About Me & This Blog

I'm a single mom, artist, writer, and vegan cook in southern West Virginia. I've started back to University, and since they don't have culinary arts there, I'm taking art, psychology, and health classes- but I'm not sure what my final major of study will be! All I know is that one day, I'd love to just have a small coffeeshop with a vegan cafe where I can display my art, and people can enjoy themselves. Vegan cooking is part of making my life a peaceful and healthy journey, as is my family, friends, and art. This blog helps keep me accountable so I can try to progress beyond my current skills in trying new dishes successfully, presentation, and photography.

This is my first post (a little long!), about me & how this all got started:

~The Marvels and Misadventures of a Vegan Chef-in-training~

Hello! I'm Megan! I have been a chef my entire life (not always a skilled one, mind you, but a chef nonetheless). My grandparents ran two restaurants, my uncle and his family ran one, and my mom worked at all three! She taught me a lot about the kitchen when I was young. I also got plenty of practice cooking on my own (I wasn't always the most obedient of children, either). The oven became my forbidden fruit when I was little. Every time my parents had to go to the store, or work when I was sick at home, I dashed to the stove like a moth to a flame as soon as the door closed behind them. No matter how much trouble I'd be in when they returned, it always seemed worth it to me. And rules eventually eased up, as everyone was always pleasantly surprised with my covert creations.

   So for years I've enjoyed experimenting with and editing recipes, trying to perfect them (primarily to my own standards). I even managed to work in cooking around my daughter's schedule when she was born in 2006! But it seems that no sooner than I had mastered boeuf à la bourguignonne, braised stuffed lobster tails, and soufflé potatoes, I had to "throw the baby out with the bathwater" and learn quite a bit from scratch.

In February 2010, my dad convinced me to go VEGAN! For those who don't know, it is like being an extremely strict vegetarian: no animal products whatsoever. No meat (that means no fish, poultry, or red meats), no dairy, no eggs, no butter, no honey, no confectioner's/resinous glaze on candies. Sound like a death sentence? I thought so when I first heard of Veganism. But it's not, trust the chef! That's why I am still vegan and plan to be the rest of my life.

OK, so I didn't have to throw all the metaphorical babies out ~ there are certain flavor combinations that always work. However, there is quite an art to achieving the balance between cook times for vegetables and meat analogues (generally drastically different from real meat); new ingredients and old favorites; a chef's flavor principles ("fat, fat, fat" - seriously) and her method for incorporating them into a kind, healthier diet.

That is what this blog is about: recreating hearty, tasty favorites into vegan masterpieces. It's to show everyone that being vegan can be exciting and fun in the kitchen -- that vegans aren't doomed to an endless cycle of brown rice and bland tofu. Although, I still have a lot to learn, and 'cheffetry' is even more challenging with being a full-time single mom, student, and artist! That's why this will be more of a laissez-faire account of my kitchen foibles, rather than a "Julie/Julia"-style challenge ~ I'm far too much of a procrastinator for that! Some pictures I will post with recipes, and some without - but if anyone leaves a comment requesting a recipe for said photos, then you shall receive. Also, I'm open to new recipe suggestions if they aren't already on my to-make list. Especially when I've had a glass or two. So, have fun on the sidelines, and "bon appétit"!


This is a pamphlet I made to educate people at my University about Veganism:

What’s Veganism?

And why is it so awesome?

            A “Vegan” (vē’gǝn) is a person who consumes no animal products – a strict vegetarian. Lacto-ovo-vegetarians consume dairy and eggs, but no meat. So what exactly don’t Vegans eat?

Meat - no meats, poultry, or seafood, and no flavorings derived from them. No meat byproducts like gelatin, which is found in jel desserts, marshmallows, and other candies.

Dairy – no dairy milk (from cows, goats, etc.), cheese, or yogurt. No milk protein (casein), often found in cheese and even some soy cheeses. No dairy byproducts like whey or lactose (often found in margarine), and no butter. Byproducts are often hidden in certain processed foods like cookies and crackers.

Eggs – no eggs or egg byproducts, which can be hidden ingredients in processed foods like cookies, crackers, and desserts.

Honey – Most vegans do not consume honey, a component of many sweets.

Confectioner’s glaze or resinous glaze – a little known ingredient found in most sprinkles and some other candies. Also known as “shellac,” it is a secretion harvested from the Lac beetle. Most vegans also avoid white sugar, which can be lightened with animal bone char.

So, why be Vegan?

For health – Vegan diets are among the healthiest, and combat diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, and cancer. They are generally high in fiber, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Protein, calcium, and iron are easily obtained through a vegan diet.

For animals – animals in slaughterhouses are cloistered together in a painful, unsanitary, and terrifying manner. Some are still alive while their hairs are steamed off. Male baby chicks are gassed or tossed alive into a grinder; the ones they keep have their beaks cut or burned off. Calves are separated from their screaming mothers – milk cows – at two days old to be held stationary for their short lives, to become veal. Milk cows can live up to 20 years, but with the conditions of dairy farms, collapse after 4.

For the planet – being vegan is green, and reduces your carbon footprint. Livestock currently consume huge amounts of energy, land area, water, and grain that could feed the whole world – while creating more carbon emissions than all cars, trucks, and planes combined.

What do Vegans eat, then?

Meat substitutes – faux meats like Gardein Chik’n or Boca vegan burgers, vegan hot dogs; tofu, tempeh, or seitan (wheat gluten); legumes like lentils, peas, beans, black-eyed peas, or chickpeas. Nuts, nut butters like hummus, and seeds are also good additions.

Milk substitutes – there are a wide variety of fortified non-dairy milks, such as soy, coconut, almond, or rice – in many different flavors. There are even vegan creamers, soy yogurt, non-dairy cheeses, and vegan “better than” sour creams & cream cheeses. Coconut milk ice cream is one of my favorite desserts.

Egg substitutes – Ener-G egg replacer powder, ground flax seed and water, besan flour (ground chickpeas) and water, applesauce, bananas, silken tofu, or simply cornstarch or arrowroot powder and water. For breakfast, “scrambled tofu” with nutritional yeast can’t be beat!

You can still have all your favorite treats, just veganized!

For more information, please check out my resources:

Vegansociety.org

Vrg.org

Pcrm.org

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