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with Her Food A Chat with VEGWORLD’s Food Editor Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Photos by Giordano Katin-Grazzini
Can you share a bit about your plant-based journey with us?
rich food culture - “la cucina casalinga” (home cooking) – centuries-old and founded on fresh local produce, prepared simply and beautifully. I was hooked! The kitchen is the heart of every Italian home and where everyone gathers. It’s all about the food. When we went vegan, I set out to go deeper, seeking out longhonored agrarian foodways from all over the world. Preserving the unique character and flavors of these dishes, I tweak them to be healthier and much more climate-friendly.
Back in 2013, Giordano (my husband) barely survived a surgery that went terribly wrong for what turned out to be a blocked artery. His diagnosis: atherosclerosis, a progressive disease that we knew pills and procedures could only slow but not cure. Shaken, we searched for options and discovered Drs. Esselstyn’s and Ornish’s remarkable successes treating seriously ill heart patients using whole plant foods. We grabbed on with both hands, the results proved stunningly beneficial, and we never looked back.
Describe Love the Foods that Love You Back. What can readers expect to find inside?
Have you always had a passion for cooking, or did that passion coincide with adopting a plant-based diet?
The culmination of years of playing with my food, with this cookbook, I wanted to coax people away from fast and processed foods and takeout and back into their kitchens, which, let’s face it, is where physical and emotional healing begins. This cookbook is for everyone who wants to eat cleaner, more ethically, and to help cool our feverish planet,
I’ve always been food curious, but this flame was truly fanned when I lived in Italy as a young woman. There I discovered a beautiful,
VEGWORLD
44
Summer 2022
