Growing up in a WASP family in the suburbs in the 80’s, the only rice we ate at home was Uncle Ben’s with a lot of butter (actually, it was margarine). I don’t even know if we had soy sauce at home that wasn’t in packets. I remember eating Chinese food occasionally, either at a restaurant or take out and wasn’t really aware of other asian foods until my 20’s. Enter my kids’ dad, who’s family is mostly Filipino. Their family ate rice all the time, like I would make spaghetti and he would ask where the rice was, all the time. It was weird to me- who wants rice when there’s a crusty loaf of bread here? I’m still not a huge rice fan.

When the Aden was a baby, we would stay with our parents often; we lived in Oakland and didn’t have a car, so there were no day trips. As a young mother, I loved staying with our families- I felt safe and taken care of. The boys’ grandfather had lots of kids, many who lived at home still. It was always booming there with music and laughter and joy. I love my memories of that house and that family. One of the things their grandpa would make for breakfast was fried rice. The first time was so weird to me, eating that for breakfast, but one bite and it became a favorite, something I would often make at home.

Since I’n not a huge rice fan, it’s no surprise that I didn’t jump on the cauli rice train quickly. I still don’t eat it much. There’s an egg bake breakfast thing that I use it in and I’ve used it in a couple soups. I do love it as fried rice though. I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s a great way to add veggies to your diet, is super easy, needs like 5 ingredients, and with pre-riced cauliflower only takes 20 minutes. I prefer to use frozen riced cauliflower- I squeeze the moisture out before adding to the bacon, giving it a better texture. With frozen cauliflower, and bacon in the fridge/freezer regularly, this is a good meal when you don’t have something planned. It’s a good camping breakfast too! ❤️

Bacon Fried Cauli Rice

• Half pound bacon, chopped
• 1 12 oz. bag frozen cauli rice
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1-2 T coconut aminos
• 2 eggs

Cook bacon in large skillet over med-high heat. While bacon is cooking, cook the frozen cauliflower in the microwave according to the package directions (mine took 5 min). When the cauliflower is done, put it into cheesecloth, clean towel, or veggie bag and squeeze as much water out as possible (this step is worth it). When bacon is crisp, add the cauliflower to the pan (do not drain the grease unless it’s excessive). Stir around so it can evenly soak up the drippings, then let it sit for a minute in between stirring to get a little browning on it. Cook for 3-5 minutes, adding scallion in about halfway (shredded carrot is good too if you have any, I didn’t today). Give the whole thing a few good shakes of the coconut aminos and stir. Crack a couple eggs into the mix and scramble them in. Add salt to taste and more coconut aminos if desired. Done! I always eat mine with something spicy, like red pepper flakes, Siracha, or chili garlic sauce.