Vegan MoFo Day 7: The Ocean State

I am a Rhode Islander, and proud of it. Rhode Island is the smallest of the 50 states, just 1,045 square miles. You can drive north to south, or east to west, in about an hour's time. But being a small state doesn't mean Rhode Island (or Rhode Islanders) don't have personality. Oh yes, we do. Some might even say we have a bit of a Napoleonic complex. We are fiercely proud of our state and its various claims to fame. We were the first colony to declare its independence from Britain. We are home to the oldest existing synagogue in the USA (Touro Synagogue, in my hometown of Newport). Our unofficial state mascot is a 58-foot long blue termite named Nibbles Woodaway, who wears a blinking red nose and antlers at Christmas and greets passersby on Route 95 in Providence. We have a Dancing Cop, historic mansions, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, our own brand of English, and an official state drink called coffee milk. We are also lampooned featured prominently on Family Guy. Like I said, we have personality.

Rhode Island's motto is "The Ocean State." Tourists and locals alike flock to our beaches and coastlines, including our beautiful Narragansett Bay. Rhode Island is also a foodie's paradise, with amazing Italian restaurants on our world-famous Federal Hill in Providence, seafood restaurants galore ("chowda!), and more donut shops per capita than anywhere else in the USA. Yes, we are proud of our food lore.

This month, I will be featuring some of my home state's various food traditions. Since Rhode Island is so well known for its seafood, I thought I'd start with a vegan take on a classic dish, spaghetti with clam sauce. I chose the very appropriately-named Inspired by Spaghetti with White Clam Sauce, from 1,000 Vegan Recipes.

Brown rice spaghetti is tossed with a garlicky sauce flavored with white wine, broth, basil, oregano, white miso, kelp powder, crushed red pepper, and fresh parsley. Cannellini beans stand in for the clams, which is genius. I have to say, even when I was an omni, I never enjoyed clams. I used to pick them out of my clam cakes and just eat the greasy fried batter. I thought (and still think) that steamers look and taste like giant loogeys. And while I've eaten my fair share of clam chowder over the years, I never really liked the actual clams. Mostly I just liked the potatoes. And, apparently, the chemicals. So, yeah, I'm not sure why I chose this recipe, but I really, really liked it! Go figure. Maybe if I'd been eating cannellini cakes and chowder all these years, I'd be singing a different tune.

The pasta and beans were pretty substantial, so I rounded out the meal with some simple steamed green beans and garlic bread.

 It was simple, tasty, and free of loogeys, which makes it a winner in my book.