I just saw the movie Julie and Julia. It's about a food lover & office wage slave who makes a name for herself blogging her race to cook all 520 recipes in Julia Child's first book in 365 days. Activity is more important to me right now than originality, so I thought I'd cook & blog my way through , Veganomicon, The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook.
Given the random and lousy food choices I've been making since I became a vegan, the pictures in this cookbook have become like porn to me. While I'm now convinced that vegan's can eat delicious food, I'm not going to be working my way through this (or any other) cookbook anytime soon. The introduction alone includes chapters on stocking your pantry, equipment needed, and cooking and prepping terminology and techniques. Just reading the table of contents made me feel like a loser doomed to a dreary life of either cheap corporate junk food or cereal and soy milk. I was particularly discouraged when skimming the chapter on low-fat cooking that confirmed my suspicion that a vegan diet does not automatically mean weight loss. Be warned, many vegans also struggle with a gut and fat ass.
I am discouraged but I refuse to give up this early in the game. I can have flavor and variety in my diet. I can decrease my waistline while increasing my karma. I can do this with nothing more than a can opener, a few pans, and a short attention span. I will go it alone and create some receipts that are satisfying but don't involve mandolines, crepe pans, blanching, braising or julienne. Next stop, Trader Joe's.
