I made the Rustic Pasta recipe from Alicia's book, The Kind Diet, tonight.  It was sooooo good!!! I even let my boyfriend's little brother try it and he couldn't believe it was vegan.  I spent today at the Whole Foods store and was blown everything.  I thought the things I put on my list, like umeboshi plums, I wouldn't find, even there.  After spending some time getting to know the store and even cooking my first vegan recipe, I am starting to feel like this is a change that I can handle and take.  Before today, I have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for four years and I'm ready for the next step.

know what you mean.  I have made that recipe twice and just love it. Also I can spend hours in whole foods looking for new stuff and seeing whats out there. My husband though calls it whole paycheck since its so expensive

Everyone always raves about this recipe and I have yet to try it....maybe I'll finally put it on the dinner menu next week!

It's my "go to" dish whenever I'm cooking dinner for someone.  It's a favorite in our house as well, and we eat it at least once or twice a month.

I love how it's so little pasta, but you don't feel deprived.

The Rustic Pasta was a hit in our house as the first "flirt" with the cookbook. I didn't have celery on hand, but it ended up tasting just as good. I was really doubting the sauce combo, but it came out tasting great. Anyone have any good mix-ins that they've added?

Hi everyone,

I made this recipe the other night and I ended up with some stomach discomfort afterwards. I'm not sure if it was maybe the amount of onion (which I don't usually eat, but only because I don't really like the texture) or if it might have been the marinara sauce (I couldn't find one without milk ingredients in it).  It seems that most people who have tried it really love this recipe, so I'm wondering if anyone else has had any similar experiences, or might have any suggestions for modification?

Thanks so much,

Tanya

I'm sure you could leave the onions out if you needed to. I actually make this with leeks because my youngest dd hates onions (although leeks have the same texture, pretty much, so not sure if that would help you!). I usually use an organic marinara sauce (Amy's is one to try), haven't had a hard time finding any without dairy. But I'd bet you could just use straight-up tomato sauce too.

It seems like this rustic pasta is an amazing dish - I will have to try it! :)

Tanya...

I LOVE this recipe...one of my faves in the book. I'm not an onion fan, so I replace the onions with shallots, which are less intense. The last time I made it I just used a tomato-basil sauce instead of marinara. 

I've made it a few times now and am still surprised at how well cabbage works in these pasta dishes. The Fried Udon Noodles (p. 229) are amazing as well. 

I like to whip up my own marinara with tomatoes (fresh or canned) and all my favorite seasonings, though basil is my favorite. This dish is one of my favorites, simple yet very hearty and satisfying.

I made this again last week and didn't have marinara so I just threw in a can of chopped tomatoes and it was really good that way too.

Oh my, I made this last night and it is amazing. 

Thanks Starflower and Yolanta,

I'll give those substitutions a try...after all, if so many of you other Kind Lifers love this recipe, it's at least worth a second chance.

Take care,

Tanya

This is one of my favorite recipes.

I used canned tomatoes before like Starflower did and it was just as good,I actually used fire roasted canned tomatoes because we had them on hand and it was delish.

You can make the canned tomatoes (whole or diced) into a sauce by just throwing the can (do not drain) in a blender with some minced garlic and a few torn piece of fresh basil,blend to a creamy sauce.

Organicville makes a great marinara sauce that's vegan, gluten free and agave sweetened (they also make the best ketchup known to man).  I've been meaning to try this recipe.  I'm planning to get some celery for another recipe, so maybe Ill try this one as well (I hate getting organic celery for a recipe that only requires a few stalks because the extra always ends up going bad and then I have to throw it away).