Читать книгу La Dolce Vegan! - Sarah Kramer - Страница 8
ОглавлениеWell, here we are. Again. Book number three. Are you ready for it?
I GET REALLY EXCITED BY ORDINARY THINGS
The scent of fresh basil. The crunch of an empty sun-bleached clamshell as my foot runs across it on the beach. The deep, soft sigh of my dog as he’s about to fall asleep. The smell of my kitchen when I’m baking bread. For me, all these tiny moments add up to a life worth living: a life I never thought I could have and a life that I never knew existed.
It has taken me years to understand that my life is happening now – right in front of me. So pay attention, damn it! I no longer look anxiously at the horizon for what’s coming next or look behind me with regret at the things I could have done differently. Now, I stand with my feet planted firmly where I’m at today. Today is happening right now, and it’s an opportunity to shine.
Each book I write reflects my needs and my life at the time. With How It All Vegan!, it was all about how to make my life as a new vegan easy. I was really missing conventional recipes, so the book was chock full of comfort food. The Garden of Vegan was an extension of the first book, but with a more grown-up, contemporary flair. It was when I was finally comfortable in my veganism and wanted to eat some good food.
La Dolce Vegan comes at a time when I find myself multi-tasking to the nth degree. I’m busy running a tattoo shop, maintaining the GoVegan.net website, testing and creating recipes, taking photos, making sure my dog and my husband get enough exercise. I always seem to be working on eight million projects all at once. So lately I’ve been looking for ways to live a simpler life.
Sometimes I want to spend a little extra time in the kitchen, making something fancy for guests or for a romantic evening at home with the husband. I love to peruse the shelves in Chinatown or the health food stores looking for interesting and unusual ingredients. I enjoy working in the kitchen perfecting new dishes.
But most of the time, I don’t want to spend hours planning my next meal. I don’t have a lot of free time to muck about in the kitchen and I suspect you don’t either. I want to walk in the door, bang some pots together, and eat so I can get to work on the rest of my life.
CHANGE IS GOOD, RIGHT? RIGHT?
I’m not good with change. In fact, it freaks me out, and that makes me laugh at myself because change happens every second of the day. You’d think I would have the hang of it by now.
So if something changes, it rocks my world. I get all panicky and think I can’t handle it; I stress, bitch, moan, and feel like everything is too complicated. But now, if the last few years have taught me anything, I try to take a deep breath and repeat my new mantra: “Change is good. Change is good.”
When Tanya Barnard, my co-author on How it all Vegan! and the Garden of Vegan, decided to leave our partnership to pursue a career in nursing, I had to have a really long talk with myself about whether I wanted to continue or not. Who was I without my sidekick? Did I still have things to say? Did I still have more recipes inside of me? Was turning a sequel into a trilogy something I was prepared to do on my own? I had a bit of an identity crisis.
So I took a deep breath, and I reminded myself that change is good. I’ve learned that with every change, a new opportunity presents itself. As soon as I let go of my fear and panic . . . in walked the readers.
I AM THE GIRL OF 100 LISTS
I am about to get my period and it’s like I’m on a giant roller coaster of emotions. You know the PMS drill: happy one second, murderous the next.
I’m having a great day. I’m happy as a clam as I drive my dog back from the doggie hairdresser. But somewhere on the drive home, I start thinking about the new book and start unnecessarily stressing myself out and feeling down, shitty, and frazzled – ready to scream and cry and laugh and freak out. Like I said . . . PMS.
I get home and figure out what to make for dinner, then go pick my husband Gerry up from work. As we swing by the grocery store on the way home, he’s being his usual fun loving self, but today it was really getting on my nerves.
I say to him, “I’m sensitive today. Please just give me some extra love!”
At the grocery store, we get the usual stuff, and as I’m snuggling Gerry while we wait at the check-out counter, I feel like I’m on the verge of tears and laughing at the same time because my pre-period has me feeling insane.
Then suddenly someone taps me on the shoulders and asks, “Excuse me, are you the girl who wrote The Garden of Vegan?”
“Why, yes. Yes I am,” I say as I try and hide my enormous cold sore with my shoulder/scarf/hand (none of it is working so I give up and pretend it’s not there).
“Oh my God,” he says. “My girlfriend and I love your book. Your books. We think they’re brilliant. You’re brilliant. I can’t believe I’m meeting you.”
I’m like, “Aww, thanks. That’s so cool. It’s nice to meet you.” Yadda yadda yadda.
Then I pay for my groceries, say goodbye to the nice man, and walk out to the car with a big grin on my face.
Gerry takes my hand. “There’s your extra love,” he says.
Then I bawl.
Like a baby.
The universe is so good to me sometimes. I need to learn how to pay better attention.
INSPIRATION IS EVERYWHERE
Writing cookbooks takes a lot of time. I don’t think people realize how time-consuming it is: recipe testing, tweaking, testing again. Walking the dog. Shopping for ingredients, writing blurbs, and making sure there are no typos. More recipe testing, eating, and doing the dishes. My God – the dishes!
By the time I was finished with The Garden of Vegan, I was convinced I would never go into the kitchen again. I was sooo tired of food and recipes consuming the better part of my day. I stopped caring about fancy meals and wanted recipes that I didn’t have to think about. I wanted to look in my cupboard and say, “I have potatoes. What can I make with potatoes?” then find a recipe that would take 30 minutes or less to prepare and then eat.
For the new book, I started working on recipes that were simple: minimal ingredients with maximum taste. One of the biggest complaints received about the first two books was that the portions were too large; many of you are only cooking for one, sometimes two people. Almost all of the recipes in La Dolce Vegan make 2 large servings or 4 small servings. You can chow down until you have to undo your pants to make room, or save some for lunch the next day. And all the recipes double easily . . . so voilà! Instant dinner party.
There are a few fancy entrées here that take more than 30 minutes to prepare; these are marked with a little clock beside them so you know they’ll take a little more time. But don’t let that clock freak you out – the recipes are still easy to make. The rest of the recipes can be made lickety-split. There are also a few recipes that make larger portions, so be sure to invite some friends over when you make those.
Besides the fun of recipe creating, testing, and tweaking, my biggest joy with this third book has been testing reader-submitted recipes. They’ve come from all over the world and it has been so much fun testing them all.
Writing books is a lonely, solitary job, especially without a co-author to work with. Most of my time is spent alone in the kitchen or on the computer. Thank goodness for the Internet or I’d go mad. GoVegan.net has a wonderful community of people who kept me company as I wrote this book. Some of my favorite submissions came from Shirley a.k.a. Wolffie, who lives down in Davie, Florida. She provided me with some of the best recipes I’ve ever had the pleasure of testing. So if you’re looking for a new recipe to start with, start with one of Wolffie’s.
As the recipes rolled in and I started to test them, I became quite friendly with a few of the readers. There were the people who have been around since day one, like Dilip, Random Hag, Auntie Bonnie, Shoshana, Josh, and Jennifer. And then there were some new friends: Wolffie, Debbie, and Danielle, to name a few. Every day I would check my inbox to find words of encouragement, recipes, and even more encouragement.
It’s been such a joy to write this third book because of all your input. Thank you.
K.I.S.S.
Knights In Satan’s Service? No. Keep It Simple, Stupid!
I try to keep things simple. The less stress I have in my life, the better I feel.
It’s all about choice. You can’t stop a wave from crashing down on you, but what you can do is choose to let it wash over you. Instead of exhausting yourself by fighting back the wave, try going with the flow. Enjoy the ride, because with more experiences comes new wisdom, new confidence, and a really wonderful life.
I don’t think I’m the only one who gets overwhelmed. I get heaps of emails via GoVegan.net from people who are panicked by the thought of how difficult it might be to go vegan. Most are daunted by the thought of to read every single ingredient on every single package of food, or stressed about the hunt for obscure ingredients and the high cost of vegan specialty items. They all seem to want vegan recipes that are EASY to make with easy-to-find ingredients.
My goal with How it all Vegan!, The Garden of Vegan, and now La Dolce Vegan is to make veganism fun, accessible, and easy. But most importantly – to make it taste good.
So. Here it is. My new baby. Love it. Hug it. Get it dirty.
I love you guys.
xoxo
SARAH
MY LIFE
YOU CAN ALWAYS MAKE ANOTHER CHOICE
Sometimes it seems like our choices don’t affect the world around us, but each of us can make a difference. Every single decision we make either propels us forward or holds us back. But whatever happens, we can always make another choice.
As I started to prepare my thoughts for writing a third cookbook, I spent some time looking through my GoVegan.net scrapbook. I merrily looked at the original version of How It All Vegan!, which you may not know, started as a small, 50-page homemade zine. It was printed out on my laser printer and bound by hand in my living room. I laughed as I looked through all the rejection letters we received for How It All Vegan! and then got a little shiver as I looked at the first contract we signed with Arsenal Pulp Press. As I re-read some of the fan mail, I got a little misty-eyed, and I realized that I’ve been doing this for close to 10 years.
How did this happen? How did this suddenly become my life’s passion? That is what the books and GoVegan.net have become – a passion. I’m not rolling in mountains of green dough from writing these books; more like rolling around in vegan dough. Literally. Baking my ass off so you guys can have some fun and easy vegan recipes to make.
There comes a time when you reach certain milestones in your life when it is beneficial to stop and reflect. Like when you turn 13 and you leave childhood behind and start your life as a teen. Or the day you turn 30 and realize with glee that you’re no longer considered a girl but can now walk around as a woman! Hear me roar! Or when you get your first kiss, your first tattoo, or the day you feel the warm sun on your skin and you realize that after a long dreary winter it finally feels like spring. It’s those small moments in your life when you stop and actually pay attention to what’s happening around you. I think it’s healthy to stop and take stock in where you’re headed in life; reassess the choices that you’ve made thus far and determine if things you were doing 10 years ago, or even 10 minutes ago, are still the things you want to be doing now.
I didn’t watch scary movies. In 1979, I went to see The Amityville Horror in the theater and I peed my pants, I was so scared. I was 11; to pee your pants at that age was almost as horrifying as the movie. On the walk home, with my hoodie wrapped around my waist to cover my pants, I vowed never to watch another scary movie.
Well, it hit me the other day – I’m a grown-up, damn it! I know the difference between real and fake. I know that movies are fake. So I decided that the vow I made as a young person was not what I wanted to do now, so my husband and I have been watching scary movies like crazy. And it’s actually been kind of fun.
So what about veganism, then?
I was raised a vegetarian since birth, so I didn’t choose it as my own path to walk down. It was all I knew. As a curious teenager, I “experimented” with meat in high school, but decided that meat wasn’t something I felt comfortable eating. As I matured into a young adult, I decided that using any animal products – whether it be food, clothing or products tested on animals – was something I was uncomfortable with. I made a clear choice to be vegan. And here I sit now – a woman in my mid-thirties – writing another cookbook and wanting to reflect back for a moment and reassess the choices I made as a young adult and see if veganism is still the lifestyle I want to live today.
I stopped reading literature about animal cruelty years ago. I don’t watch videos about meat production and animal testing anymore. I can’t. They make me feel sick and for good reason. The way we harvest, conduct tests on, and destroy animals and the planet, with no thought of the consequences, is disheartening and always makes me feel quite hopeless. Sometimes I felt as though I was the only one who could see how horrifying it all was, and that the choices I made were only a drop in a bucket. But if these last 10 years have shown me anything, it’s that I’m not the only one who feels the way I do. What a journey I’ve been on. I’ve been able to travel to places I never thought I’d go. I’ve been able to meet and feel the support and love from terrific, enthusiastic fans. I’ve been able to try incredible vegan food and restaurants in cities I’ve only seen in movies. Best of all, I feel like I have a worldwide family. Everyone I’ve met through having written these books (either in person or via GoVegan.net) is like a long-lost family member. What a joy it’s been to share these last 10 years with all of you.
THROUGH THE DARKEST DAYS
Through the years, I’ve had many friends who fall to the dark side and give up their veganism for various reasons. One friend gave up because she became sick and was convinced it was because of her vegan diet. But I watched how she ate and if you eat nothing but cake, potato chips, and cookies, and never touch fresh veggies, my friend – of course, you’re going to get sick. I had another friend who wanted to lose weight and try the Atkins diet. Wow. Like that diet makes any sense. I had another friend justify her new leather boots to me by saying, “At least they’re using the entire cow. I’m recycling.”
Uh-huh.
What I have a hard time wrapping my brain around is how you can have all this information about animals suffering horrendous cruelties for the sake of fashion and food, and one day be horrified about animal genocide and complacent the next? As my friend Josh, at HerbivoreMagazine.com, always says, “Once the curtain is pulled back, how can you not remain a committed vegan?”
I’ve always believed that it’s not my job to be the Vegan Police. This is MY vegan journey, not anyone else’s, and it’s up to individuals to decide for themselves. While I may feel disappointed when my friends fall off the wagon, what I really wonder is, where did their lack of enthusiasm come from? What was the moment when they decided that their principles didn’t mean more than that Meat Lovers pizza they’ve been missing?
Where does that “burn out” come from? How does an enthusiastic, compassionate person become apathetic? Is it really about missing cheese? Or is there something missing in your life? What is it that’s making you disconnect?
I understand how having this rigid list of rules can be exhausting: reading labels, bringing your own food to family dinners so you’ll have something to eat, having to spend extra money on vegan-specific items. I get all that, but it’s not so difficult that it can squash your spirit, is it? Frustrating, maybe. But difficult? Life in general can be complex at times. A life worth living takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of work to be a doctor, a parent, to keep your room clean, to go to work every day when your job is mundane. It takes a lot of work to teach your dog not to pee on the rug. Life is work.
I think if you find yourself becoming bogged down by the path you’re taking, then make another choice. I’m not saying give up on your veganism, but take stock. Look at your choices. Identify the aspects of your life that are dragging you down or making you feel uninterested, and get rid of them. Concentrate on what inspires you, what gives you joy.
If you find yourself waning, then try re-visiting those things that gave you inspiration in the first place. Read Herbivore magazine. Watch Meet Your Meat. Go to a Howard Lyman lecture. Find where you lost your passion and fire it up again. On the flip-side, if reading animal rights literature has you sobbing into your sheets every night, maybe you’ve read enough. Maybe it’s time to channel your energy in a different way.
And I’m not talking about being perfect. There is no such thing. But what you can strive for is excellence. Do what you can, and if you make a mistake or fall of the wagon – who cares? Each day is a new opportunity to be the best vegan you can be. It’s impossible to be 100 percent vegan. But what you can do is try your best.
By allowing yourself some slack from the guilt of not being perfect, veganism suddenly and simply becomes part of your lifestyle rather then a list of rigid rules to follow. My advice is simply to try your best and not worry about being perfect. It’s important not to dwell on what you’re not doing, but rather focus your energy on what you’re doing well.
The other day my husband and I were eating some fries; he grabbed a tiny, crunchy one from the bottom of the pile and suddenly realized he had eaten a piece of fried shrimp. Does that mean he’s lost all his vegan points? No. Shit happens and you move on to your next adventure and try to be the best vegan you can be.
And yes. We got the fries for free.
I ’VE HEARD IT ALL . . .
I’m not making a difference.
If you feel like you’re a revolution of one and your choices are not making a difference, remember that every day and every action makes a statement to the powers that be. While it takes an army of many to change the world’s problems, that army is made up of individuals.
One of the best ways to make a statement is to remember that your money is one of your most powerful weapons, and where you spend it speaks volumes. Support locally-owned businesses, and buy local organic fruits and veggies and products whenever possible. Power to the little people – people! Spend your money on companies that are trying to make a difference, rather than on those that test on animals.
Your money is powerful; at times it can be louder than your voice. Remember that.
It’s too expensive to be vegan.
You can save your money by not spending it on vegan junk food like “faux meats” and packaged vegan food. Making your own food is the cheapest and best way to save money, and by doing that, you can splurge on organic products (or the occasional tub of vegan ice cream.)
I’m on a fixed income and my parents help me out by giving me food that’s not vegan. I can’t afford not to eat it.
I guess that makes you a Free-gan. Look – do what you can, until you can do better. Don’t beat yourself up.
I don’t like tofu.
That’s just silly. That’s like saying you don’t like cake flour.
Eating new foods is about opening your mind and expanding your horizons. Example: I went to a party and brought a really tasty, sweet fruit dip made from tofu. I put it on the table and my “non-vegan” friends went to town. They loved it. But when I told them it was simply made from tofu and maple syrup with a little cinnamon, you could hear a pin drop. One girl actually covered her mouth and shrieked in horror. “I just ate tofu?” I laughed. I mean, two seconds before she was gobbling it up and loving it. Now suddenly she hates it?
It’s about letting go of your preconceived notions about what vegan food can be.
I miss macaroni and cheese.
Go to Claire’s Macaroni & Cheeze. You have no excuses anymore.
I miss cheese.
I hear ya. While there are countless cheese alternatives out there, I have yet to try one that is superb, but a sacrifice isn’t a sacrifice without a little suffering. Just ask the cow whose milk the cheese is made from.
It’s too much work to read labels all the time.
I hear ya, sista, but lump it. It’s just something you have to do, like brushing your teeth and looking both ways before you cross the street.
I want to try (insert new diet fad plan here).
Diets are for suckers. Lifestyle change is the new diet.
Whether you choose being vegan for ethical reasons, or if you want to get more whole grains into your diet, any reason that brings you to a place where you are thinking about what you’re putting into your body is a good thing.
We saturate ourselves regularly with poison (junk food, pop, white sugar, white flour) so when we make a step towards a better lifestyle, whether it be veganism or simply cutting out the white sugar, it’s win-win all around.
I’m not healthy being vegan.
You alone are responsible for your health, and being vegan isn’t the magic key to good health and nutrition. It’s a great start, but you can also eat a lot of vegan cake and make yourself sick.
I also don’t believe that everyone can be vegan, but vegan or not, it’s your responsibility to arm yourself with knowledge. Learn what it means to have a healthy balanced meal. I highly recommend the book Becoming Vegan by Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis; chock full of nutritional information, you cannot read this book and walk away not knowing your stuff.
Knowledge is power. Food is fuel. If you can learn what makes your body healthy, and arm yourself with the power to make it strong – there will be no stopping you.
My friends say I’m not vegan enough.
It’s human nature to compare yourself to other people. My advice on this is to pay attention to your own life. It doesn’t matter what other people think as long as you’re happy with the boundaries and lines that you draw. It’s your life, so make up your own rules and enjoy yourself.
I can’t find good vegan shoes/belts/bags.
Have you been to MooShoes.com or VeganMart.com lately? Cuz they have vegan shoes aplenty.
I hate having to defend myself. I’m tired of being smacked down by other people.
If your veganism has you isolated and alone in a sea of meat eaters, and you’re feeling beat down by fighting with other people about your beliefs – relax. You can still have conversations with those who have a different viewpoints. Maybe they’ll even share a salad with you when you start talking about the meat that’s rotting in their colon.
You can agree to disagree – it doesn’t always have to be a fight or a tug-of-war. It can simply be a conversation.
My partner/lover/family isn’t supportive.
Have you told them you don’t like it when they badger you? Have you told them you need them to be supportive of your choices? Have you asked them to stop ragging on you about your lifestyle choice?
You don’t get what you want unless you ask for it. If they can’t do what you need to feel comfortable, then what kind of a relationship is that? Now you have a whole kettle of tofu to talk about, don’t ya? Time to call a therapist.
I’m too lazy to be vegan.
Good luck with that.
WHEN YOU ARE CLEAR ON WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR …
Nothing is difficult. It’s just your life.
For some, being vegan means arming themselves with facts and figures. For some, it means knowing everything there is to know about protein, calcium, and iron. Some are vegan for health reasons, some for compassionate reasons.
For me, it’s all these reasons and more. For me, veganism is about thinking outside of your own needs, seeing a world beyond yourself and opening your heart up to compassion, empathy, and understanding.
I am confident in my choices. This is a lifestyle choice that I made for myself – not so I’d be cool, or fit in. It’s a compassionate lifestyle choice that I made to feel comfortable being myself.
I will not apologize for my opinions. I will not be a shrinking violet in the face of adversity. I will do everything I can to be the best vegan I can be. Every day is a new opportunity to make a difference. Whether it is a small or large contribution, it all adds up.
My desire with How It All Vegan!, The Garden of Vegan, and now La Dolce Vegan! has been to make veganism fun, accessible, tasty – and effortless. I hope these books help make your vegan life a little easier.
I really believe that small changes can have a huge impact. Even one drop in a bucket will make that bucket wet. Imagine what it would be like if it rained.
“The only thing I’ll ever need is the truth. The truth and what it means to me. The only source of strength I’ll ever need.” – TRIAL
