Kickstarter

Becoming vegan was one of the best decisions that I've made for myself. The transition was easy, save for one thing; giving up the Cuban food that I grew up on. The food isn’t just delicious, it represents my family, our culture, and our traditions. You can’t just give that up. I decided that instead of mourning the loss of my picadillo, y ropa vieja, I would reclaim them, vegan style. I am working on perfecting the recipes and I plan to incorporate personal photos, interviews, artwork, general musings and stories. Part of the research for this project will hopefully take place in Havana Cuba where I want to collect stories from folks about their connections between food and culture and hopefully interview the owners of Restaurante el Bambu, one of the only vegetarian restaurants in Havana.

For the book I chose the title pasando gato por liebre which literally means to trick someone, or to deceive (instead of being served rabbit for dinner like you though, you were given cat instead). Of course, I'm not trying to trick anyone into thinking that these vegan recipes are actually meat, but I guarantee they'll give the real thing a run for its money!

Here are some of the dishes that I'm hoping to include:

Appetizers and sides

Fried Green plantains

Fried sweet plantains

Yuca

Avocado and onion salad

Croquettes

Empanadas

tamales

Cuban bread

Frituras de malanga

Pan frito

Main Dishes

Arroz con pollo falsos

Ropa Vieja

Picadillo

Cuban Sadwich

Cuban black beans

Okra soup

Carne con papas

Fufu de platano

Cocido de Garbanzos

Fricase de pollo

Guiso de maiz

Ajiaco

Aji relleno

Desserts

Torticas de guayaba

Bread pudding

Coconut balls

Natillas

Arroz con leche