Interview with The Conscious Kitchen Blogger, Emilie Hardman

Emilie is the blogger behind The Conscious Kitchen, which showcases her gorgeous culinary creations and includes a sprinkling of her worldviews. Emilie became a vegan for ethical reasons, and reminds the reader that veganism isn't about what you can't eat, but rather, everything you can eat.

She herself keeps a conscious kitchen and eats in line with her beliefs as she simply doesn't believe in eating animals. She also tries to eat local food when possible to avoid further damaging the environment, and because local foods just taste better.

Emilie's profile on The Conscious Kitchen describes her as "...a former academic with a background in sociology and archives, a penchant for pastry, a passion for cooking, an interest in the cultural, environmental, historical and social aspects of food, a dedication to ethical consumption, and a particular love of knee socks."

Emilie introduces incredibly unique flavor combinations that most people wouldn't even dream of trying, and they seem to work. Her pictures are stunning and the desserts are so beautiful that I'm actually glad I can't get near them in person.

Her Conscious Kitchen blog offers readers a look at gourmet cooking and baking that is simple enough to be done daily. To me, Emilie's blogs on The Conscious Kitchen are a great reminder that we eat first with our eyes; and with such a short life, there's no sense in depriving our eyes of such a delicious meal.

Questions about The Conscious Kitchen:

I think I grew up with a vague aversion to the idea of eating animals. I was always having to trick myself into eating meat and was uncomfortable (if totally unaware as to why) whenever I was given something to eat that had unavoidable reminders, like bones, of where meat came from and that it really was a dead animal.

Living in places like Malaysia where the markets featured live animals that would be butchered on the spot instead of the neat styrofoam packages of meat in the grocery stores of more industrialized counties really served to bring that connection between animals and meat home to me, but I didn't have any way to understand my feelings for a long time. The concept of vegetarianism was completely foreign because I just didn't know anybody who was and no one talked about it; people ate animals and that was that.

When I first really learned about vegetarianism as a viable way of living and thinking and eating, it was a true revaltion. It made my feelings make sense and it helped connect a lot of personal and political dots for me. I first came to vegetarianism through political punk music and so it always was an ethical/political orientation that I held as my framework, but it eased the emotional part of me that, unasked, simply rebelled against the idea of killing animals in order to sustain myself.

For me, going vegan was part and parcel of choosing to eat a vegetarian diet. It's hyperbole, but only just, to say that I was a vegetarian for about five minutes before I decided that I wouldn't eat eggs for the same reason I wouldn't eat chicken--they were the same to me--and dairy was quickly out too because it and all animals products were created out of the same animal suffering with the same negative environmental impacts and the same injury to workers as flesh itself.

2. As a new vegan, did you face any challenges with your new diet that you found a way to overcome?

I'm sure that from the outside my transition to veganism would seem like it presented challenges, but from my own perspective, it was just a matter of figuring out how to live, buy and eat in the only way that made me feel right about myself and my actions. Veganism has always seemed like a process to me, something to keep working on and thinking about, learning about what goes into the production of our food and I guess that's sort of a challenge, but it's one that I have always liked rising to.

To be more concrete though: soymilk. I've been vegan for more than ten years and I think I came into it on the edge of the "bad old days" of soy/rice/whatever milk. Or maybe it was living in the valleys of nowhere-New York that presented me with these problems, but I could not for the life of me find a milk that I liked at all--it was all liquid bean or water rice or unidentifiable beverage flavored with strong notes of waxed packaging.

Then, sometime in college there was the birth of Silk and a slew of other sickeningly sweet soymilks followed. To this day I am probably more grateful for my discovery of Vitasoy unsweetened soymilk than I am for any other vegan innovation ever.

3. You make absolutely gorgeous food and the pictures on The Conscious Kitchen are incredible. Have you ever considered opening a bakery or writing a cookbook with your creations? What would be your dream job?

First of all, thank you! I'm so happy and honored that people have enjoyed experiencing my cooking and baking through the blog. It's really an amazing thing to be able to connect with so many people who care about food in the same ways that I do.

I do also work with Karma Cafe in Harvard Square, Cambridge. They're a vegan owned yoga studio staffed with really passionate and adventurous people, so they make it fun to bake for them and the rest of the Karma community. I am also working on developing recipes and putting together a cookbook which I hope will be both accessible and refined, political and personal.

One of my dream jobs would be to run a green vegan bed and breakfast grounded in a very intentional local community and preferably adjacent to an animal sanctuary, specifically one with pigmy goats... and maybe alpacas. I can't help but think that life might be enriched just by virtue of easy access to viewing happy alpaca. I spend a good bit of time day dreaming and plotting for the future though, so that's just one vision!

4. What's your favorite pastry or dessert to give someone who has never tried a vegan dessert?

Cake wins over skeptics every time! My hazelnut cake specifically has prompted people to actually apologize for every negative thought they'd ever had about vegan food.

5. It sounds like you have traveled extensively and lived in amazing places. What are your favorite countries and/or cities for vegan food?

My partner, Josh (also a vegan), and I had a completely amazing time eating out in Budapest a couple of years ago. One thing about Hungary that threw us off at first was that you pretty much have to threaten your server with physical harm to get a check, but then we fell into the rhythm of just hanging out as the locals do for hours--socializing, playing Hungarian Boggle, and ordering more and more food and dessert and espresso! Several of our favorite restaurants in Budapest have since closed, but there are still many more options than you might think.

I also love to eat outside, so all the night markets and the early morning breakfast stalls where you can get big bowls of noodles and veggies or masala dosa and just watch the streets suits me well.

6. In which countries/cities did you have a harder time finding good food, and how did you solve the problem?

My biggest struggle with eating while abroad probably came when we were traveling in Peru. While we almost always were able to find something and did have some good adventures seeking out vegan options in a number of cities, notably a hidden back alley restaurant in the coastal city of Puno where we were, to our utter surprise and joy, served seitan and were able to buy a precious jar of peanut butter, I did come home with seriously loose pants. I'd like to blame the looseness all on the hiking and climbing and physicalexertion of the trip, but some of it really was due to want to food.

Once we figured out that it was going to be harder to get the food we needed though, we started more consciously stocking up on things like peanut butter and other snacks we could pack away when they were available. It's really useful to have easy protein sources that you can use to take the place of or supplement meals.

As we learned more about what was available and what wasn't, I was also able to ask for more modifications to dishes that would make them vegan.

It's important to me to understand that my choice to be vegan is very much a product of the place I live and the options that are avaliable to me so I like to be careful about how I express myself when ordering food in other countries. Learning what you can about the language, customs and foods goes far toward both being a good traveler and getting what you need.

7. I know that not long ago you were diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and that you have learned that a vegan diet is helpful for the prevention of further attacks. Can you share with others who might also be suffering how your diet has helped you?

Definitely. When I was first diagnosed, my neurologist, who is not at all very veganically or alternative therapy inclined, actually started by talking about diet and exercise as means of controlling my health and possibly preventing exacerbations. Even before we talked about available drug therapies, we were talking kale and the like.

He suggested that I lay off meat and dairy while emphasizing whole grains and lots of fruits and vegetables as well as good fats like olive oil and nuts. It was nice to be able to say, "hey, I already do."

I think MS has prompted me to explore more about the healthy side of my veganism. While I was never a junk-food vegan and have consciously avoided additives and dyes, corn syrup and chemically extracted oils from the start, it was more because I saw chemicals in my foods as a kind of disguisting by-product of the food culture that big businesses have shaped in the US.

My veganism was ethical, not health-based. As I've come more into thinking about eating not just a vegan diet, but a healthy vegan diet, I've made a lot of good connections about how whole foods that are minimally processed make me feel.

In general, I think people don't spend enough time thinking about what they put into their bodies and how food can serve to keep us well or damage us. Even when suffering from a disease like MS that seems so beyond our control, there are things we can take charge of. Something as simple as a good meal can be the thing that helps you make it through the day.

Beautiful Conscious Kitchen chocolate cupcakes:

Top Left: Conscious Kitchen Trio of Malagasy Chocolate, Roasted and Toasted Dominican Chocolate, and Sweet Mexican Chocolate, all with Whipped Vanilla Cream Frosting

Top Right: Conscious Kitchen Venezuelan Ganache Cupcake with White Chocolate Drizzle

Bottom Left: Santander 70% Columbian with Whipped Ganache Frosting

Bottom Right: Conscious Kitchen Peruvian Amantani Midnight with Whipped Ganache and Amantani Moonlight with Vanilla Buttercream