Not Quite Middle Eastern Salad

Here, shredded cauliflower stands in for bulgar wheat instead of rice. This salad is incredibly delicious, incredibly nutritious and quite beautiful on the plate. Plus, it gets better after a couple of days in the refrigerator. Taking an extra few minutes to double the batch is definitely worth it.

Ingredients:
1/2 head cauliflower
2/3 cup sliced stuffed olives*
7 scallions, sliced
2 cups triple-washed fresh spinach, finely chopped
1 stalk celery
1 small ripe tomato, finely diced
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Salt and pepper

Directions:
*You can purchase sliced stuffed olives in jars.

Run the cauliflower through the food processor using the shredding blade, put it in a microwaveable casserole, add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover the dish, and microwave on high for five minutes.

While that is cooking, put the olives, scallions, spinach, celery, tomato and parsley in a large salad bowl.

When the cauliflower comes out of the microwave, place in a strainer and run cold water over it for a moment or two to cool it. (If you don't care about your salad being ready to eat in 15 minutes' time, you can let the cauliflower cool, uncovered, instead). Drain the cauliflower well, and add it to the rest of the vegetables. Add the garlic, oil, vinegar and mayonnaise and toss. Salt and pepper to taste, toss again and serve.

Yield: 6 servings, each with 5 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 3 grams of usable carbs and 1 gram of protein.