Mississippi Vegan – Southern food with conscience

It might sound like an oxymoron but Southern vegan makes sense. Think of our moderate climate that allows us to grow a variety of fabulous vegetables and fruits. While we Southerners tend to focus on the meat end of things, there’s that smorgasbord of biscuits and gravy, macaroni and cheese, peach cobblers, greens and cornbread dressing. And yes, some of those dishes must be altered to be considered vegan, but these days with all the alternative ways to add dairy and protein to meals, Southern vegan can be as easy as a hot knife through butter.

Timothy Pakron celebrates his Mississippi roots and love of Southern cooking in a gorgeous cookbook that will erase any doubt you might have in eating Southern vegan in “Mississippi Vegan: Recipes and Stories from a SouthernBoy’s Heart” (Avery). Pakron doesn’t dwell on the lack of meat but rather the nostalgia of growing up along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and enjoying Cajun, Creole and Southern dishes. To write the book, he enlisted family and friends and calls to his mom.

“The majority of these recipes stem directly from my childhood, dishes that I can only remember in my mind,” he writes in the introduction. “But others pick and pull from what I’ve learned throughout my life, allowing me to introduce something special and unique.”

Pakron’s hope is that readers will look beyond the vegan.

“Although it may sound literal, as I am from Mississippi and I am vegan, this creative endeavor is about more than a specific location,” Pakron writes. “It’s a constant celebration of delicious food, memories, and pride in growing and sourcing local produce. It’s an exploration of nature and a constant search for beauty that exists in this world.”

Are you still doubting the vegan part of the equation? Don’t. There are recipes for gumbo with barley sausage and gumbo z’herbes, blue spice basil pesto pasta, garlic cheese grits with vegan cheddar, mirliton corn bisque and a host of delicious desserts and cocktails, the photos as enticing as the recipes.

Check out the book's trailer here.

Pakron writes the blog “Mississippi Vegan” and his Instagram feed contains many of his gorgeous photos. Before devoting himself to the culinary arts, Pakron spent time as a fine artist and freelance photographer in Charleston and New York City. He currently lives in New Orleans.

Louisiana Book News is written by award-winning author Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances and mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Her first book in each series is FREE to download as an ebook, including "Emilie," book one of The Cajun Series, "Ticket to Paradise," book one of The Cajun Embassy series and "A Ghost of a Chance," the first Viola Valentine mystery.