Main Dishes

Click “Previous Entries” at the bottom to see more recipes.

Curried Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup

December 2, 2010
Curried Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup

When daytime temperatures dip into the 40′s, I want soup.  Every day. For every meal.  Suddenly, eating a lunchtime salad has all the appeal of chewing ice, so at the beginning of each week, I make a big pot of vegetable-filled soup and portion it out into glass containers to be reheated for lunches throughout [...]

Read the full article →

Thanksgiving Meatless Loaf

November 17, 2010
Thanksgiving Meatless Loaf

This is not your mama’s meatloaf.  This is not even your mama’s seitan loaf, tofu turkey, or nut roast.  It doesn’t taste like meat.  It doesn’t even pretend to have the texture of meat. But if you like savory, Thanksgiving flavors so concentrated that you can just skip the gravy and dressing, you will want [...]

Read the full article →

Brussels Sprouts and Shiitake Mushroom Soup

November 11, 2010
Brussels Sprouts and Shiitake Mushroom Soup

Brussels sprouts, rice, and perhaps some white beans.  I was planning a soup for dinner, but there seemed to be something missing.  Carrots?  No.  Potatoes?  No, the rice would provide enough starch.  I needed something to give the broth depth and flavor.  I was strolling through my back yard and considering my options when I [...]

Read the full article →

Bok Choy and Baked Tofu Stir-Fry in Ginger-Citrus Sauce

September 29, 2010
Bok Choy and Tofu Stir-Fry with Ginger-Citrus Sauce

I love baby bok choy.  With its crisp, light green stalk and its leafy dark green top, it’s almost like two vegetables.  The leafy parts cook in seconds, so I always separate them from the bottom halves as I slice them and toss them in at the end of cooking to retain their bright green [...]

Read the full article →

Asparagus and Chickpea Casserole

September 21, 2010
Asparagus and Chickpea Casserole

Everything I read lately, from blogs to magazine articles, proclaims that summer is almost over and fall is in the air.  Really?  Where?  Here in Mississippi, daytime temps are still in the mid-90′s and the only thing in the air is dust.  Nevertheless, maybe because I’m wishing for fall or maybe because I’m just getting [...]

Read the full article →

Curried Eggplant, Lentil, and Quinoa Burgers with Onion-Pepper Relish

September 2, 2010
Curried Eggplant, Lentil, and Quinoa Burgers with Onion-Pepper Relish

Leftovers give you two separate good feelings. When you first put them away, you feel really intelligent–”I’m saving food!” And then, after a month, when hair is growing out of them and you throw them away you feel…really intelligent–”I’m saving my life!” –George Carlin I often think of eggplants like George Carlin’s leftovers.  When you [...]

Read the full article →

Grilled Tofu with Blueberry-Peach Salsa

July 24, 2010
Grilled Tofu with Blueberry-Peach Salsa

If my daughter had her way, I’d be using our haul from the U-Pick farm to bake blueberry-infused treats like Blueberry-Banana Bread, Blueberry-Oat Bars, and Berries and Spice Muffins every single day.  Unfortunately for her, blueberry season coincides with the time of year that I am least interested in turning on the oven, and even [...]

Read the full article →

Israeli Couscous Summer Pilaf

July 7, 2010
Israeli Couscous Summer Pilaf

I’m thrilled to introduce my guest blogger today: the talented writer and artist–and just one of the nicest people I know–Nava Atlas.  Nava’s cookbooks, from the classic Vegetariana to the more recent Vegan Express and Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons, are known for fresh, inventive recipes that are as easy as they [...]

Read the full article →

Black Bean and Summer Squash Enchiladas

May 27, 2010
Black Bean and Summer Squash Enchiladas

My husband had been asking for enchiladas for a couple of weeks, and there was always some reason I couldn’t grant his request.  Either I didn’t have all the ingredients or I had other ingredients with more pressing expiration dates.  D doesn’t often make dinner requests, so I hated having to put off his enchilada [...]

Read the full article →

Baked Spring Rolls and Low-Fat Lo Mein

May 22, 2010
Easy Baked Spring Rolls

Instead of having two recipes for you today, I came very close to having none.  If my husband and daughter hadn’t walked in right in the middle of my culinary meltdown, tasted a couple of the misshapen spring rolls I had managed to coax out of the dried out wrappers that had been buried in [...]

Read the full article →

Chinese Vegetarian Chicken with Simple Five-Spice Sauce

May 4, 2010
Chinese Vegetarian Chicken

Sometimes I’m a bit slow.  I decide to make something and then, for no clear reason, it takes me days, weeks, or months to get around to actually cooking it.  This time, it’s been close to three years since I first tasted this dish, blogged about it, and even bought the main ingredient for it.  [...]

Read the full article →

Ridiculously Easy Curried Chickpeas and Quinoa

April 27, 2010
Ridiculously Easy Curried Chickpeas and Quinoa

Chickpeas again!  I apologize to any chickpea haters for following one chickpea recipe with another, but in my opinion, there are few foods in the vegan diet as versatile as the chickpea.  Think about it: You can smash them, roast them, stew them, and make endless varieties of salad with them; they’re used in cuisines [...]

Read the full article →

Thai-Inspired Chickpea Salad

April 18, 2010
Thai-Inspired Chickpea Salad

A couple of days ago, I set up a little game.  I gave you 5 ingredients (tamarind concentrate, green onions, red bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper) and asked you to identify which one of my old recipes I was using as the basis for a new recipe. The trick: The old recipe used only 4 [...]

Read the full article →

Collards Stuffed with Red Beans and Rice

April 1, 2010
Collards Stuffed with Red Beans and Rice

I have a real admiration for collards and other greens because they are survivors. Tomatoes, eggplants, and other warm-weather vegetables are delicious, of course, but they have it easy, basking in the sun all day and not being expected to withstand repeated freezes. And while Mississippi isn’t exactly known for its cold weather, this year, [...]

Read the full article →

Ridiculously Easy Southern Succotash Stew

March 22, 2010
Ridiculously Easy Southern Succotash Stew

From a nutrition standpoint, I’ve never felt bad about using frozen vegetables; I’ve always believed (and new studies back me up) that vegetables that are frozen just after harvest actually retain more nutrients than fresh vegetables that have been shipped long distances. In the winter months, when the only fresh, local produce I can get [...]

Read the full article →

Polenta with Lemony Asparagus and Chickpeas

March 5, 2010
Polenta with Lemony Asparagus and Chickpeas

I love this time of year, when I can go to the grocery store and buy as much asparagus as I want without taking out a second mortgage on my house. But the problem with asparagus, from a food blogger’s standpoint, is that it’s a vegetable that tastes best when prepared simply. Its delicate flavor [...]

Read the full article →

Quinoa with Roasted Radishes and Pearl Onions

January 11, 2010
Quinoa with Roasted Radishes and Pearl Onions

Sometimes I get carried away with combining ingredients when I should just keep it simple. After reading in Saveur about roasting radishes, I ran right out and bought some. And then I thought, why not roast some pearl onions and garlic along with them? If I’d stopped right there, I probably would have been more [...]

Read the full article →

Black-eyed Pea Masala

January 4, 2010
Black-eyed Pea Masala

Welcome to 2010! It’s a new decade as well as a new year, and perhaps because of that, more people than usual are making resolutions to eat healthier. From PCRM’s 21-Day Vegan Kickstart to my own Eat-2-Live Group’s “Happy New You Challenge,” lots of us are pledging to stick to a healthy lifestyle. Yes, you [...]

Read the full article →

Creamy Creole Eggplant Casserole

December 28, 2009
Creamy Creole Eggplant Casserole

There are certain recipes that fall into a category I call “Louisiana Church Potluck Dishes.” These are dishes that I grew up eating regularly because they were staples at the monthly “Family Night Suppers” at the church of my youth. I remember sampling delicacies like baked cushaw, mirliton supreme, and eggplant casserole without knowing what [...]

Read the full article →

Pasta with Chard and Chickpeas

December 7, 2009
Pasta with Chard and Chickpeas

When I returned from my cruise, one of the first things my daughter said to me was, “I’m really glad you’re home, but I just wish you cooked as well as Dad!” Gee, thanks a lot. And huh??? So I asked exactly what her dad had cooked while I was gone. “Mac and Cheeze, spaghetti, [...]

Read the full article →

Celebration Pot Pie with Pumpkin Biscuit Crust

November 14, 2009
Celebration Pot Pie with Pumpkin Biscuit Crust

I’m leaving you—and my husband and child—for a little over a week. By the time you read this, I will be cruising the Caribbean with my parents and sister. But at least I’m providing you with a new holiday dish (and the family with leftovers). Since I won’t be getting back until just before Thanksgiving, [...]

Read the full article →

Stir-fried Tofu and Vegetables with Miso Sauce

November 2, 2009
Stir-fried Tofu and Vegetables with Miso Sauce

I don’t post a lot of stir-fry recipes because, as I’ve mentioned before, I tend to make them by feel, adding whatever amounts of vegetables and sauce feel right. Since I usually use the same basic ingredients, most of my stir-fries taste about the same. But not this one. Adding a miso-based sauce to my [...]

Read the full article →

Sweet Potato, Okra, and Chickpea Gumbo

September 29, 2009
Sweet Potato, Okra, and Chickpea Gumbo

With okra, as with most things in life, size does matter. When you’re talking okra pods, smaller is better—tender and tasty. Let them grow too big and they become tough and woody. However, when it comes to the plants themselves, bigger is definitely better. After a summer of more garden failures than I care to [...]

Read the full article →

Chipotle Barbecued Tofu

September 14, 2009
Chipotle Barbecued Tofu

I love barbecue, but I have to admit that I don’t always take the time to make my own sauce. The bottled stuff is so quick and easy, though I have yet to find a brand that I really like. I may stop using bottled barbecue sauce completely, however, after concocting this zesty new recipe. [...]

Read the full article →

Iraqi-Inspired Seitan and Eggplant Stew

August 25, 2009
Iraqi-Inspired Seitan and Eggplant Stew

I first made this stew a week ago, when I was looking for something to do with the small Thai Eggplants that were going to waste in my refrigerator. Aromatic and warmly spiced, this Iraqi-inspired recipe was so delectable that I was actually happy that I was going to have to make the whole meal [...]

Read the full article →

Raw Corn and Black Bean Salad with Avocado

July 17, 2009
Raw Corn and Black Bean Salad with Avocado

Ever had corn so fresh that you were tempted to take a bite out of it, raw, and see what it tasted like? Recently I brought home some fresh, organically-grown corn and decided to do just that. I took a little nibble and it tasted good, a little starchier than I expected, but sweet and [...]

Read the full article →

Asparagus Pesto Pasta Salad

July 12, 2009
Asparagus Pesto Pasta Salad

I hope you enjoy this update of an old favorite, first posted in June of 2006. I’ve improved the recipe and added nutritional information and new photos. I had to make a dish to take to a potluck yesterday, and when I went to the pantry to assemble the ingredients for the pasta salad I’d [...]

Read the full article →

E’s Samosa Wraps

June 23, 2009
Samosa Wraps

Like a lot of 12-year olds, my daughter E is hesitant to try new foods—and when I say hesitant, I mean she has to be bribed, threatened, or otherwise coerced into trying them. So when I recently picked up a couple of Amy’s Samosa Wraps because they were on sale, I hoped to get her [...]

Read the full article →

Savory Swiss Chard Pie

June 1, 2009
Swiss Chard Pie

This year I got a little ambitious with my summer garden plans, and as a result, nothing’s really as it should be. By this time of year, I’m normally harvesting the first tomatoes and seeing the promising beginnings of eggplants and okra, but because I decided to try to grow heirloom varieties from seed this [...]

Read the full article →

Millet-Stuffed Artichokes

May 18, 2009
Thumbnail image for Millet-Stuffed Artichokes

I love artichokes, but I rarely cook them because the way I learned to eat them involves dipping each leaf into garlic butter. Look at the number of leaves on the average artichoke, and you’ll realize that an incorrigible dip-scooper like myself could take in an awful lot of fat along with the artichoke. [Dip-scooper, [...]

Read the full article →

Spicy Kasha Vegetable Salad

May 13, 2009
Spicy Kasha Vegetable Salad

If you’re having trouble fitting a whole grain into your busy schedule, I have a suggestion for you: Pick up a package of Wolff’s kasha. It can be used pretty much anywhere you’d use rice, quinoa, or millet, it cooks up faster than any of them, and best of all, it’s safe for your gluten-free [...]

Read the full article →

Italian Layered Vegetable Casserole

May 3, 2009
Italian Layered Vegetable Casserole

I’m happy to announce that FatFree Vegan Kitchen has been chosen as the featured blog in this month’s Tried & Tasted, a blog event started by Zlamushka’s Spicy Kitchen and hosted this month by Vaishali at Holy Cow! The idea is simple: For the month of May, any interested blogger can choose a recipe from [...]

Read the full article →

Herbed Polenta with Beans and Bok Choy

March 31, 2009
Herbed Polenta with Beans and Bok Choy

When writer, speaker, and registered dietitian Jill Nussinow offered to send me a copy of her new DVD Pressure Cooking: A Fresh Look, Delicious Dishes in Minutes, I said yes faster than you can pressure cook a potato. I’ve been a fan of pressure cooking for years and often write here about what a time-saver [...]

Read the full article →

Tunisian Vegetable Ragout with Quinoa

March 25, 2009
Tunisian Vegetable Ragout with Quinoa

Eggplant. For a long time it seemed to me as if being vegetarian meant eating eggplant. I’d go into a restaurant and the one vegetarian item on the menu would be ratatouille, eggplant Parmesan, or pasta with eggplant. Though currently the ubiquitous vegetarian item seems to be hummus, there are still restaurants I visit where [...]

Read the full article →

No-Queso Quesadillas

March 5, 2009
Thumbnail image for No-Queso Quesadillas

I got a craving for quesadillas after seeing a recipe for them in the current Vegetarian Times—which is odd because I don’t think I’ve ever had a quesadilla. Like a lot of popular foods (buffalo wings is another that comes to mind), quesadillas didn’t come on the scene until after I’d become a vegan. So [...]

Read the full article →

Tofu, Tempeh, and Butternut Squash in Slow-Cooked Peanut Mole

February 17, 2009
Peanut Mole

“It’s spicy and sweet and peanutty all at the same time.” From some people, including me, that would be a hearty endorsement, but those were the words my daughter used to express her dislike for this dish. “It’s just weird,” she continued, handing her plate to her father to finish. “It’s complex,” I countered, but [...]

Read the full article →

Seitan Scaloppine with Lemon-Olive Sauce

January 17, 2009
Seitan Scaloppine

People sometimes ask me if I miss meat. I don’t. After being a vegetarian for almost 21 years, I don’t find the look or smell of meat appealing in the least. What I do miss, a little, are some of the creative ways of cooking a big ol’ slice of something in sauce. Often I’ll [...]

Read the full article →

Sweet Potato Falafel with Yogurt-Tahini Sauce

January 4, 2009
Sweet Potato Falafel

I don’t exactly know how I came to have about a dozen sweet potatoes in my pantry. I seem to remember buying a few for a casserole that I never got around to making, but I’m not quite sure how the others got there. My secret suspicion is that while behind closed doors, they’re multiplying [...]

Read the full article →

Moin-Moin (Nigerian Savory Black-eyed Pea Cake)

January 1, 2009
Moin-Moin

Happy New Year! As you know, it’s supposed to be lucky to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. Every year around this time I scour my cookbooks and my imagination for new ways to cook them because the way I grew up eating them was, frankly, a little boring–as well as not vegetarian. Last [...]

Read the full article →

Thai Seitan on Lemongrass Skewers

December 6, 2008
Thai Seitan

For a dish with two strikes against it, this came out tasting surprisingly good. Strike one: Lemongrass was never meant to hold the weight of cooked wheat gluten. Strike two: They look like wieners on sticks. I had high hopes for this recipe, though I will admit that my main hope was very superficial: I [...]

Read the full article →

Mushroom, Lentil, and Wild Rice Timbales

November 23, 2008
Mushroom, Lentil, and Wild Rice Timbales

My Thanksgiving menu planning will always be an exercise in fantasy because we celebrate the holiday at my in-laws’, but if I were serving Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year, my menu would include Green Bean Casserole, mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, cornbread dressing, Cranberry Relish, Sweet Potato Casserole, Double-Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake, and these [...]

Read the full article →

Sweet Dumpling Squash Stuffed with Lemon-Herb Rice

November 18, 2008
Sweet Dumpling Squash Stuffed with Lemon-Herb Rice

One of my favorite ways to cook winter squash is to roast it simply with lemon, salt, and pepper. So when I brought home these beautiful sweet dumpling squash and started thinking about how to use them, my first impulse was toward the simple lemon treatment. But these little cuties are just the perfect size [...]

Read the full article →

White Bean Chili

November 7, 2008
White Bean Chili

No, this photo wasn’t torn out of an old newspaper, though that was the effect I was going for. Sometimes when I don’t like the way a photo comes out, I imagine how it would look in some different era, such as the 70′s. Dark, washed out colors and a grainy texture can hide a [...]

Read the full article →

Scrambled Tofu with Porcini Mushrooms

November 4, 2008
Scrambled Tofu with Porcini Mushrooms

Scrambled tofu is one of my family’s favorite breakfasts, but I think we enjoy it even more for dinner. There’s something comforting about coming home at the end of a long Autumn day to a plate piled high with scrambled tofu, toast, and possibly some creamy grits and vegan sausage. It’s the kind of soothing [...]

Read the full article →

Pasta with Peppers and Sausage

October 22, 2008
Pasta with Peppers and Sausage

I don’t know what happened to revolutionize the way whole wheat pasta is produced, but something must have. It’s evolved, in my opinion, from a heavy, grainy-tasting, fall-apart-if-you-slightly-overcook-it punishment for eating healthy into a delicious food that my whole family enjoys. I decided a few years ago that when it came to pasta, I’d stick [...]

Read the full article →

Pumpkin and Black Bean Casserole

October 17, 2008
Pumpkin Black Bean Casserole

I’d like to begin this pumpkin recipe with an unintentionally Halloweenish photo: Look closely. I was trying to take a basic photo of our homegrown pumpkin–the accidental result of tossing last year’s seeds into the compost pile–when someone decided that she would make a better subject. So what you see here is an accidental photo [...]

Read the full article →

Tofu with Lobster Mushrooms in Ginger Broth

October 6, 2008

Some tourists visit places of scenic beauty, others seek out man-made wonders like cathedrals and museums, but when I travel, I look for… grocery stores! Okay, that’s not strictly true. I tend to start with the scenic spots, take in a man-made wonder if it’s nearby, and then, if time allows, head for a grocery [...]

Read the full article →

Roasted Vegetables with Tomato Charmoula and Quinoa

September 18, 2008
Roasted Vegetables with Tomato Charmoula

After months of oppressive, energy-sapping, hot dogbreath-in-your-face heat and humidity, it’s an absolute joy to be able to throw open the windows to the outside air or take a walk around the neighborhood. And it’s such a surprise; normally, Mississippi doesn’t experience fall weather until sometime around…oh…winter. Comfortable, sunny yet cool weather is not something [...]

Read the full article →

Vadouvan: A Delectable Seasoning and Two Recipes

August 22, 2008
Red Lentil Soup with Vadouvan

You may not have heard of vadouvan, but I’m predicting it will be the next trendy ingredient. It’s been popping up on restaurant menus a lot lately and caused a bit of web chatter when Ruth Reichl, editor of Gourmet, mentioned trying it a few months ago, but now that Gourmet has published a recipe [...]

Read the full article →

Random Act of Quinoa Salad

August 18, 2008
Quinoa Salad

It’s lunchtime, and true to form, I haven’t eaten breakfast. I know, I know–most important meal of the day, keeps metabolism burning, aids in weight loss, yada yada. I’m sorry but I just forget to eat breakfast. I’m working on it, except when I forget to work on it. Anyway, lunch time rolls around and [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →