Ewww! Vegan! Nasty!

  Not to offend any of my vegan friends with the title but that is the response I receive when word gets out that a lot of my food is prepared vegan-friendly.  To set the record straight, I am not vegan.  Seafood is something that I do enjoy! I do, however, prepare and enjoy a lot of vegan dishes.  You see, Elizabeth, my daughter, IS vegan and I love having her come to dine with me so I cook.  I enjoy cooking whether it be meat-based (for Mark) or vegetable-based.

  One of the things that I find almost comical is how people (non-vegans) react to vegan prepared foods. A lot of folks come to the Little Bayou House and, more oft than not, I will ply them with food.  It seems to be a southern thing.  When someone visits, we shove food at them. Anyway, visitors usually are tempted with some freshly baked goody. "Here!  Try this!" is usually met with rave reviews.  "This is so good!  I love home-baked apple/blueberry (or any other fruit) muffins!"  Once the visitors are on their third or fourth muffin, I will casually mention that the goodies are vegan.  The look on their face goes from one of pure bliss to almost sheer horror!  How in the world can something taste so divine one minute and the next become most unpleasant?  I am then questioned as to what makes it vegan.  "Well, the muffin (for example) has no eggs, butter or milk and is made with molasses instead of processed sugar."  While slowly returning a half-eaten muffin to their plate, the visitors then say something such as the following. "Then is it just flour?"  Oh, come on now, folks!  Just because a bread has no animal products in it does not make it inedible! I still put a lot of tasty things in the batter and you just said the first three muffins you ate were delicious.  

Vegan stir-fry that Elizabeth and I enjoyed for supper!

  Elizabeth and I eat our tasty vegan dishes with a sort of smug satisfaction.  We know that these are a lot healthier for us than what we used to eat.  We feel better and look better!  (Eating vegan truly does help with the diet!  Both of us just passed our annual physicals with flying colors!)  Plus, we have the added benefit of being able to eat more!  Since no one else is going to taste our "nasty, vegan food", there is more for us!