I’ve never really had food allergies (well, there was that curious case of pineapple and kiwi, but my reactions to those fruits never really impaired my ability to function normally, it was more of a slight bother).
And then I went to college in Iowa, where I discovered that I am allergic to soy, in a state filled with soybeans. It was around this time that I was also casually flirting with being a vegetarian. Already with limited meat-alternative options in the vast state of Iowa, nixing soy from my diet eliminated the entire “alternative foods” section of the grocery store. Everything had soy. And I started having to read labels and ask in restaurants. The less soy I ate, the more sensitive I became. Ranch dressing has soy, meatballs have soy, margarine has soy, anything with soy sauce was completely out. I like to joke that I am a sushi purist, as I don’t dip my sushi in soy sauce, but eat it straight up.
When I moved into North Minneapolis a few years ago (holy cow, has it moved into the plural already?), my landlord/roomie explained that she was vegan, and that her previous tenant had repeatedly eaten all her food. Well, no danger there, I told her, I can’t eat your food.
My preconceived notions of vegan food was that it was boring and not good. But she made some incredibly delicious looking meals. Did I mention that my bedroom was right off the kitchen? I baked some cakes for her work, and then decided I should make something that she could eat. If she could make some yummy looking things, why couldn’t I?
Thus the vegan cherry almond cupcakes were born. I found the recipe online, and was a bit skeptical about them. Would they turn out flat and hard? Gooey and shapeless?
No.
They turned out moist, sweet and delicious.
I ended up bringing the overflow to work (a great place to unload food, by the way), but I didn’t tell anyone they were vegan (I knew if I had been hesitant about them, coworkers wouldn’t touch them). And, of course, they were gone by lunchtime.
I like the army of cupcakes in the last picture. I feel like they should have faces.