So (confession time) when I picked up Julie Powell’s book Julie and Julia a little over a year ago, I was inspired. Not because she decided to cook her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but because she had finished cooking her way through the beast of a book. When my wife and I saw the movie, she looked me in the eye and said “You should veganize that cook book.” And in truth, I mulled it over, but the fact is, I really hate French cooking. Not all of it, but on principle it’s just so damn stuffy. No thanks.
So, here I am a year later, still wanting to veganize a cookbook. The Joy of Cooking? Maybe, but I want something more... regional. I want an adventure like being a north-westerner transplanted into the Deep South (not once but twice) has been an adventure. See– there’s just something about the south… and if I’m living in the US and not in the Pacific Northwest, this is where you’ll find me.
What do you do when you are a lesbian foodie living in the south looking to for a good challenge of a cookbook to veganize? Well, you do what I did of course. You remember Idgie Threadgood and Ruth Jamison and The Whistle Stop Café, and you order a slightly used copy of Fannie Flagg’s Original Whistle Stop Café Cookbook and think, “I can do this!”
Of course, then I actually opened the cookbook and boy, are we in for one hell of a ride. Now, I’ve already decided to make most of my own mock meats, and I know I have a good base of recipes in my cupboard to use as a spring board, from Soy, Not Oi to Venganomicon; La Dolche Vegan to Great Chefs Cook Vegan and more. And I feel confident most of these recipes I can do. But when I get to veganizing “roast possum” and “sunshine salad,” which, as far as I can tell is Lemon Jell-O with carrots, pineapple, and walnuts served on lettuce with mayonnaise, well, I get a little bit scared (not to mention nauseous) but I know, armed with my deep fryer, the wealth of knowledge in my cookbook cupboard, and the spirit of Idgie, I can do this. Stay tuned.
