Blogger Blurb and Recipe from Claire Can Cook

By: Zack Brown

Claire Fogarty began her vegan and gluten-free journey when she was 13 years old. Claire had been getting painful digestive issues, and the doctors could not figure out her diagnosis. Claire knocked out dairy and gluten from her diet, and her problems seemed to go away very quickly. Claire later went on to become vegetarian, and then eventually vegan, for ethical purposes. She has now branded herself to her followers as a “vegan and gluten-free teen” in most of her videos.

Claire is a 19-year-old journalism student at the University of Southern California -— when she isn’t busy being a full time student, she is creating TikTok videos and podcast episodes, photographing her food and sharing her life with the world. Claire started her blog in 2016 and started her podcast in 2018. At first, she was only sharing her food with friends and family, but when she gained a large following on TikTok, she then gained traction on her Instagram, podcast and website.

Claire gained popularity through TikTok due to her “what I eat in a day” videos that showcase how easy it can be to be vegan and gluten-free. “I have a good relationship with food, so that is mostly why people follow me.” Through her TikTok she has been able to become friends with lots of prominent TikTok influencers including Jeremy Scheck of Scheck Eats, Justine of Justine Snacks and Ashley Wicka. Claire’s biggest moment of gaining popularity through TikTok is when she found out that Emma Chamberlain followed her. Claire calls her social media platforms a “microecosystem” of sorts. With nearly 30,000 TikTok followers and over 4,200 Instagram followers — she says that sometimes these numbers feel huge and sometimes they feel small. She gets recognized in public a decent amount, she said, for being a micro-influencer. Despite her rise in recognition, she is just happy for her opportunities to make an impact on people, she said. “I get DM’s from people regularly who express how much of a positive impact I have had on them through my videos and blog posts. I am just always astonished at how my videos can have that much of an impact on people.”

Claire offers two pieces of advice for those who are wanting or needing to go vegan or glutenfree: do not fall victim to diet culture and to try cooking at home. “Cook and experiment and fall in love with food. Also try new restaurants! When you make food from scratch you know what is in it. You take it into your own hands and you have the opportunity to try new things and be creative. Challenge yourself and be patient.”

You can find Claire online at clairecancook.com or @clairecancook on social media.

Her recipe for Orange Currant Scones Vegan + GF

Ingredients:

2 cups of GF all-purpose flour + extra to flour surfaces

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoons salt

5 tablespoons vegan butter (Claire uses the brand Earth Balance)

3/4 cups orange juice

1/2 teaspoon orange extract

zest of 1 orange

1/2 cup dried currants

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450° F and prepare a baking sheet with either a Silpat, wax paper, or baking grease.

2. Put the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder, into the base of your food processor. Pulse until these dry ingredients are fully incorporated, make sure that there aren’t any baking powder clumps!

3. Add the butter to the food processor one tablespoon at a time, and pulse a few times each. Pulse until the mixture has a coarse meal texture.

4. Dump the contents of the processor into a large mixing bowl. Add the orange juice, zest, and extract, then stir with a rubber spatula until a dough begins to form.

5. Next fold in the currants thoroughly.

6. Take the dough and place it onto the floured surface and mold it into a disk. The thickness should be about an inch and a half.

7. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 triangles (like you would cut a pizza). Then separate the triangles and place them onto the prepared baking sheet.

8. Bake the scones for about 12 to 15 minutes until they are golden brown.

9. Cool for 10 minutes and serve!