I think I have food fight fatigue. I have plenty of strong opinions about food, and I feel free to air many of them here. But really, I don’t see the point in twitter feuds or facebook flare-ups intended to scorch the earth of somebody who doesn’t eat the way I do.
Does anybody ever change a mind in a facebook fight?
Maybe I’ve just been at this too long to think that everybody is going to wake up tomorrow and see that I am completely right. All the time. I have friends who practice every diet-style, from the Paleos and Vegans to the Standard American Diet, replete with the Golden Arches and diet sodas.
Shudder. Yes, people I love eat and think and practice all sorts of things, some I support, some I don’t. Don’t even get me started on politics. And guess what? We can still be happy together, as long as I keep my desire to convert them to myself.
Living well is the best example, right?
That said, when somebody decides to make some dietary changes, I’m happy to support her, in the hope that she will solve whatever problem she is trying to address. So when somebody goes paleo or low-carb, I would rather come up with something that fits her needs that we can all share, than have anybody left out.
And to be honest, I like a challenge. I cook for all kinds of people and it’s genuinely good for my creativity to figure out things that fit, often working with a limited palette. Feeding people and making recipes that they can follow is my life’s work, and I always learn from stretching.
So, in the midst of my latest book project (still secret, don’t ask) I wanted to make a dish to accompany some Indian food that would exist in the overlapping slice of the Venn diagram where the low-carbs, the vegans, and people who just alike a tasty dish of cauliflower all live.
Maybe it’s because I’m a middle child. I know we can enjoy a meal together.
So, I buzzed up some cauliflower in the Vitamix and made some tasty, toasted cauliflower and spices, and made everybody happy.
I do cauliflower “rice often for my low-carb and gluten free friends, but this time I sauteed it, which gave it a nice bit of browning, and eliminated the sogginess that can happen when you blanch or steam it.
So give it a try, it is just a yummy side dish, whatever you call it.
Let’s just call it “Good Food.”
Cauliflower Biryani
Serves 4
1 pound cauliflower
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 large carrots, small dice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
4 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoons salt
1 lemon
1/2 cup fresh spearmint
Start by chopping the cauliflower into 1 inch chunks. Set up the Vitamix with the lid on tight and the plug removed. Turn the machine to Speed 5 and start dropping in the cauliflower pieces, adding more as they are minced. Do about a quarter of the cauliflower at a time. Stop and scrape out the minced cauliflower into a bowl, then repeat with the remaining cauliflower.
In your largest saute pan, heat the coconut oil over medium high heat, and swirl to coat the pan. Add the cauliflower and carrots and stir to coat with oil. Add the ginger, curry powder and salt. Keep stirring for a couple of minutes, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pan for about 5 minutes. Take off the lid, and check to see if the veggies are tender by piercing with a paring knife. When tender, squeeze the lemon over the mixture, and taste for salt.
Toss with mint and serve.
