Richa Hingle: Some know her as Vegan Richa , Yes that is the name of her food blog and let me tell you its one of a kind. Of course Richa Hingle has more than 1,44, 324 likes on her FACEBOOK PAGE (keeps growing every single day ) and more than thousands of vegan recipes and many gluten-free recipes , she shares recipes for various cuisines right from simple , easy-to-make to extravagant lavish looking ones ! I am amazed by her Blog success, But what is beyond all this is Richa Hingle's personality, her strength.
I have not met her, Not yet ! Just spoke to her a couple of times and you wont believe how modest she is. She is a true inspiration to all of us -Who complain too much and give excuses of not being able to do something that we want to. Today I take pride in sharing Richa Hingle's story and just like she says "If I can do it, So can you!"
Hi, I am Richa. I live in Seattle with my husband and a fluffball named Chewie.
I started up my cooking experiments once I took over most of the daily cooking from Vivek, who had been our resident chef in 2007(mid 2007 to early 2008). The problem with experimenting with dinner dishes at that time was that, even if the dish comes out good, we might just not like it taste wise. And that puts the dinner at risk. So I thought and thought and picked up baking. Baking helps me make snacks/breakfast/tea-time things which can always be substituted with something else if the taste buds reject the final product:)
I have been blogging since 2009. I like to keep it healthy and constantly strive to reduce the fat and sugar required in most baked goods. I am not a by the book cook, or a stickler for measurements. Vegan Richa is my baking, cooking blog and Hypnagogic is the random life blog.
I used to be a Software Developer, recovering (almost fully recovered as much as I could:)) from a Craniotomy done in 2006 to remove a meningioma (brain surgery to remove a tumor). I am trying to think up some other completely different career options to pursue ( pursuing recipe development and photography now)
I am a foster parent for a Dog Rescue (Gingers Death Row Rescue) and also with the Seattle Humane Society , Though I mostly end up fostering dogs from the Death Row rescue, since I cant really handle big dogs yet. I still have some balance issues and fostering and baking are helping me get back on my feet. We were fostering dogs till mid 2010, then I was hit by panic disorder brought on most likely by the follow up MRI. Everything is clear, but my brain refuses to listen. So I am working on calming it down and getting life back on track. .
My right eye nerves were affected during the surgery so that limits my reading, writing, browsing in general, online or books. I do read a lot of blogs intermittently and some books a couple of pages at a time, but since the eyes get tired very easily, I am not so active in the world of blogging, connecting and commenting. I am slowly trying to get more out there.Update: Food photography is working like Tai-chi for my eyes, getting better at browsing and editing pictures and such. Reading long pages is still a pain. I love reading everyone's stories and posts, and try to spread it out during the day to help me get to as many blogs as I can.
We are on a plant based diet (transition started in 2010 by eliminating things one by one). All the current the recipes on the blog are now vegan. Some Recipes from the archives are non vegan, but can be veganized with simple substitutions. the connection was made because of being associated with rescue and foster of dogs, getting ot know about puppy mills, associating and understanding chewie and the fosters, and finally realizing that the pain, suffering, feelings are the same for all animals. to read more, please see Our Journey here.
I try to use whole, organic as less processed as possible ingredients. I do use some new products and substitutes to find out how they taste and work, but eventually phase them out with home made or unprocessed options. Our food philosophy keeps changing based on things that make sense to me and you can notice that in the posts and recipes over the years.
Update 2013: this year I have been able to read more and more and spend a lot more time on the computer as you can see from the blog post frequency. Though more time in the kitchen is still a higher priority :). Standing and cooking up a few dishes in one day is something I would love to do almost every day.
I realized I couldn't directly or indirectly cause extreme suffering and death of any other animal or human when there are alternatives. Hubbs, found about the impact on our own health and environment because of our food choices and decided. a little bit of my compassion rubbed off too. Animals are sentient, self-aware, and capable of experiencing both pleasure and pain. They deserve our respect and deserve a natural life and freedom. We choose less cruelty and we do it all without sacrificing taste, habits and pleasure. For our Journey details see here.
What keeps this food blog going, is to prove, that any food choice, is not about giving up something, it is about finding something better.
About food:I cook very intuitively. On the blog, you will find a good number of yeast breads, Vegan-ized Indian and fusion foods, other cuisines visited, cookies, cakes, breakfast, bakes, and more.
We eat a lot of different legumes, beans, lentils, pulses, veggies, whole grains, whole grain flatbreads, nuts, seeds, greens, and most of it does Not include processed vegan meat substitutes, processed soy, vegan cheese, mayo, butter etc. What it does include is bold flavors, variety, healthy food with a bit of indulgence once in a while.
Read her INTERVIEW here !
Such an informative article with human touch...kudos
ReplyDeleteHeart Touching and Lovely Article Ananya Jee
ReplyDeleteReally inspiring, Ananya.
ReplyDeleteLovely to learn of Richa.
Best wishes to both of you :)
waiting :)
ReplyDeleteShe looks a wonderful human.. I' am waiting fro her interview :)
ReplyDeleteThat's so motivating and inspiring, awaiting her interview
ReplyDeleteImmensely motivating.... great to know about her... :-) Thanks for sharing Ananya..
ReplyDeleteI think you have written this specially for me Ananya. I am a vegan and this introduction truly helps.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to Richa's interview, Ananya. She indeed is an inspiration, not giving up and working around her limitations.
ReplyDeletethank you for the Introduction ananya!
ReplyDeletethanks everyone. I also signed a book deal recently, so keep an eye out for my cookbook next year!
Wow ! Thats Great news Congratulations ! Sure would be waiting :)
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