When people learn that I am vegan, I often wonder if their first thought is that I spend my days eating seeds, nuts, berries, leaves or any other lifeless, boring food you can think of. I wanted to write this blog to give people a new, and hopefully, authentic impression of vegan food and vegan cooking.
Every recipe and photo you see here, was made and taken by me in my in my own kitchen. I want to dispel the myth that vegan food is "fake", strange, tasteless, or boring. I also want to banish the notion that vegans deprive themselves of great tasting food, and that a meal without a cooked version of one of our animal friends is somehow "incomplete" or missing something. I've come across countless people who tend to focus of the foods that vegans choose not to eat, I'd much rather focus on all the foods that we can!
And there is a lot, believe me:
Favorite Cuisines: Mexican, Sushi, Indian, Thai, and Italian are some of my favorite kinds. It is utterly fantastic that so many ethnic and regional cuisines are naturally meat-less, and/or lend themselves perfectly to veganism. When cooking, I prefer to make things from scratch, and try to use organic ingredients and fresh produce when my budget allows! I also have a weakness (or obsession?!) for ANYTHING hot and spicy. However, I do have to sometimes watch when I cook for others that I don't BLOW their heads off with my fondness for crushed red pepper, cayenne or fresh chilies.
On Being Vegan: I personally feel there are PLENTY of wonderful things on this Earth for us to eat besides animals, and their eggs or milk. But, that being said, my main purpose is not to try convert you to veganism. Me being the vegan in the room is often enough to get people's minds thinking about the reasons why I choose to leave animals off my plate, or at least get them curious. If you ask me, I will be more than happy to have an educated discussion about why I eat the way I do. While some vegans are conversion-oriented, that is just not my style. For me this is a personal lifestyle choice, not a religion. I do it for health, I do it for taste and personal preference, I do it for the environment, and mostly, I do it for the animals. Being a proud pet owner, I find it strange how so many people today have such a disconnect between the animals that share a place along side them in their home, and those that are slaughtered each year by the billions (in the US alone) to eat for dinner.
We live in a country where large scale industrial agriculture is the norm. In fact, these so-called factory farms account for almost 99% of all farmed animals raised for meat in the United States. Becauseaffordable cheap meat, milk and eggs are in such high demand in our country, it is no wonder factory farms dominate US food production by utilizing abusive practices that maximize profits at the expense of the environment, our communities, animal welfare, our health, and even the health and safety of their own employees. If one conversation with me about why I am vegan makes a person stop and think about who their hamburger or bacon was before it was cooked, or even encourages them to try a meatless meal once a week, then I can feel proud about that.
We live in a country where large scale industrial agriculture is the norm. In fact, these so-called factory farms account for almost 99% of all farmed animals raised for meat in the United States. Because
"Veganism does not grant entrance to paradise, make you a better person, lead to the one and only way of existence, give you the right to judge others and think you are superior to them, etc…
Saying this however, I still feel that it is the easiest single action one can do that can bring untold incredible benefits upon the world. Yourself too…don’t forget, you are part of the world".
~Vegan Black Metal Chef (well said)!
"The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men."
-- Leonardo da Vinci
-- Leonardo da Vinci
"When a man has pity on all living creatures, then only is he noble."
- Buddha, 6th Century BC
- Buddha, 6th Century BC
"You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
