Fat Free Vinaigrette and Italian Pasta Salad

Oil Free Vinaigrette & Italian Pasta Salad

Here's how you can make a wonderful Italian Pasta Salad with little or no oil.  This amazing recipe for Fat Free Vinaigrette has a flavor & mouth-feel that gives the impression that there's oil, but it's way healthier!

Pasta Salad is delicious, but the normal Pasta Salad is drenched in fat - either mayonnaise or oil. This option now becomes a healthy choice to put on your family's table.

This is a great recipe because your add-ins can come from what you have on hand- or even leftovers in the fridge! You can vary add-ins according to the taste of your family members.

I chop, cook pasta, and make sauce whenever, then combine the ingredients just before serving. This may be served either at room temperature or chilled.

I make the dressing right in a 2 cup Microwavable glass measuring cup. If you don't use a microwave, you can do the first step quickly and easily on the stove top in a saucepan.

Fat Free Vinaigrette
Combine in microwavable glass measuring cup:
1/2 Cup Water
1 teaspoon Tapioca Starch
Cook 30 seconds, stir. Repeat. Stir. Repeat. Stir.
(I find this takes 60-90 seconds total, you want it to bubble and turn clear)
Remove from heat/remove from microwave.
Next Add & Stir
1/2 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
Then,
1 teaspoon Dry Basil
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Minced Garlic (or 2 cloves, minced)
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
Stir. May be used immediately, or chilled. Stir again before using if chilling.
If you like, you may add:
1-3 teaspoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil - that still keeps the oil content VERY low compared to a normal pasta salad. 

Pasta Salad
Cook according to directions and drain.
1 pound Pasta (shapes like Shells or Bowties are nice for Pasta Salad)
Rinse several times in cold water
Add your choice of the following, according to what you have on hand. I like to choose ingredients with flavor & texture contrast - crunchy, sour, salty, sweet, beany.
Green Peas (fresh or frozen)
Sweet Corn
Chopped Fresh Tomato
Chopped Fresh Cucumber
Chopped Fresh Celery
Chopped Fresh Bell Pepper, in various colors
Snow Peas or Sugar Snap Peas
Rinsed, Drained White Beans
Capers
Black Olives, Sliced
Green Olives, Sliced
Carrots, Sliced
Chopped Onion
Scallions
etc, etc, etc

Top with dressing & toss just before serving time.

Tip for dining with Omnivores:
You may choose to add the following to the portions of Omnivores:
Parmesan Cheese
Diced Ham
Diced Salami
Diced or Shredded Chicken

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Confetti Spaghetti

If you're exhausted from Christmas preparations, and have hours of cooking ahead of you in the next few days -this might be the perfect recipe for tonight!

As you can see, this recipe is mistitled. When I first started making this dish, I used spaghetti and it looked like confetti - lots of pretty colors. I eventually switched to bite-sized pasta because it held onto the veggies better (usually shells, but sometimes ziti or bowties or whatever) but I couldn't bear to get rid of the rhyming name.

This is a super-simple dinner, one of my favorites to make on nights when I don't feel like making anything. It takes the time the pasta takes to cook - with time for surfing the net included!


This is also a great clean-out-the-fridge and frugal recipe.


Confetti Spaghetti
Boil water, and prepare your favorite shape pasta (whole grain or not) according to package directions
While Water boils & pasta cooks, prepare veggies - you want about an equal volume of veggies & cooked pasta when you're done. Use a HUGE bowl.
Use what you have - these are some of our favorites you might want to choose from:
Chopped Fresh Tomato
Chopped Carrot
Chopped Celery
Chopped Bell Peppers
Black Olives
Green Olives
Capers
Frozen Green Peas, Thawed in sieve under hot running water
Frozen Corn, Thawed in sieve under hot running water
Chickpeas
Drained Marinated Artichokes
Broccoli Trees
Those cooked veggies you had for dinner the other night, and never finished.

When Pasta finishes, Drain it and toss it with veggies.
Add Generous
Garlic Salt
Italian Herbs OR Basil
Toss.
Add more
Garlic Salt
Italian Herbs OR Basil.
Taste.
Add more seasoning if needed, till just right.

Serve & Enjoy!

Tips for dining with Omnivores - you could throw some bits of summer sausage, pepperoni, salami, shrimp or chicken into the omnivore's portion. Or, you can serve this as a side-dish for a meat meal (although, personally, I like to think of the meat as the side dish, and the vegan dish as the entree : )

Kale & Tomatoes with Tahini Sauce

This is a yummy, if a little offbeat, vegan entree. The idea for it started a while back when I told my sister that I was having trouble liking Kale. She sent me a recipe that needed a little tweaking and eventually inspired this recipe which made Kale lovable for me!

To Braise Kale, put it in a large pan on medium high heat. Add
a few dashes of soy sauce, and about 1/4 cup of water. Cook Covered,
Stirring often, till greens have reduced in size and color has brightened.
If you like your greens well done (which helps digestion) add more water and
cook till greens loose their bright color.

Kale & Tomatoes with Tahini Sauce

Prepare your choice of Grain or Pasta (I like either Brown Rice or Spaghetti for this dish)

Braise 1 pound Chopped Washed Kale in water, with a few dashes of Soy Sauce (I use Glory Foods Pre-washed & chopped Kale - just dump it into the pan) Refrigerate or freeze excess cooked greens for additional meals.

Chop Fresh Tomatoes

Prepare Tahini Dip/Sauce (from Monday's post)




Assemble:

Braised Kale, ready to eat : )

Layer of Rice or pasta, Layer of Kale, Layer of Tomatoes, Drizzle with Sauce

Edited to add: Last night I was talking with some friends who were planning to make this recipe: )They mentioned that I had neglected to list quantities of Tahini Sauce (oops!). This is a recipe that I make to taste - so the ideal method is to just fill bowls with the various ingredients & let diners top their own spaghetti. I usually have leftover Kale when I make a whole pound of it - so I freeze the leftovers in small batches to use the next time I need it. Likewise, if I have any leftover tomatoes, they can be added to the next day's salad. Leftover Tahini Sauce can be set out with pita triangles to use as a dip at a subsequent meal. And, of course, any leftover spaghetti can be frozen if it's not eaten at lunch the next day. As a ballpark figure, I would plan 1/2 pound of Spaghetti, 1/4 pound of Kale, 1 large Tomato & 1/4 cup Tahini Sauce per plate. But, it all depends on appetite and preferences.

OH! And, if you don't care to Braise Kale on the stovetop, you can always pop it in a large microwave safe bowl with a  couple of tablespoons of water, slide a microwave-safe plate on top, and microwave it till done (roughly 3-5 minutes), then drain any remaining water & proceed.

Setup for Microwave-Steaming of Vegetables.

Enjoy!

Tip for dining with Omnivores: Omnivores might enjoy Spaghetti with Cheese (Parmesan & yogurt, or Alfredo Sauce) with Grilled Chicken.

Family Favorite Lentil Soup

Despite my lack of photographic skills, this soup is full of beautiful colors
Orange Carrots, Red tomatoes, Green Spinach - lovely to look at.

I created this Lentil Soup recipe more than 20 years ago. It has been a long standing family favorite with children and adults alike. Some of the kids who grew up eating it are now making it for their own kids.

It's simple to make, ultra-cheap, and packs in a huge amount of nutrition. And, kids in the family who dislike many of the ingredients love the soup! Go Figure!




My Lentil Soup
Doubles well, but needs very large pot

There are about 20 kinds of Lentils! This recipe uses the standard
Grocery Store lentil - sometimes called "Green Lentils" despite
the Brown color.

1 (12oz) bag mirepoix mix OR 1/2 c diced onion, 1/2 c sliced celery, 1/2 cup sliced carrots

1 spoon garlic (about 3 cloves)
Add
2 1/2 cups sorted and  rinsed lentils (1 1# bag)

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 package (10 to 12oz) frozen chopped spinach
Water to cover, plus some (to equal 4 quarts total soup)

1 tsp dry mustard*

1 tsp dry ginger (or fresh)*
1/2 T salt
Boil 45 minutes, till lentils are tender
OR, cook in slow cooker on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Freezes very well. This is a great recipe to double and freeze half for later.

Serving Ideas:
Serve in a Bowl with Crusty Bread and a Salad on the side. A few olives provide a nice contrast.
Serve Greek Style: Puree soup with an immersion blender, and serve with red wine vinegar
Dollar-Stretcher: Serve over Spaghetti or other pasta- offer toppings like chopped onions, tomatoes, olives, etc. This is a great variation for the second batch.
For Omnivores: May be served with shredded cheddar.

*In place of mustard & ginger, a seasoning like Mrs. Dash may be used

Orzo Pilaf

This is another easy Vegan Entree that comes together in the amount of time it takes to boil a pot of pasta : )

Orzo Pilaf:

Cook according to package directions and set aside

1 Pound orzo

In a large skillet, Saute
1 bag pepper & onion mix or 1 red bell pepper &1 onion in crescents
2  (4 oz) cans mushrooms, or 1 pound fresh
1 T garlic

Add
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp (or less) salt
Above prepared Orzo or rice

Then

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

Stir briefly to warm, and serve

Serving Tip: If you serve this with peas as a side dish, the flavors complement each other, and you ALSO get a complete protein! (I don't really worry about matching proteins much, but that's a topic for a future post)

Tip for dining with Omnivores: A dollop of plain yogurt is very nice on top of this pilaf. Also, cooked cubed chicken can be added to the Omnivore's portion of the dish, or a grilled chicken breast may be served along side.

Gluten Free Variation: I have made this dish with rice in place of orzo when serving Gluten-Free folks, and it turned out pretty nicely : )