Book Giveaway!
Enter to win Kim-Julie Hansen’s new book, “Best of Vegan” AND “The Korean Vegan Cookbook.”
The deadline to enter is April 12 at noon PST.
Recipe | Updates
“And that’s how in that moment I felt about my entire life. Look at all these animals I’ve been eating all my life. Oh dear Jesus, what on earth did I do? But I was like, this is what I’m on this planet for. Like, I need to tell people, because at that point, I figured, if I love meat, and I love cheese, and I love dairy, and it takes one moment of awakening for me to change everything about my life, then the only thing that keeps other people is that they don’t know.” – Kim-Julie Hansen.
This week, I’d like to introduce you to Kim-Julie Hansen, author of two outstanding vegan cookbooks and the creator of one of the most popular vegan accounts on Instagram: @bestofvegan. Perhaps you’re thinking, “Oh no, not another story about an ‘influencer,'” but, before you scroll past this episode, indulge me a little bit, because I gotta tell you, despite knowing her for nearly seven years, I found Ms. Hansen’s story to be, in a word:
RIVETING.
There’s a reason this episode is the longest yet, and, in all candor, I could have listened to Kim-Julie unwind another hour’s worth of her tale; I only concluded our chat because our rears were growing numb from sitting in a pair of stiff hotel chairs. Whether it’s the fact that she left home without finishing high school, was convinced to go vegan after writing an essay on why veganism was stupid, or that she started her business practically by accident, I felt like I was reading a novel I simply didn’t ever want to put down. But even beyond these well-worn milestones on the Alpine Path, discerning listeners will discover a story studded with both grief and resilience and, threading through it all, a profound respect and hope in that which makes any of this worth it:
Love.
Listen to My Conversation with Kim-Julie Hansen
Apple | Spotify | Google
This Week’s Recipe Inspo.
For this week’s recipe inspiration, I give you THREE sandwiches! I love sandwiches, but, not gonna lie–they can be a bit more challenging when you go vegan. But challenge = opportunity. These are three delicious sandwiches that I make ALL THE TIME:
Focaccia and Tomato Sandwich
Grilled Cheese and Onion Sandwich
Pesto Egg Sandwich
You can find the full recipes for each of these delicious sandwiches on my YouTube channel!
Updates and Random Things.
- What I’m Watching. I finished off Diary of a Prosecutor, a Korean drama that follows the stories of a small county’s prosecutor’s office, and can now fully recommend it. It’s well written, funny, provocative, and altogether wholesome. In the meantime, we are slogging our way through Blacklist (we are on Season 6!), with one concession for the season premiere of Succession. We found the latter to be exactly what we’ve missed from TV since the conclusion of Season 3 (we missed Episode 2 on Sunday night due to the book event I did with the incredible Michelle Zauner. More on that next week!).
- What I’m Cooking. In case you missed it, I had the vegan activist, Saudi Arabian Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, at my home for dinner last week. I made tteokbokki, potato pancakes, braised mushrooms, and kimchi dooboo for the royal event, because the Prince indicated that he very much loves gochujang (but who doesn’t…?). It was, not gonna lie, a little stressful cooking for His Highness, but he is as affable as he is smart and he is a big fan of Korean food. All in all, it was an epoch in my cooking career!
- Best Vegan Podcast. Guess who won VegNews’s Veggie Awards for Best Vegan Podcast…!? Yes!! Are You Ready with Joanne Molinaro was voted as the BEST Vegan Podcast!!! What a ride it’s been–with less than a year under our belt, and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, the podcast remains one of the things I am most proud of, and as a result, I could not be more grateful for this recognition!
- New Plant-Based Food Brand. I recently had the opportunity to visit the factory of the largest tofu manufacturer in the world. And, among other things, I learned that they recently launched a brand, Monterey Gourmet, that includes two plant-based pastas, a penne bolognese and a fettuccini alfredo! I haven’t yet had a chance to try these, but have any of you? Do you like them? Would love to hear your thoughts!
And THAT is a wrap folks! Until next week, have a wonderful day!
– Joanne
