Some of you know I have been a vegetarian since the 70’s when, just before Thanksgiving (think pumpkin cheesecake), my husband announced he was going vegan. My first inclination was, “Okay, good luck. You’re on your own.” But after the initial shock wore off I found myself adapting to the challenge of making food all of us could enjoy. Often it would take the form of simply omitting cheese in the vegan version of a particular dish and other times it meant making two separate versions of the same meal. With the addition of a vegan son-in-law our multi-dish fate was sealed.
And it made cooking an adventure again as I worked my way adapting regular vegetarian dishes (read cheese/eggs/butter/cow’s milk) into those that didn’t involve any animal input. It has been another step in the food revolution in our extended household and I find myself embracing this way of eating.
When I found myself feeling the urge to educate others on the joys of vegan cooking I created The Vegan Test Kitchen - introduced as an adult education cooking class where we made three eggless versions of chocolate chip cookies. We moved onto burgers in the subsequent class and were about to launch into lasagna when COVID hit and that class went down. Now it’s all about teaching a cooking class virtually, which I find more of a challenge than converting recipes to reflect a vegan sensibility.
So, reluctant no more as I embrace this way of eating. Personally, I haven’t made that final leap to total veganism as I still eat a commercial treat now and again and find I use cheese less and less, but I can easily foresee a time when these too are gone from my diet.
And it made cooking an adventure again as I worked my way adapting regular vegetarian dishes (read cheese/eggs/butter/cow’s milk) into those that didn’t involve any animal input. It has been another step in the food revolution in our extended household and I find myself embracing this way of eating.
When I found myself feeling the urge to educate others on the joys of vegan cooking I created The Vegan Test Kitchen - introduced as an adult education cooking class where we made three eggless versions of chocolate chip cookies. We moved onto burgers in the subsequent class and were about to launch into lasagna when COVID hit and that class went down. Now it’s all about teaching a cooking class virtually, which I find more of a challenge than converting recipes to reflect a vegan sensibility.
So, reluctant no more as I embrace this way of eating. Personally, I haven’t made that final leap to total veganism as I still eat a commercial treat now and again and find I use cheese less and less, but I can easily foresee a time when these too are gone from my diet.
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