Cauliflower "Rice"

This is certainly not my idea. Many low-carb cooks have extolled the wonders of using caulflower instead of starchy foods. Fran McCullough is often credited with being the first to think of this rice substitute. The cool thing is that this is really a lot like rice!

To make this dish the most easily and to have it come out the best, three pieces of equipment are very helpful:

- A food processor
- A microwave
- A covered microwave-safe dish

Basically, you process fresh cauliflower until it looks like rice, either using the plain steel blade or the shredder blade. Alternatively, you can shred it with a hand-held shredder, or even use a knife, if you have the dexerity to chop it up VERY finely. Then microwave it in a covered dish. DO NOT ADD WATER. Steaming the rice is OK, but it adds water to it so it isn't as fluffy and rice-like. You can also saute' the "rice" and make it like fried rice.

This works well as "on the plate" rice, but not so well as a substitute in casseroles where part of the function of the rice is to absorb juice. For that, I use TVP.

According to Dana Carpender, in her book 500 Low-Carb Recipes, one cup of cauliflower "rice" has about 5 gm carbs, with 2 of that being fiber, for 3 gm ECC. This seems like a lot to me, but I haven't double-checked it, so for now, I trust Dana. :-)

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