Written by:
Ariane Resnick
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this Issue of Curve:
Vol. 16#4
Public access TV cooking show host Isa Chandra Moskowitz first caught our attention last year with Vegan With a Vengeance, her anti-cruelty, anti-corporate, take-down-the-man cookbook for the 20 to 30-something set. Packaged to appeal to hipsters and ex-punks, the book includes not only a slew of animal-friendly recipes, but also pantry and equipment suggestions and helpful tidbits in the voice of Moskowitz’s cat, Fizzle.
Moskowitz’s instructions for cruelty-free cuisine return to the shelves this month with Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (Marlowe & Company). Pick up a copy for 75 dairy-free ways to destroy your diet — without hurting any cute fluffy animals.
Last spring Moskowitz chatted with us about her first book and the ways that a vegan diet is a political stance.
How welcoming do you think your book is for non-vegans?
All of the ingredients are pretty common … most of it relies on whole foods like beans and grains that most people are familiar with.
You have a very anti-corporate voice in your cookbook and shy away from suggesting brand-name ingredients. Would you ever endorse a brand, as so many chefs do?
If it was a good brand, yeah. I wasn’t like … don’t buy it because it’s a brand; it was more [like], look at what we are eating. Look at where our prepackaged food is coming from, and you’ll see that most of those are owned by a large corporation whose policies we probably disagree with. Try not to support these brands that don’t support what our ethics may be.
Do you have plans to ever opening a restaurant?
I would love to open a restaurant. I have a business plan, and it’s one of my goals. I just have to find some rich, altruistic vegan.
You mentioned that the Food Network took a look at your TV show and found it inaccessible. How do you feel about that?
I thought it was funny and probably true. It made me feel a little bit good. If the average American is watching Rachael Ray, and that is what is accessible, I don’t necessarily want to fall into that category.
Have you had any interest or involvement in the raw food movement?
No. It seems just a bit much to have to have to spend a whole day making a sandwich.
Your book seems very personal for a cookbook.
It did feel very much like I’m showing people my diary, and I do hope that people take it that way.
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