In my experience this sentence is all too true.

Example?

About a year and a half ago I started listening to the Vegan.ch-podcast. Mostly because I like listening to people speaking swiss-german dialect, but also because I was genuinely interested.

So I listened to a few episodes. And a few more ...
And I read some more ...

End of story: No more eggs for me. (I’m not consequent, I’m still eating cake and biscuits at other peoples homes, and I’m still baking with eggs from my mothers neighbour.)
But I don’t buy any eggs don’t cook them.

It’s really no big deal.
The only problems I’m having are with bread dumplings (not my everyday dish), spätzle (same here), pfannkuchen (the indians manage it egg-free, so I will too) and - above all - a variety of cakes.

There are all sorts of egg substitutes, apple puree, soy flour, bananas, baking pouder, you can get the whole list here (you have to scroll down a bit, also it’s in german).

I spend the year testing some of them and mostly found them wanting.

One of the freakier methods - and the only one really working for me - is the use of flax flour.

Because it tends to turn rancid I keep it in a glass in the fridge.



To substitute one egg you need about one teaspoon flax meal.
Here I’m making three 'eggs'.



You blend the meal with a litte water, making a thick paste.
Adding more water ( about three teaspoons per egg) you can either mix it by hand or use a blender.
The mixture thickens very quickly, becomming very gooey - just like real eggs are.
Did you notice that there is some sort of internal cohesion to beaten eggs? Like they tend to slip out of a bowl in one go? Or that it’s virtually imposible to seperate one teaspoon of egg from the rest of it?
Same here!

You just don’t see it in the picture.



Now I just have to put it in the freezer for about a quarter of an hour and then: let there be cake!




And in case you’re wondering why I go through all this trouble,
the boys from vegan.ch are happy to tell you.
Just click here

I want to introduce to you a new project of mine.
It’s got nothing to do with painting or colours ... but a lot of creativity will be involved - and a lot of sugar too.

Those of you who have known me for a few years may have noticed my

• love of baking experiments
• fascination for traditional christmas cakes overflowing with dried fruit
• forays into a vegan lifestyle

If you combine all of these aspects you create a critical mass which you can trigger by throwing a baking book into it.

In this case was Cakes from around the World by Julie Duff which did the trick.

I found a recipe for a 'Caribbean Rum Fruit Cake' calling for
450g currants
450g raisins and
250g sultanas among various other dries fruits, spirits - and 9 eggs.

I’ll be trying to substitute the eggs with ... something (I’m thinking apple pulp or pumpkin, but I’m not really sure ... ).

If you have any experiences in this area and/or can recommend any books/webpages/communities - please let me know. I will happily read/listen to anything you may suggest

For the cake - which will be readdy on christmas day - you do a fruit mix which will quite happily sit in the fridge for 2 or 3 month
needing only the occational stir.

This is what it looks by now:



I’m sure it’s planing to take over the fridge.

.:.

On a personal note:
I started this blog with the intention to keep it strictly to my paintings (wall, paper and otherwise).
But my interests are so widly spread, my inspiration so diverse and there are so many other things - besides painting - which I want to tell you, which I think might interest you ...

What I don’t want to do is a look-what-happend-to-me-today - diary, I just want to tell things someone might benefit from.

Any thoughts? Please tell me.

.:.

On another personal note:
I hate to post so irregular. I was planing to post every few days, but - the bit BUT - It’s just not working. I just don’t find the time, the means, the content ... so please forgive me if there are times when you have to wait for me to say something.
It’s just like in real life.