Write with TLC

My latest endeavor, Vegan Cooking with TLC , combines my love of writing with my love of cooking. I love going into the kitchen, taking a recipe or two as inspiration and creating my own version of it. I love to look in the pantry and the refrigerator and pull out some ingredients and combine them to come up with something new. When I adopted an oil-free, plant-based, whole food diet a few years ago, I suddenly faced an opportunity to really play with recipes as I adapted old recipes to meet a plant-based diet as well as adapting vegan recipes to meet an oil-free diet. As I shared my recipes with other people, many of my meat eating friends were surprised my recipes were vegan. Some even asked for the recipes. Over time as I shared more and more of the recipes I developed, I began to think about starting a recipe blog. I started by seeing if I could come up with year's worth of recipes. Once I did that, I decided it was time to share my recipes as well as my journey to a plan...

Dr. Fox and me Recently, while making my annual donation to a scholarship fund in honor of the scholarship I received that allowed me to attend Eastern Kentucky University ,  The Dr. James W. Fox Student Research Award jumped out at me. I didn't remember seeing it on the list before. I wondered if it was a fund honoring my former adviser and professor, Dr. James Fox. I did a quick Google search. I found his obituary which included a request for people to donate to the award fund in lieu of flowers. As I read about his 2008 death, I felt a tear slide down my cheek and a sense of sadness combined with gratitude and joy well up in my heart. I smiled.  My instructors, particularly my Corrections instructors, were an interesting group of people, but Dr. Fox was a special man. His obituary refers to his dedication to "his calling as an educator" and the way he "inspired commitment in his students." I can attest to both. Part of the way he inspired that commi...