice and bread. So, I'm always on the lookout for interesting alternatives to the usual starchy grains. In my quest, I've encountered Barley, Brown rice and Quinoa and have to come to enjoy all 3 of these a lot. However, white basmati rice is in my blood and nothing satisfies the Indian palate more than a bowl of white basmati rice with dal. So, when I encountered some posts on the internet about cauliflower rice and how much it tasted like white rice, I knew I absolutely had to try it. I found a super simple recipe on another blog (Delighted Momma) and followed it to the tee (despite my inner devil ;) that really wanted to add shredded onions, or carrots to it!). I paired it with a Quick Stir Fry which is on my 'gimme more' list. I made it today with diced up tofu and baby portabella mushrooms. Also, since I used cauliflower in an entirely new way today, and because I've not added to my new veggie list in a few days - I assigned Cauliflower the honor of being New Veggie #38.

Cauliflower Rice w Quick Stir Fry

Prep Time: 10-12 min

Ingredients:

1. 1 head of white cauliflower
2. Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Cut cauliflower in small florets, wash and drain. Using a food processor (shredder blade), or a hand-held shredder, shred cauliflower into rice sized grains. Transfer to a microwave safe bowl, with a lid. Season with salt and pepper, give it a quick toss. There is no need to add any water, not even a splash as the cauliflower has enough water of its own. Place lid and microwave on high for 6 minutes. Remove, stir and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Remove and leave covered until ready to eat. 

Shredded Cauliflower Rice

My Assessment: I was quite pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted. I have vivid memories of the smell of cauliflower invading the house when mom cooked curries with it (not a pleasant memory either). The cooked rice didn't smell like cauliflower at all. It was a little chewier than white rice but had the same overall texture. I will definitely be making this again - so simple, and so quick! This might soon be on my gimme more list!! I also can't wait to try making rice with all the different colors of cauliflower ... now that could be a cool dish to take to a pot luck ... !! hmm!