To contact me, please email lisa[at]thevietvegan.com
Who are you?
My name is Lisa, I’m in my 30s, and I like taking pictures of food. I’m vegan, a nerd, and a feminist. I’m a sucker for plants, noodles, and food in bowls! I’m an intersectional feminist and an ENFP.
So where are you from?
It’s complicated, but currently I live in Hamilton (which is just west of Toronto).
You’re called the Viet VEGAN. Why do you have lacto-ovo-vegetarian recipes?
I’ve been vegan since October 2013 and before that, I was vegetarian. While I no longer advocate cooking with dairy and eggs, I know that there are some people who have loved using the recipes on here. Not everyone who reads this blog is vegetarian, let alone vegan, so any step towards more plant-based meals is a win in my books.
Okay, so you’re The Viet Vegan. I got it. But why do you have so many non-Viet recipes?
Like I said, I’m Canadian-born and I was born in a super WASP-y tiny town in Ontario near cottage country. So naturally I am influenced by Canadian cuisine. I actually prefer eating Vietnamese food over Canadian food, but since I moved away from home, I realized how time-consuming Vietnamese food prep is. Plus Canadian food is way more accessible (because duh-Canada), but now that I live closer to an Asian market, Viet staples are more affordable and easier to come by (hence the increase in noodle recipes).
I keep seeing “Je suis alimentageuse” all over the site. What does “alimentageuse” mean?
Je suis alimentageuse is the name of my blog before I rebranded as The Viet Vegan. Alimentageuse (pronounced: ah-lee-mahn-ta-juhz) is a word I made up from alimentation, which means food in French, and turning it into an adjective. To me, Je suis alimentageuse translates to “I am a foodie”.
What camera do you have?
I used to use a Canon XSi until December 2013, when I upgraded to a Canon 60D. Then my 60D died in summer 2016, so I got an 80D. I wanted to save up for a 5D but I needed another camera soooo I had to put that on hold. I mostly just use a 100 mm f/1.4 macro, 24-70 mm f/4, or a 50 mm f/1.4 lens, but sometimes my 18-55 mm or 18-200 mm kit lenses make an appearance. Update in 2020, my 80D’s shutter started being weird, so I now have a 90D. Still couldn’t afford the 5D lol.
Why are you so long-winded about things unrelated to food?
I use this blog sort of like a diary. Without having met me, you might think that I share a lot of my life online. Well, actually in real life, I’m the same. I overshare. I have no poker face and essentially no filter. I also have social anxiety that clashes with my outgoing personality so all my feelings need to come out somewhere, so they come out here. If you don’t want to read it? Fine. Scroll down. But don’t make a habit of it, sometimes I actually do talk about the recipe, and some of those details are relevant to the success of the recipe.
Who the heck are Chris and Burrito Boy/Eddie?
Since the beginning of this blog, you’ll see mentions and anecdotes of my former partner, Chris. We’ve since parted ways, but I’ve since started dating Eddie. He was initially introduced on my blog as Burrito Boy. For the record, he’s told me he’s perfectly fine with me writing about him so long as they’re positive (which they always are). In fact, he kind of gets a kick out of it.
For those wondering, Burrito Boy is an omnivore a vegetarian (as of Jan 2017) a vegan (as of Jan 2019), whose favourite food is burritos (I know, so out of left field.) His moniker derives from our first date, as well as the fact that he loves burritos. Before me, he had never met a vegan (I don’t think he had any vegetarian friends either), so since we’ve been together he’s become accustomed to having tofu, seitan, and soy milk on the regular. We got married in June 2019 and we are both now residing in Hamilton, Ontario :)
I like grammar. If you see a typo, please tell me and I will fix it. Typos drive me crazy and reading my stuff over and over makes me miss things so please tell me if I have a typo!
Please link back if you’re going to use any of the recipes I’ve used on this blog. Rewrite directions in your own words as recipe ingredients are not technically copyrighted while directions are. All photography on this blog is taken by me (unless otherwise noted) and thus I ask that you do not use my photography for any commercial purposes unless I have given you permission.
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