From the Author

Bryanna Clark Grogan:

I love to cook, I love to eat good food, I love the animals and the earth, and I want to keep myself and my husband healthy. Those are my motivations, and they are just about in that order of importance.

I've cooked since before I can even remember, according to my mother (and I'm a 54 year-old grandmother now!), so cooking has always been something I love-- love to read about, love to do, love to share, love to write about. It kind of defines me, or part of me, anyway.

The eating part is very important, too, which is why I would never characterize myself as a "health food cook", even though I'm a vegan. My mom says that I always hummed when I was eating as a baby (she was a good cook!). My dad was half Italian and half Spanish, born in Peru, worked in the wine business, and took his food very seriously. I grew up in California-- San Francisco as a teenager-- where food is also taken seriously. So food can't be just vegan and healthful, in my opinion-- it HAS to taste good!

AND, I am a Gemini, so I like variety (so is my husband!).

But, I can't just go wild with food for taste only. I have a tendency to gain weight and I'd rather not, from vanity, as well as all the myriad of health problems with obesity. My husband also has to watch his weight and he has a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol (as did my father). So, I have to temper the vegan and the yummy with the low-fat (and a lot of exercise, too)!

We're not wealthy and therefore I'm a thrifty cook-- I don't waste anything, and we buy very few prepared items. We also live in the country, so we can't just run to the store whenever we need something. For this reason, I try to make my recipes flexible, so that you can use what you have in the house, or what you can afford.

I'm not allergic to anything, but I know lots of people who are, so I've tried to include some allergy information in my later books. It's hard enough being a new vegan-- but, if you can't eat soy, for instance, it can be really hard! So, several of my books include soy-free recipes or options, even though I'm a real fan of soy foods myself.

Another part of me is a researcher. My husband says that I am an "information junkie", which is true. My "day job" is running a small branch of our regional library system part-time, and helping people find answers to questions, as well as books on various subjects. I also moderate a discussion board for new vegetarians and any others on the Internet-- so I get daily questions there, too. It's so much fun finding information for others, and I learn A LOT!

In this research vein, I read everything I can get my hands on about cooking and cuisine and technique (veg and other) so that I can inform myself and others, and so that my cooking improves. (I think it improves with each book I write, because I learn so much while researching it and developing recipes. That was especially true when I was researching my Italian book.) This is essential to being a self-taught cook .(I have never been to chef's school-- I got married and had kids very early in life and home is where I got my cooking experience.)

I like to know why things work in cooking-- I don't like to be told that I have to do something a certain way and not be told why, so I try to be clear in my books. I may not always succeed, but I try!

I read a lot about nutrition, too, but I'm very conservative about my sources, because there is so much misinformation out there and people tend to get their information from 3 minute news items these days! T. Colin Campbell, from Cornell U, reminded us at a vegetarian conference once to "look at the big picture", not to just rely on one little study-- look at lots of studies, look at population statistics and cultural statistics. He should know-- he was one of the scientists who did the monumental China Study.

I don't follow any particular nutritional regimen. Balance is my goal. I'm not a whole foods purist, though our diet is full of whole grains, organic soy products and flax. We eat a tons of vegetables and fruits and very few desserts! We do eat sugar and we eat white rice and white flour bread where it seems to work better in a recipe. (Years ago I obsessed about never eating anything "white", but at the same time we ate way too much fat and tons of honey, never mind the meat!)

I'd like to quote from my Italian vegan cookbook, "Nonna's Italian Kitchen":

'Delicious food that is free of animal products is my primary focus. There are so many healthful vegan foods that taste wonderful, why eat something unpleasant just because it is healthful? I believe that we should relax and enjoy our food the way Italians do-- prepare it, serve it, and eat it with love and gratitude. And there is so much more love when no living creature has been sacrificed for our pleasure.'

Above all, have fun with your vegan cooking-- learn to cook well and then you will eat well and live well! Food, love and music-- these are the essentials!