My own brother could not believe what he was hearing. His sister had decided to cook and eat vegan. His sister, who dedicated her life to delicious food. Whom he always saw in the kitchen with her pans, full tables and lots of good times. And this sister had decided to become vegan. So all of this was history now.
He was not the only one who reacted in this way. And frankly I fully understand this. Back in the days when we decided to turn vegan, we were also primarily thinking in many ‘no’s’: no more this and no more that and also no more … and I brought back home all sorts of special ingredients that are needed when you become vegan, like nutritional yeast.
Vegan cooking to me was tied to avocado, chick peas, red lentils. To meat substitutes, lots of seeds and grains. Rabbit food, I would put it in a not so friendly way. Lots of chewing and more of that… Well, that could not be the idea, right? That’s not wat I would associate to great, delicious, fantastic tasteful food. That would not lead to full tables and lots of good times.
Life as a vegan has not changed much when it comes to great times and delicious food. Eating as delicious as possible with every meal. And so I found myself again in the kitchen with my pots and my pans. And guess what? Vegan cooking can be done in a culinary way. Vegan cooking can still be done with all these cuisines I was so familiar with. You will not be able to tell that a dish is vegan on this site. It simply is great dish, from a fantastic eating culture. And yes, it happens to be vegan.
So, my table is full of happy times. Lots of guests. Everybody is enjoying every bite, every spoon. And nobody talks about the veganness of the meal.