Thursday, September 27, 2012

Going back to cauli, cauli, cauli *

Roses are red, neon is bright
And my very favorite veggie, of course, is white.
A head, some florets, roasted or steamed
Cauliflower has become the stuff of my dreams.
I eat it in soups, as a sub for mashed taters
And disown all my friends who are cauli-haters.
Who knew that a veggie could become an obsession,
So much that cauli is always in my possession.
I panic when I run out and I've been known, in the store
To buy frozen bags or heads--three or four.
Yes, cauliflower, you are my true love
You are faithful and good to me--sent from above.
You've changed my life with your goodness and taste
To love another as much would just be a waste.

So yeah, I'm no Emily Dickinson. Some people are inspired by love to write poems. Me? All it takes is a vegetable.

I first wrote about my cauliflower adoration in November. I had just started my obsession with using them as a mashed potatoes swap. That love affair has continued. But since then, my cauliflower cravings have only heightened. I've been making all kinds of new and exciting things.

I recently made (and loved) Gina's "Dad's Cauliflower Soup" from Skinnytaste.com. I can't believe how creamy it turned out, considering it's essentially just cauliflower, onions, water and bouillon cubes. I made a huge batch of it and ate it with most of my meals for a few days. My favorite thing to do is to add a little reduced-fat cheddar, some green onions and little bacon pieces. Boom--loaded potato soup.

But y'all! There's a new cauliflower revolution taking over my life. Are you ready? Cauliflower. Rice. Rice! I followed the directions from Big Red Kitchen, with great success. I've since made cilantro-lime cauliflower rice, and a stir-fry that I made up last night. 

Is the texture exactly like rice? Of course not. But the flavor is divine and I can see this becoming a great side-dish staple. I rarely have a starch with dinner (something a friend once chided me for when I cooked dinner for a guy I was dating--I panicked and ended up going to the store for rolls), but sometimes I miss it. So this is a nice way to fool myself.

I ask you, my friends. Is there anything cauliflower can't do? I say no (in fact, I recently watched a YouTube tutorial about how to make breadsticks out of cauliflower. Stay tuned for my attempts on that). Perhaps I'll start making clothes out of cauliflower, or using it as a facial mask. Maybe as a household cleaner or alternative fuel source. Pee-Wee Herman used to say "If you love it so much, why don't you marry it?"

Maybe I will, Pee-Wee. Maybe I will.

*Thanks for the post title, Jan!

4 comments:

LT said...

A friend at work made cauliflower pizza. The crust was made of cauliflower. She said it was good. You try it and give me a piece and I'll eat it.

Erika said...

Yes! Cauliflower pizza crust is on my list too. :)

Unknown said...

I've made cauliflower pizza several times and love it! This last time I mixed in some almond meal to the crust and it was even better. My favorite toppings so far include pesto as sauce then roasted veggies on top with mozzarella.

Anonymous said...

You are so funny. When I make Bear Creek soups, I often add a head of steamed and mashed cauliflower for added texture. And the low calories and extra vitamins don't hurt either!