Well, the poor chicken coop has remained at a standstill since last weekend. James has been working 12-hour days, and he's still nursing a swollen, inflamed and generally angry ankle. Of course it doesn't help he's on his feet 12 hours a day, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. And I'm proud to say I'm married to one tough man.
In the meantime, the chickens are growing and growing. They're about 3 1/2 months old now, and their temporary, rolling coop is getting pretty heavy to tote around the yard. With 9 chickens weighing 3-4 lbs each, we're carting around about 36 lbs of poultry. That's a lot of chicken. Soon they will be ready to lay eggs -- at about 5 months old -- and all of our hard work dragging chickens around the yard and putting the coop together will be worth all of the effort. Eggs.
Enough dreaming about eggs; time to get down to business.
A lot of us grain-free folk make weird things like cauliflower rice... and what's more, we actually like it. Some people will claim that it tastes like rice, but I think that's ridiculous. It's cauliflower, and it tastes like cauliflower. But the texture is very similar to rice, and once you add a flavor-packed stir fry on top, cauliflower rice just tastes darn good. One of the things I've noticed about being grain-free is that I don't really miss how the grains made me feel -- bloated, full and heavy -- but I do like some of the textures and applications grains have, like making a bed for stir fry. That's just what cauliflower rice does without the bloating, fullness or insulin spike. This method is easy -- no straining or squeezing out water with a cheesecloth. Just the way I like it.
Cauliflower Rice
What you'll need:
a food processor
a large skillet with a lid
1 head cauliflower
2-3 TBSP water
1. Cut cauliflower into medium-sized pieces. Place one half or one third of the cauliflower into the food processor. Pulse until you reach desired texture. Be careful not to pulse for too long or the cauliflower will become the consistency of couscous -- and I don't mean that in a good way.
2. Put cauliflower into a large skillet. Repeat with remaining cauliflower until all of it has been pulsed and chopped. Add 2-3 TBSP of water to the skillet, cover with a lid and turn heat on to medium-low.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is tender, resembling the texture of cooked rice, about 15 minutes.
In the meantime, the chickens are growing and growing. They're about 3 1/2 months old now, and their temporary, rolling coop is getting pretty heavy to tote around the yard. With 9 chickens weighing 3-4 lbs each, we're carting around about 36 lbs of poultry. That's a lot of chicken. Soon they will be ready to lay eggs -- at about 5 months old -- and all of our hard work dragging chickens around the yard and putting the coop together will be worth all of the effort. Eggs.
Enough dreaming about eggs; time to get down to business.
A lot of us grain-free folk make weird things like cauliflower rice... and what's more, we actually like it. Some people will claim that it tastes like rice, but I think that's ridiculous. It's cauliflower, and it tastes like cauliflower. But the texture is very similar to rice, and once you add a flavor-packed stir fry on top, cauliflower rice just tastes darn good. One of the things I've noticed about being grain-free is that I don't really miss how the grains made me feel -- bloated, full and heavy -- but I do like some of the textures and applications grains have, like making a bed for stir fry. That's just what cauliflower rice does without the bloating, fullness or insulin spike. This method is easy -- no straining or squeezing out water with a cheesecloth. Just the way I like it.
Cauliflower Rice
What you'll need:
a food processor
a large skillet with a lid
1 head cauliflower
2-3 TBSP water
1. Cut cauliflower into medium-sized pieces. Place one half or one third of the cauliflower into the food processor. Pulse until you reach desired texture. Be careful not to pulse for too long or the cauliflower will become the consistency of couscous -- and I don't mean that in a good way.
2. Put cauliflower into a large skillet. Repeat with remaining cauliflower until all of it has been pulsed and chopped. Add 2-3 TBSP of water to the skillet, cover with a lid and turn heat on to medium-low.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is tender, resembling the texture of cooked rice, about 15 minutes.