Meal Planning Mondays with Recipe for Cauliflower Fried "Rice"

Happy last week of January, y'all! *picture of snowy evergreens at Steven's Pass I know people have mixed, and sometimes strong, emotions about the month of January. Some people fall into the camp of having the January blues...post holiday let-down, short days, cold, and snow/rain. In other words, not much excitement to follow the long Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's Eve run. I actually think it's the lack of excitement that draws me into this month. I love the quiet following all of the festivity. I love the expanse of a clear and open set of 12 new months on the calendar. I love feeling alright about retreating inward, about staying home a little more often. I will admit that I think January might be one of my favorite months. I'm not sure if this is a new feeling or if this feeling has just surfaced with the passage of another trip around the sun. Sometimes age can make you look at things differently. As we move out of this month and into the next, I hope the feelings of serenity and quiet remain. I hope I can keep finding some time to write and to be reflective. I think this feels especially important to me this year as I sense the change about to descend upon our lives. A change we are thrilled beyond belief to welcome, but a change nonetheless (and one that is sure to bring a little chaos and a little less time for writing and inward reflection). Wishing you all a peace filled week as we close out January 2015.

Dinner Menu, Week of January 26th: (Currently, we have a standing Friday night pizza dinner while Jack plays soccer and on Saturdays we get take-out or go out, so these days will be skipped in the dinner planning.)

Monday: Roasted Vegetable Lasagna; simple arugula salad Tuesday: Veggie burgers; baked fries Wednesday: Egg and cheese wraps; roasted potatoes with green beans and mushrooms Thursday: Gnocchi with marinara sauce; roasted Brussels sprouts Sunday: Cauliflower fried "rice"; edamame Cauliflower Fried "Rice"

Admittedly, this dish did not really taste like fried rice, so I would be wrong in claiming that it's a fair substitution. But it is really quite tasty and feels so light and healthy. You could add whatever vegetables you have on hand, or add an additional protein like tofu or chicken.

Ingredients 1 medium head of cauliflower, cleaned and broken into large florets large glob of olive oil 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil 1 cup diced zucchini, about 3 small zucchini 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 sliced green onions 2 large handfuls of cleaned and chopped kale 2 large eggs 1 spoonful coconut oil

Preparation To make cauliflower "rice", finely chop the cauliflower florets by hand or in a food processor. You want the cauliflower to look like fairly uniform pieces of couscous or quinoa.

In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil and toasted sesame oil over medium high heat. Add garlic, zucchini, green onions, ginger, and a pinch of salt, and cook until beginning to brown. Next, add kale.

Once kale has wilted a bit, add cauliflower and sauté for another 3 minutes. Meanwhile, scramble eggs in a separate skillet. Once the eggs are cooked, add to the vegetable skillet along with the coconut oil. Sauté another few minutes until all flavors have had a chance to mingle.

Recipe adapted from Goop