What is veganism to me?

To me, veganism is a lifestyle. It's a little fuzzy where a vegan individual draw his/her line. I don't necessarily subscribe to have nothing to do with animals. I just won't eat them, won't wear their skin, won't harm them intentionally, and won't use stuff that are tested on them or contain any animal ingredients. In short, I don't want to contribute to the sufferings of animals.

Am I always vegan?

No. I grew up an omnivore till roughly January 2002.

How and why did I convert?

A student of mine came into my office hour one day and started telling me about her vegan pledge (being a vegan for a short time) and telling me about animal cruelty in the dairy and egg industry. The stories are horrifying. But my first reaction was "That was noble of you. I feel bad for the animals but I don't think I can give up (dairy rich) indian sweets and cheesecake." But the stories are so disturbing that I could not sleep for days. One evening, I decided to get out bed and go onto the PETA website. Not only were the stories confirmed, they were understated. After that, my guilt overpowers the pleasure of my taste buds when I gave in to my favorite dairy food, so much so that I feel happier resisting my temptation rather than giving in to it.

Was it hard to convert?

Yes and no, depends on how you see it. If one keeps trying to find substitutes for food one used to eat, one is bound to be disappointed because "substitutes don't taste as good as the real thing". Once I understood this, I threw my old habit aside and started afresh. Instead of feeling that I was missing out, I was excited with the adventure. It's a lot of fun to figure out what one can do without animal products. Also, once I stopped regarding my old food as "food", I stopped missing them.

Note: Not all these recipes are creations of my own. Some are modification of recipes I obtained elsewhere. These are mainly for my friends and family and for my own collection.