Chinese Rice with Cauliflower

This made me so happy!   I am probably one of the last people to try this.  Cauliflower as a substitute for almost anything that’s pretty much forbidden for a low-carber? I’ve seen recipes for cauliflower potatoes and now this is a substitute for rice.  It honestly has made my food processor my favorite appliance once again.  My Cuisinart and I go a long way back.  About 30 plus years.  It was a gift from my Grandmother and I considered it quite extravagant and I was the lucky recipient!! 

A food processor makes this recipe EASY.  I’ve also heard that you can buy cauliflower that has been “riced” in the frozen food section.  I also heard that Trader Joes has an excellent riced cauliflower even though that doesn’t help me any since we will never get a Trader Joes’s here!  But don’t get me started on a rant.  : )

So I saw this post on Facebook where I got to watch a demo of how to make it.  I was inspired.   Fresh lime juice and cilantro?  Got to try it!

Here is the recipe:

Chinese Rice with Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower, riced size from the food processor

1 medium onion chopped

1 minced/pressed garlic clove

pinch of red pepper flakes

olive oil

2 eggs, scrambled

Birdseye frozen corn, carrot, green beans, and peas mixture ( I used half of a bag)

Soy sauce.  I used about 1/4 cup. 

! tsp. of ginger or Chinese 5 spice powder

1/2 fresh lime, juiced.  ( I also used a Micro Plane Grater to add some of the lime zest for extra lime flavor)

Fresh cilantro chopped

Optional:  Leftover rotisserie chicken or beef.

I used a wok pan but any fry pan will work. 

Saute the chopped onions in olive oil.  Add the red pepper flakes and then the garlic.  Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the riced cauliflower and the frozen chopped vegetable.  Stir well and cook till the cauliflower is tender.

Make space in the center of the pad by moving the cauliflower and vegetable mixture to the sides and then good and break up the eggs and bring the cauliflower mixture back into the center of the pan and mix. 

Shake in the Soy sauce and mix. 

Sprinkle with the ginger or Chinese Five Spice Powder.  Mix well. 

Add any leftover protein/meat that you might want. 

Finish with the lime juice and the fresh chopped cilantro. 

This is awesome!!   I ate 3 plates!  Three!  And I felt so good.  Rice can sometimes make me feel bloated and that was not a problem. 

I need to start looking for a cheesy cauliflower in place of  mashed potatoes recipe. 

The Original Amelie’s NoDa Charlotte, NC

I realize this might look like a duplicate post.  A bit of deja-vu perhaps? 

No, just a visit to the original Amelie’s location in NoDa in Charlotte.  It was the Fourth of July weekend.  Didn’t quite get my act together quick enough to make some kind of arrangements to get near a large body of water.  The ocean or a lake?  No, when you check into that sort of thing at the last minute, your choices of places to stay are quite limited and  very expensive.  So off to Charlotte.  Again : )

               

I have been known to say that one of the nicest things about living in Greensboro, NC is that it is less than a couple of hours to get to Charlotte and so Charlotte it was.  Charlotte is a lot of fun.  Lot’s to see, and do, places to shop, and lots of undiscovered restaurants and dog and puppy filled brewries.  I love that you can bring your dog to a public place nowdays.  But I was a bit confused seeing some people coming in with their kids.  Babies I understand, but kids?    Anyway…… I love Charlotte. 

Yes that is Marie Antoinette floating in the sky above the bakery display at Amelie’s NoDa. 

NoDa?  Had to google that.  Noda is Charlotte's historic arts and entertainment district and is centered two miles from Uptown at North Davidson and 36th Streets.   So there you go.              

          

And because I know what I like, I ordered the same thing that I ordered at the other Amelie’s Uptown location.  The breakfast sandwich with ham, gruyere cheese, spinach and tomato.  At the last minute I added a cup of soup.  Leek, Potato, and Asparagus.  Each delicious.

                  

One of those macaron flavors was jalapeno. And something distracted me before I remembered to order it.  So next time I’ll be looking for the jalapeno flavored macaron. 

 

And this was one of my favorite parts of my visit.  This is what will greet you when you walk up to the NoDa Amelies!  A tiny slice of Paris.

Amelie’s Uptown Charlotte

 

So one of the fun things about living in Greensboro, NC is being able to escape to Charlotte in under two hours.  Laughing.  : )  I Spent the weekend in the Queen City recently and finally got to checkout a place that’s been on my list.  It’s a French bakery and cafe located in Uptown Charlotte, called Amelie’s and it offers up some delicous food and drink. 

And ou la la!!  Such atmosphere!  The menus are suspended up high in those guilded frames.

And would you look at those light fixtures.  Loved all the details in this charming place.

And the place smells amazing.  Outstanding coffee and this  incredibly delicous breakfast sandwich.  Ham and Gruyere cheese with egg, and fresh spinach, on a warm freshly baked croissant.  omg!

    

While enjoying our croissants and cafe we were seated across from this giant window allowing us to watch the pastry chef’s in action.  The window had a trompe de l'oeil red curtain painted on it to framing the window like a theater curtain.  We sat back and enjoyed the show.

                   

A charming entrance to welcome you in and the place is gigantic!  Amelie’s has three locations in the Charlotte area, a bakery in nearby Rock Hill, SC and a location in Atlanta, GA. 

And then it was dessert decision time…….

Macarons in every flavor and color possible or a delicate French pastry like a Napoleon prehaps???

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Eye candy.  Let’s just say a very large bakery box was on the seat next to me for the ride home.  : )

Quebec City

After traveling to Ottawa, Canada a few years ago to attend one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever attended, the decision was made to extend the trip and to Montreal for a day and then head up to Quebec City for a couple more. 

Quebec City has to be one of the most charming cities in all of  North America.

The architecture was just plain amazing.

After arriving at the Chateau Frontenac, which looks like a giganitic European castle perch up high next to the St. Lawrence Seaway, we drove through the archway shown in the lower right half of the above photo, and we found ourselves in a courtyard where the hotel’s parking valets greeted us.

Cobble stone was below my feet when I stepped out of the car only to look up to be greeted by this lovely bit of architecture off to the side.   Happy sigh.

Just how many photos can one girl take of doors, windows, restaurants, cafes and flower boxes? 

Well, apparently hundreds.  I will try to showcase some of my favorites here.

This delightful cafe was the first stop made to relax and have a quick drink after wandering happily down a side alley way filled with artists working and showing their paintings. 

Every time I turned a corner, walked across a street, or looked out and surveyed my surroundings from the comfort of my coblestone street cafe chair, I saw something even more beautiful and charming that needed to be inspected, scrutinized, and photographed.

And hearing people speak French….well that just makes me happy. 

  Every direction I looked, I thought my eyes were going to expode.  I mean really….

Sometimes I exaggerate but honestly, I could not believe how incredibly beautiful it was or how much I felt like I had stepped back in time and was happily lost in some city in Europe.  This is one of my most favorite photos from the trip.  It was a shop filled with goregeous French handbags.

The vibrant colors and flowers…

and the selection of restaurants was incredible.  

hanging flower baskets everywhere…

    

Street signs in French made me smile and a quaint hotel tucked away along a side street.

The next time I visit I would love to stay in one of the smaller, quaint, and charming hotels like the one in the photo above or in  this one called Au Petit Hotel.

    

Every nook and alley way had something that I just had to capture with my camera.

 

And homes just like this one with the French Lace curtains….

painted in the most vibrant colors.  Another happy sigh.

Have you ever taken a trip to Quebec and do you have some must see spots there that I might have missed?

I have many more photos to share of this amazing city.  See you soon!

 

Montreal, Canada

So this post is only about three years late.  I took a trip to Canada for a friend’s daughter’s wedding about 3 years ago and was going through some photos and realized  that I never blogged or posted much about that trip. 

My life was a bit sad and crazy at the time, my blogging took a major nose dive and I kept telling myself to save the pictures I had taken and write about it later.    So, here I am, three years later reminiscing about an amazing trip to Canada and sharing some of the photos I took. 

Cobblestone streets, strolling, shopping, eating, and drinking.  And grabbing photos when I can.  That’s how I like to travel.

Window boxes and flowers were everywhere.  My favorite window box flowers are those tiny purple-blue flowers called Lobelia.  I have the hardest time growing it here in North Carolina.  And believe me I have tried.   I suspect it gets a bit too hot for it to thrive here.    The cooler temperatures in Canada must be what it likes because it was everywhere I went.

Window boxes anywhere and everywhere.

Yep, I think I could live here and be very happy.

Just hearing people speak French made me very happy.    And little signs of French-ness everywhere I looked like the French lace door panels . 

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I think flowers, windows and doors are some of my favorite things to photograph.  Something about flowers in a city setting I think really grab my attention.  There was no shortage of things to photograh in Montreal but OH! when I got to  Quebec City I nearly lost my mind.  : )  Stayed tuned.