VeganWeekly
Welcome, and thank you for stepping through my virtual door. Please make yourself comfortable, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and give me five minutes to explain what I’m trying to accomplish in this space.
VeganWeekly is not just another recipe blog. It's a culmination of my extensive experience as a professional chef and cooking instructor, offering a practical guide to preparing delicious and healthy vegan food. My advice is not just theoretical, but practical and applicable in your kitchen, empowering you to create your unique take on my recipe suggestions.
I enjoy sharing interesting and helpful insights and perspectives that foster creativity in the kitchen. I want to establish a safe space for readers to explore new ideas and develop unique styles. I write in a way that instructs the reader on how to avoid many common pitfalls – a skill I learned during my years of teaching. Many parts of a recipe demand clarity: ingredients weigh differently, people use various measurement standards, ingredient quality differs, oven and stove temperatures vary – often by quite a lot. I try to be precise with my words and directions to overcome these challenges. This helps to develop a good base to create from – the rest is up to you, so go ahead and add a pinch of something different – use your best judgment and taste, and try to make that recipe your own.
The Archives section is a treasure trove of everything I’ve written, offering a complete history of my work. If you’re in the mood for some window shopping, head to the Recipe Index where I’ve listed and categorized each of my published recipes. Like any cook, I have a place called My Junk Drawer. This is where I stash my opinions, stories, and essays, offering a more personal glimpse into my world. I update this drawer with new content every few months, so there's always something fresh to discover.
Would you like another cup of coffee or tea...maybe a ginger biscuit...before discussing the details?
Free or Paid – It’s Your Choice
VeganWeekly is a welcoming space for anyone who wants to cook healthy and delicious vegan food – regardless of skill level. I write with the amateur cook in mind and include as much detail as possible to help those who may not feel confident in vegan cooking. I want to be your cooking muse in the kitchen – that voice in your head guiding you through each recipe.
VeganWeekly may be for you if you are an amateur home cook, a student interested in vegan cooking, a freelance writer or journalist researching vegan cooking, someone with a medical condition that may benefit from a healthy vegan lifestyle, or someone interested in embracing a vegan lifestyle.
Free subscriptions get you almost everything. You will receive 2-3 monthly newsletters – sometimes more – plus full access to My Junk Drawer. You can comment on my articles, contribute to any conversation on Notes, and join the growing community of like-minded participants in the VeganWeekly world.
Paid subscriptions get you all of the free stuff, plus full access to all my published recipes, including the ability to save or print them. Monthly or annual subscriptions are available – it’s your choice.
VeganWeekly is 100% reader-supported. Your paid contribution is much more than getting access to some cool recipes; it’s a valuable contribution to my efforts to help others bring more plants and health to their life. Each contribution holds the power to influence meaningful and positive change.
What others in the community have said:
“This is not just another food blog…this is written by a serious and professional vegan chef interested in sharing his extensive food knowledge.”
“The recipes are simple to follow and have a lot of detail – they always work.”
“No advertising or product promotion – what a breath of fresh air.”
“Well-written, informative, humorous…”
“This is the place for delicious vegan recipes written with passion and wit. It's the right place to dig in, but consider yourself warned – you may start drooling!”
More About Me...
I have been involved in food and cooking most of my life! I’ve walked many paths during this culinary journey. I transformed from an interested amateur ‘foodie’ to a professional chef. I’ve explored different food cultures. I’ve eaten and cooked a lot of meat and fish. I’ve grown my own vegetables and fruit. I’ve been a vegetarian, carnivore, omnivore, fish-eating vegan, and a more traditional plant-based vegan. I’ve worked for some talented and knowledgeable Chefs in high-end restaurants in Switzerland, Italy, and France. I’ve taught cooking techniques and principles. I’ve written about food. And throughout this fascinating journey, I feel essentially the same about cooking; it should provide an endless source of pleasure that sustains the mind, body, and spirit. Cooking is my life and my craft. It is how I express myself to the world.
One Last Thing – A Story About a Simple and Delicious Tomato...
I worked for an Italian chef named Angelo at the beginning of my professional cooking career. He once told me an interesting story about the difference between a French cook and an Italian cook:
The French cook picks up a perfect tomato, looks at it carefully, and comes up with four or five ways to make a perfect sauce. The Italian cook picks up a perfect tomato, looks at it, smells it, stares at it intently while gently caressing the skin…then puts it down, looks up at the sky while rubbing his unshaven face, pulls out a cheap serrated knife, and slices the tomato in half. He puts a bit of sea salt on one half and simply eats it.
I like sharing this story because it illuminates the many paths aspiring cooks take to create something delicious – and it doesn’t matter if it’s simple or complicated. What matters the most is understanding that good cooking (and eating) is all about obtaining quality ingredients and knowing what to do with them.
Angelo’s story of how two cooks approach a tomato turned into my cooking and teaching philosophy - invest time in finding the best ingredients you can afford, keep preparations simple, and always taste, taste, taste. This is the message I am trying to pass along through my writing and in this publication.
Where to socialize with me: https://linktr.ee/jackmcn
