pasta

Pasta and Vegetables with White Sauce

March 21, 2012
Thumbnail image for Pasta and Vegetables with White Sauce

Welcome to another installment of My Family’s Favorite Recipes! If my daughter had her way, we’d eat pasta at every meal. Lasagna, mac and cheese, chili mac–she’s not picky, she’ll devour any of them. About once a week I give in to her demands, and the dish I most often make is this one, which [...]

Read the full article →

Javanese-Inspired “Chicken” Soup (Vegan Soto Ayam)

February 27, 2012
Thumbnail image for Javanese-Inspired “Chicken” Soup (Vegan Soto Ayam)

I haven’t properly been teaching my daughter to cook. Or at least that’s how I felt after reading an article in the New York Times about a mother who has her 10- and 14-year-old sons cook dinner on their own once a week. When I read the article a few weeks ago, my first, defensive [...]

Read the full article →

Hearty One-Pot Meal Miso Soup

September 19, 2011
Hearty Miso Soup

Usually I serve miso soup as part of our “sushi meal.” I make or buy vegetable sushi rolls, cook some edamame, toss some green leafies with some tahini dressing, and make a simple miso soup. On a recent rushed weeknight, I decided to skip all the separate dishes and just throw everything into the soup.

Read the full article →

Pesto Primavera Pasta and Other Fresh Basil Recipes

June 17, 2011
Pesto Pasta Primavera

Every summer, our small back patio turns into a miniature basil farm with large pots of the fragrant herb filling every available inch. As soon as the plants shoot up a few inches, I start snipping off their leaves and adding them to just about everything I make. By this time, mid-June, the plants are [...]

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 →

Roasted Eggplant Pesto

June 30, 2010
Roasted Eggplant Pesto

This week on the FatFreeVegan Facebook page, I’ve been offering my suggestions for Fourth of July dishes–salads that transport well, veggie burgers you can make ahead and heat on the grill, etc.  You can add a pasta salad tossed with this aromatic pesto to the list of foods you can bring and that everyone–vegan and [...]

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

Chili Mac

August 2, 2008
Chili Mac

I’ve always known that labeling recipes as Kid-Friendly is somewhat misleading; children, like adults, all have different tastes, so predicting what other children might like based on my own child’s taste (which seems to change as often as her clothes lately) is kind of presumptuous as well as silly. Still, the error of my ways [...]

Read the full article →

Pasta with Asparagus, Cannellini Beans, and Porcini Cream

March 27, 2008
Thumbnail image for Pasta with Asparagus, Cannellini Beans, and Porcini Cream

One of the things I love most about this time of year, besides the flowers and the birds and not having to wear a jacket all the time, is that fresh asparagus is actually affordable. When the price drops below $2.00, I start buying two or three bunches at a time and eating it almost [...]

Read the full article →

Easy Macaroni and “Cheeze”

October 1, 2007
Easy Macaroni and Cheeze

It’s a funny thing, but the recipe I’m asked for most often is the one I’m most reluctant to give out. Every time I mention that macaroni and “cheese” is one of E’s favorite dishes, parents wanting to wean their kids off the dairy stuff and onto something more healthy ask me for the recipe. [...]

Read the full article →

Vegan Express

September 5, 2007

[Update: Thanks for the amazing number of votes! A winner has been picked and will be announced soon.] I’m so excited! Nava Atlas’ latest cookbook, Vegan Express, is now available for pre-order from Amazon! Why am I so worked up? Well, besides the mouth-watering recipes, there are the 8 pages of color photos…which I took! [...]

Read the full article →

Sicilian Market Pasta

April 2, 2007
Thumbnail image for Sicilian Market Pasta

My daughter E. lives for pasta, which is kind of a shame because I rarely cook it. When I do, all too often it’s one of her favorite (but boring) dishes: veggie lo mein, spaghetti with “meat” sauce, or macaroni and “cheese.” Every now and then she gets lucky and I go all out with [...]

Read the full article →

Chickpea Soup with Moghrabieh (Lebanese Couscous)

March 9, 2007
Thumbnail image for Chickpea Soup with Moghrabieh (Lebanese Couscous)

Thanks to everyone who participated in the challenge! Congratulations to lucky winner TheONLYTania, whose name was drawn from the 16 people who answered “Israeli couscous” or “couscous.” (Tania, please send me your address, and I’ll mail you a package.) And while that isn’t exactly correct, it’s close enough. What you see in the photo is [...]

Read the full article →

What is It?

March 8, 2007

I’m not talking about that thing in front, which is a grain of long-grain brown rice that I put there for size comparison. What are the things behind the rice? Be as specific as possible. Hint: There’s a similar food that’s popular right now, but this isn’t it. Hint #2: The two “balls” are not [...]

Read the full article →

A to Z Pasta Salad

February 16, 2007
Thumbnail image for A to Z Pasta Salad

Since I don’t eat a lot of pasta anymore, this blog is sadly lacking in pasta recipes. Recently, however, I needed to make a dish for a potluck, and since asparagus is once again affordable, I decided to make my generic, go-to pasta salad (even if it’s definitely not salad weather here in frosty Mississippi). [...]

Read the full article →

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

December 8, 2006
Thumbnail image for Bucatini all’Amatriciana

Pasta all’ Amatriciana is a traditional Italian dish that’s usually made with bacon (or pancetta, I’m told, though I have no idea what that is). I’ve never had it the traditional way, but in my less health-oriented days I used to make a vegan version of it with [foodies, close your eyes] Bacos. As anyone [...]

Read the full article →

Orange Couscous Curry

August 14, 2006
Thumbnail image for Orange Couscous Curry

It was 9:00 on Sunday morning, and I needed to have a potluck dish ready by 10:30. To complicate matters, I had little desire to cook or even to attend the potluck–I was thoroughly immersed in a mystery novel and could have happily stayed curled up in the recliner with it all day. Nevertheless, I [...]

Read the full article →

Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and White Bean Pesto

August 5, 2006
Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and White Bean Pesto

I was out of town for a few days this week, visiting my family in steamy southeastern Louisiana, and when I got home, I had a bunch of vegetables I’d bought before I left that were in danger of going bad if not cooked quickly. (My husband, apparently, did not cook one vegetable while I [...]

Read the full article →

Artichoke Pesto Pasta Salad

July 19, 2006
Thumbnail image for Artichoke Pesto Pasta Salad

Last weekend I attended yet another potluck dinner. Something about the summer just screams “potluck,” I guess. For this one, I threw together not one but two pesto pasta salads: a regular one made with semolina pasta and olive oil, to share with the crowd, and a fat-free, healthier version made with whole wheat pasta [...]

Read the full article →

Pasta and Vegetables with Peanut Sauce

June 14, 2006
Pasta and Vegetables with Peanut Sauce

When my family and I go on vacation, we either camp with our Coleman stove or stay in cabins or guest houses with kitchens so that we can prepare our meals and not have to worry about finding vegan food in remote places. But cooking can be tricky when we’re not in our own kitchen. [...]

Read the full article →

Hasty Tasty Pasta with Broccoli, Olives, and "Chicken"

April 30, 2006

Yesterday was a long day. My daughter E. had her birthday party (two weeks late because of her hectic soccer schedule) at a local amusement facility. There were arcade games and ice skating as well as the ritual cake and birthday presents. I found out something the hard way: it’s almost impossible to get kids [...]

Read the full article →

Fettuccine No-Fredo with Broccoli and Sautéed Mushrooms

April 9, 2006
Fettuccini No-Fredo

Subtitle: Adventures in Cauliflower Sauce! I was describing the Chickpeas, Potatoes and Green Beans in Cauliflower Sauce to some friends when it hit me that Cauliflower Sauce could be the best thing to happen to fatfree cooking since the invention of non-stick pans. A sauce made from cauliflower could be flavored in any number of [...]

Read the full article →

Somen with Tofu and Asparagus in a Chinese Dressing

March 27, 2006

Once again, I’d fooled around too long reading about food and it’d gotten too late to cook any food! Or maybe I wasn’t reading but enjoying some time with my husband or working in the yard. Whatever the reason, dinnertime on Saturday came, and I was totally unprepared for it. But at least there was [...]

Read the full article →

My Favorite Lasagna

March 24, 2006
Easy Vegan Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

Last night I had the pleasure of having dinner with a group of people taking a Civil Rights Tour through the South. The menu for the night was barbecued pork sandwiches and pork-and-beans, the idea being to give them a little taste of local cuisine (which revolves around pork, apparently). The only problem: Several of [...]

Read the full article →

Hurry-up Hoisin Tofu and Vegetables with Rice Noodles

March 1, 2006

I debated whether to post this recipe at all because it wasn’t a big success. D. and I liked it, though I thought it could have been better; E. hated it, which is a shame because she loves noodles and tofu. It was a bad night for cooking at all because I had to leave [...]

Read the full article →

Rotini All’Arrabbiata

February 4, 2006
Thumbnail image for Rotini All’Arrabbiata

First disclaimer: There’s oil in this recipe. Olive oil. Not a lot of it, but it’s there. So, if a little oil on a blog with the word “fatfree” in the title is going to send you into fits of apoplexy, please stop reading now. I don’t want to be responsible for any heart attacks [...]

Read the full article →

Rigatoni with Zucchini and Eggplant

January 29, 2006
Thumbnail image for Rigatoni with Zucchini and Eggplant

If you’re a vegan and you’re invited to a dinner, banquet, or other large party involving food, you usually have two choices: either eat before you go and find a lettuce leaf to nibble on or offer to bring some of the food. Last night I attended a dinner at our local Unitarian Universalist church, [...]

Read the full article →

Vegetable Couscous

January 24, 2006
Thumbnail image for Vegetable Couscous

Last night’s dinner was a cooperative effort: D. chopped the veggies, E. opened cans and boxes, and I threw everything together on the stove. As a result, this old favorite of ours came together in record time, about 20 minutes from start to finish. While it was cooking, I threw together a salad to complete [...]

Read the full article →