The Vegan Butcher

Disclaimer: I am a Negative Nancy in this post. If you want shiny, happy Tracy please skip one post down. I promise this will not become a trend. I just have to vent about my arch nemesis of the flavouring world: tarragon.

Ugh. I have been avoiding writing this post for so long. There’s nothing quite as exciting as sharing with you a new recipe that works, friends, but when one doesn’t work out? Forgive me for not having my bells on.

I know what you’re thinking: If the recipe didn’t work, why include it on here at all? Trust me, normally I wouldn’t. But this night of cooking was for a series and when it’s for a series, my darlings, I share with you for better or worse. And this was one of the worst.

The series: “What’s in the Fackin’ Fridge?” Fridays, where, on any given Friday, I will empty out the contents of my fridge and work with what’s in it to create a recipe on the fly. Sometimes the results are delightful (read: passable) and others I am just disappointed and cranky on a Friday night. Get ready for the latter. (more…)

One of the biggest compliments and insults a vegan cook or baker can receive from an omnivore is, “You can’t even tell it’s vegan!” or the gem, “It tastes normal!” It’s nice to hear because it means you’ve done your job well; you’ve made an omni think something that is normally laden with animal fat tastes just as good without it. But it’s also a slap across the face because it means they don’t consider my food normal. (FYI, I don’t eat bland food, nor do I live off sticks and twigs.)

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of ads for vegan food and cookbooks touting the line, “They’ll never know it’s vegan!” To be straight up, I fucking hate this. I am extremely proud of my lifestyle choice and of my skills in the kitchen, and it’s not something I hide just because it’s not considered normal by mainstream society. If someone is eating food from my kitchen, they may not to be able to tell, but they will damn well know it’s vegan.

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