In which I finally make peace with 'Fredo.

One of my favorite dinners, pre-veganism, was a nice fettuccine alfredo. Unfortunately, even before going vegan, my lactose intolerance set in, making it impossible to enjoy it without consequence. You might even say, it betrayed me.

(Waits for groans to subside)

Anyways, faced with a miserable night and a nearly empty (vegan) larder this weekend, I checked the internets for a vegan alfredo sauce recipe, on a lark. Lo and behold, I found a recipe via In a Vegetarian Kitchen that not only used ingredients we didn't need to leave the house for, but it was freakin delicious too. And it's dead simple to prepare:

Pasta with Enlightened Alfredo Sauce

6 servings

• 2 tablespoons nonhydrogenated margarine
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• One 12.3-ounce container silken tofu
• 1/2 cup rice milk, or as needed
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 12 ounces pasta (see Note)
• Steamed greens (spinach or Swiss chard) for topping, optional
• Sliced sun-dried tomatoes for topping, optional

1. Cook the pasta in plenty of steadily boiling water until al dente, then drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat the margarine in a small skillet. Add the garlic and sauté over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden. Remove from the heat.

3. Combine the sautéed garlic and margarine with the tofu and rice milk in a food processor. Process until completely smooth and creamy.

4. Combine the pasta and sauce in a large serving bowl and toss together. Season with pepper and taste to see if you’d like to add more salt. If the mixture needs to be moister, add a small amount of additional rice milk and toss again. Serve at once, passing around greens and/or dried tomaotes for topping, if desired.

Now, we used plain soymilk, and didn't use the sundrieds or steamed greens, but those two items will be a must the next time. It's just as rich and yummy as you remember alfredo sauce being, without all the folderol that comes with the real thing. Yum!!!