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My Interview with Natalie Slater (Bake and Destroy)

2K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  Pharmakon 
#1 · (Edited)
Wrestling Forum Interview Series


Natalie Slater




I spent the last week following a vegan diet, as well as being jammy enough to interview Natalie Slater; she is the creator of Bake and Destroy, a vegan and a total bad ass when it comes to vegan delights. I want to share my experience from the past week with you all as well as the interview with Natalie that gives an insight into her own life as well her inspirations.

What is a vegan? A vegan is someone who does not eat or use animal products.

Last Sunday I ditched all the dairy products from my diet, this meant giving up quite a lot of the food in my vegetarian diet; Quorn products contain egg and milk, this was the first roadblock I encountered. Another roadblock was that I still live at home under my parents roof which means they have the power over what is ordered in the shopping (Unless I buy my own). Sadly most vegan products can’t be brought in supermarkets, you have to travel to health food shops to get these products. Whereas Quorn products are naturally sold everywhere and have become a staple piece in my family’s diet. The only other roadblock was just how much expensive food products from these health food shops can be.

The vegan selection of products is not vast but they do deliver in taste. I found vegan pork(less) pies as well as sausage rolls that outdo Quorns version by far. I had vegan sausages, which I prefer to Quorn and Linda McCartney’s wide selection. Dairy free chocolate I am on the fence about, I want to like it but I can’t because it does not taste as delicious nor is it as satisfying to eat despite the goodness of it.

I found that most of my diet this week was healthier than what I would normally eat as a vegetarian for example; This week I found myself to be eating a lot more vegetables/fruit over savoury foods and cheese.

There are some issues with being a vegan though as it affects your social life by far. I love going out to eat with my friends as well as taking my partner out, as a vegan you’re limited depending on your location. I don’t live in London where there are vegan restaurants and cafes so I am restricted. Being a vegan also means when I go to others houses I have to bring vegan food as well as check that what I will be eating is vegan (This comes across as a little rude).

I envy those who can live a vegan lifestyle whether it is for purity or against animal cruelty. I aim to live a vegan lifestyle when I move out from home. Until then I have decided I will make the best out of my current situation and change my diet to suit.

My changes

Cheese: I love cheese; cheese is probably what I replaced meat with as I usually eat loads of it with a majority of meals. I aim to stop eating cheese over time; from now on I won’t be putting it over my chilli, pasta, burgers etc. Pizza my all time favourite meal will be restricted to special occasions.

Milk: Every morning I would have cereal and every night I would have a milkshake. I’ve changed that to soya milk and oat milk.

Butter: Will be changed to a vegan spread.

Eggs: I own four chickens that were rescued from death at battery farms that have grown into an integral part of my animal’s hierarchy. They produce eggs daily and have shown no distress when eggs are removed from their hutch. They live a life of freedom now and receive love that leaves no guilt if I were to use their eggs.

I have decided to keep eating Quorn products for the near future, as they are cheaper and easier to get over the vegan alternatives. It’s not the most perfect change but it is a start towards a future vegan diet.

Whilst on my vegan week I followed one of Natalie’s recipies and ended up making “Germans Chocolate Cookies” and BAH GAWD they are amazing.




(They did not fall out of the window like my last cookies)



The Interview


First of all Natalie I want to thank you for offering your time up to give this

1. Natalie I and everyone else reading would love to know more about how you started Bake and Destroy and got to where you are today?

I started Bake and Destroy in December of 2006. I was working as a nanny and my son Teno was just a few months old. I worked from home, so I spent my days hanging out with babies, watching tons of Food Network and Martha Stewart and playing around in the kitchen. My first job in Chicago was at a bakery, so watching all that food TV reminded me of my bakery days. I started my site as a way to keep my friends posted on mom life, and to share recipes I was creating. After a few weeks, people I didn’t know started leaving me comments and over the years it’s just snowballed into an internationally read website and more recently, a cookbook.

2. It’s been just a little over a year now since your book was published can those who follow you expect anything else in the future?

Publishing a cookbook was a really gratifying experience. Walking into a Barnes and Noble and picking something I made up off the shelf is just such a cool feeling. But it was over a year’s worth of work, and I definitely learned that I prefer to work with less structure and fewer cooks in the kitchen. I think if I were to write a second book I would self-publish.


3. Are you vegan yourself?

I am vegan, yes.

4. What was it that made you decide to become vegan?

Ethically, I can’t contribute to the way animals raised for food are treated. It’s as simple as that. I’m not the kind of person who can turn a blind eye to the suffering of another living thing. That, and I genuinely prefer the food. I love plant-based foods and I love the way I feel eating them.

5. What recipe of yours has received the most compliments?

My Banana Bread French Toast Cupcakes have been a hit for a long time, now. They won a Cooking Channel contest, so I got to make them on TV and I still get emails from multiple people every week who love that one.

They do look delicious!

5. What recipe is your personal favourite?

I’ve built a reputation as a baker, but I actually like my savory recipes even more. I make all of the “chee-zee” sauce recipes from my book on a regular basis.


That’s good news for me and any other cheese lovers (I will be making this as well as Natalie's Banana Bread French Toast Cupcakes and posting the results here)

6. Are there other alternatives to cheese?

Lots! You can make your own simple “cheese” sauces for mac n’ cheese, nachos, pasta, etc with nutritional yeast, which is a very healthy ingredient. You can also make more complex nut-based cheeses with almonds and cashews. Often times if I want something fatty and creamy in a recipe I just use avocado in place of cheese. There are also a lot of really wonderful alternative cheese on the market from brands like Chicago Vegan Foods, Daiya, Miyoko’s Kitchen, Treeline… there are lots and lots of them.

7. Where do you get your inspiration?

I draw a lot of inspiration from my childhood. My grandma spoiled me with snacks and sweets and I watched an obscene amount of television. Most of my recipes are inspired by some sort of combination of a happy memory and a pop culture reference.

7. Would you say you have an idol?

I don’t think I have an idol. At 35 years old I’ve pretty much learned that it’s more productive to improve yourself than to idolize others.

8. Biggest life lesson learned?

I lost my dad unexpectedly in 2010. The outpouring of sadness and remorse from the people he worked with and other people whose lives he’d touched really solidified the importance of leaving the world a better place for me. That’s what you want when you die - you want people to have stories about the ways you made their lives better.

9. That's unfortunate, do you feel as though you have achieved that?

I’m trying harder every day.

10. Considering your love for punk music scene and the wrestling scene do
You have an interesting story to tell?


I probably have a million stories. Chicago has a small scene for a big city - my roommates over the years have ranged from pro-wrestlers to members of Rise Against and Sweet Cobra. There was always complete mayhem, and most of the time it was in the kitchen. Roommates smashing each other in the face with cookie sheets for fun, deep frying each other’s belongings just to be assholes, breaking the kitchen table after an arm wrestling tournament turned violent… maybe that should be my second book.

I would read that!

10. In 2008 you did an interview with “Chicagoist”, they asked you “Where do you see yourself in five years?” Since then you have gotten your journalism degree and published your book Bake and Destroy. What are your plans for the next five years?

People were so rude in the comments of that interview. It was my first experience with trolls. Anyway - in 5 years I will be 40 years old. I’ll have a teenager. I won’t be doing Bake and Destroy anymore, I can tell you that. I think about quitting all the time as it is, there’s no way I’m still going to be killing myself over it when I’m 40.

11. What will you be doing instead at 40?

I’m just trying to be more present lately. I don’t want to see my son’s life through my phone’s camera lense, and I don’t want to worry about how many page views I’m getting or if I’m posting often enough on Facebook. I can already feel myself sort of letting go of the parts of Bake and Destroy that used to mean a lot to me. I think by 40 I’ll be living a more private life.

12 .Do you have a favourite wrestler?
I have a few. Roddy Piper will always own my heart - I watch his old promos on YouTube sometimes and “fangirl” out. He was so great on the mic. I love all the early-to-mid 80s stars - well, mostly the heels, to be honest. I love Arn Anderson, too. I think seeing Arn Anderson when I was a pre-teen was the first time I was like, “Oh, hey, I think I like boys.” Not exactly the Tiger Beat heartthrob my friends were swooning over, but I like a guy who looks like he can fix things and kick some ass.

13. Roddy Piper is considered one of my all time favourites as well, who on TV at the moment is your favourite?

Honestly I don’t really watch these days. I feel like I’ve seen behind the curtain and I don’t like what I saw. I’m more interested in the guys doing big things off TV, like Colt Cabana and Cliff Compton. Sara Del Rey, too, I think she’s great.

I urge you to watch NXTs Takeover Fatal Four-way PPV that recently aired, the talent is phenomenal.

14.What would be your best advice for anyone looking to take up a healthier lifestyle in the form of a Vegetarian or Vegan diet?

There has never been a better time to start! There are SO many free resources online, so many amazing cookbooks out there and seriously an unbelievable amount of awesome vegan and vegetarian products in the stores. Even with all that, I know there are people who just don’t know where to start and I always direct them toward ethnic foods that have been doing veggie and vegan for ages. Try Indian food, try Thai food, and try Persian food. It’s seriously not all just kale and tofu; it’s a whole, delicious world out there!

15.Is there a ritual to your cooking?

I’m very organized when I cook or bake. I get all of my ingredients out before I start. I get all the bowls and utensils I will need out. I do any mincing or chopping ahead of time. I preheat the oven and use a thermometer to make sure it’s accurate. I make it sound fun when I write up the recipe but I’m pretty focused and serious when I’m actually working.

Sounds like me, I have to have everything prepared.

16.Favourite band?


That’s seriously the hardest question because I’ll go on a kick and become unable to listen to anything except what I’m obsessed with. I spent one entire summer listening to nothing but AC/DC. I read every book written about them and annoyed all of my friends with Angus Young facts. In general, though, I like positive hard-core, bands like Gorilla Biscuits and Youth of Today. Bands like that motivate me.

Thank you once again Natalie for your time it is very much appreciated.

You can find Natalie Slater here

Twitter: @bakeanddestroy
Tumblr: http://bakeanddestroy.tumblr.com/
Website: http://bakeanddestroy.net/

And you can buy her fantastic Cookbook here: Buy it!

I got mine!




As always guys feel free to suggest people to be interviewed!
 
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2
#5 ·
I remember seeing her in Punk's DVD, she was the one who came up with the Straight Edge "better than you" idea for his heel character as well I think.
 
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#9 ·
Fucking love this! :mark:

I'm seriously thinking about getting that book, like, asap. Also she's right about foods in the East being vegan a lot, like when I first turned vegan I realized middle easterns already made MANY vegan dishes without being vegan. Unfortunate how they only make them only a couple of times or how they only make the really good ones during celebrations, but yes there's plenty of delicious healthy sometimes even ridiculously cheap vegan dishes made traditional in the middle east and they're frigging amazing. :)
 
#12 ·
#13 ·
You should have asked her how big is CM Punk's dick.

Anyways, good interview aside from the "Are you a Vegan yourself?" and "Who's your favourite wrestler on TV right now?" questions.

I would never consider being vegan or vegetarian, eating chicken is the most wonderful feeling in the world and I honestly can't understand why someone would voluntarily stop eating meat. Besides, all the vegetarian food I ate in college was crap.
 
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#14 ·
No

She stated before in past interviews she was not a vegan, research.

You should try some other stuff, nothing beats making your own food (Y)
 
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