A number of years ago, I upgraded my diet to be plant-based. I still eat meat and animal products occasionally, but the bulk of my food comes from plants. I knew this change would be good for my health though I can’t say I was excited about it because I really didn’t know what to do with vegetables other than roast them. Enter the New York Times Cooking app, loaded with thousands of ways to turn vegetables into a feast. Some of my favorite vegetable-centric recipes are by James Beard Award winner Hetty Lui McKinnon whose inventive style and focus on easy preparation makes me feel like a gourmet cook even though I most certainly am not. Australian by birth and Chinese by heritage, she now lives in Brooklyn (as do I).
I recently read Hetty’s beautiful memoir cookbook, Tenderheart: a cookbook about vegetables and unbreakable family bonds. A love letter to both vegetables and her family’s role in stoking the fires of that love for her, Hetty gives us a glimpse into her past, present, and future, and celebrates her family history on every page. Organized by vegetable, the recipes include a snippet about why she loves each one, vegetable swaps and ingredient substitutions that can be made without compromising the flavor. I read cookbooks like they’re novels or biographies, so Hetty’s book is perfect for me. Give me a simple, healthy recipe and then tell me the story behind it.
From cabbage carbonara(-ish) to chocolate eggplant brownies to the not your traditional Sunday roast to her Mum’s velvet potatoes, Hetty now has me dreaming about vegetables. Her recipes have also caused me to seek out vegetables I don’t normally buy because I never knew what to do with them. While vegetables can take a bit more coaxing than other foods, they can be made to be every bit as satisfying and craveable as any other food.
Post-dissertation, I’m happy to be back in my kitchen more now than I’ve been able to be over the past two years. If you want to fall in love with vegetables, please join me in my sun filled apartment. With help from Hetty’s recipes (I’ve now ordered all of her cookbooks!), I’ll be happy to play matchmaker.
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
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Christa Avampato 