Who is The Vegan Home Chef?

Is The Vegan Home Chef too pretentious a name for a blog? I wanted something that seemed respectful of food, and something aspirational. I am not The Vegan Home Chef, but I'd like to be... I'm a good cook, but I have two 'real' jobs and a small business, and it takes some determination for me to plan and execute a great meal. I have some good fallback recipes that I use a lot, but cooking is one of my favorite things, and I should be prioritizing the things I love in what free time I have.

I have an idea for a project, inspired by the loss Gourmet magazine, a truly great publication. I unintentionally become a collector of old issues of Gourmet when I found a full year (I think it was 2005) carefully preserved at a yard sale in the parking lot of a church. They were in perfect condition, and it felt a little obscene to see them sitting there on the pavement curling in the heat, and so I paid my $2 and brought them home. At a library sale recently I bought 2009 (minus one month) for about the same amount, and a collection was born.

My goal is to work my way through issues of Gourmet and adapt recipes to be vegan. It will be a challenge, because, God help me, Ruth Reichl et. al do love a stick of unsalted butter and some prosciutto di Parma, but it will be my tribute to the great palates behind one of my favorite magazines. The other is Oxford American. You should check it out.