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Enjoy Charleston. And thanks for doing advance work for me. We'll be there at the end of the year, and now with your recommendations, I'm looking forward to it even more. Thanks too for including Joe Yonan's recipes. I'm with you -- dogma doesn't belong at the dining table. Good food does. And that includes good vegan food.

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There’s so much more here than our brief time allows us. Hanna Raskin’s Food Section newsletter (not on Substack) and Southern Foodways have lots of pointers, for instance. You’ll have a grand time.

No dogma at the table. 🤟✌️

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this view!!!

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Dreamy…!

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Dropping by to share my recipes too https://www.makepurethyheart.com

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Oct 24·edited Oct 24Author

Thanks, Paolo!!! Your recipes look fantastically vegan!

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We’ve been to Charleston! Such a nice rich 🤑 historic vibe. Stopped over on tour with my band.

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I’m sure you made beautiful music in town!

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How did you get involved with SFA? I just looked it up and watched the beautiful short film Rice and Grits. What a coincidence that I recently mentioned Animal Vegetable Mineral to you too.

I have extreme difficulty with the term Plant Based. I find that most people use the term to mean vegan, but it doesn’t technically mean that. Then again, lots of people also say they’re vegan but they aren’t. It’s kind of weird how people feel the need to classify their eating. It’d be interesting to know how the demographics of income/age/race influences food identities.

Thank you for sharing the recipes from “Mastering.” I might check it out if I can find it through the library. I do have two new cookbooks I haven’t finished reading yet, Hawker Fare and The Bean Book. I own many vegetarian cookbooks but only one vegan, Korean Vegan.

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Great question. It seems so random that I'd be SFA board president, right? About 15 years ago, I met its exec director, John T Edge at a conference in Napa. We got talking about how the South influences many parts of nation, including the Viet Cajun explosion of restaurants in California. That led to me doing research and interviews for a presentation at the SFA symposium. Popeye's Chicken, grits, cornbread and biscuits culture are all southern exports. And then there's the politics of the South too. Nowadays, the global South refers to the diversity of cultures that are shaping what the region is like. Not many people outside of the South go to the South but it's a place to face and consider much of the difficulties of the nation's past as we all consider the country's future.

I'm with you on plant-based. Veganism does not own it. And then there are the flexible vegans vs the diehard vegans. Classifying one's diet, as you say, hamstrings you. Figuring out a sustainable way to eat healthily makes greater sense! And prioritizing plants is the way to go!

You've got two good books to consider there with the Bean Book and Hawker Fare. MAPBC will be around for a long time!

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How interesting that you became the SFA board president! I’m sure the South affects my life in ways I don’t realize, and I’m not against ever visiting but it is definitely not a priority. My closest familial connection is that my FIL joined the Marines at 18 so he could leave rural Kentucky, and he never wanted to go back. That is also how I ended up in Oceanside (and I absolutely LOVE living here).

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