Cooking Demonstration Highlights Vegan Recipe to Traditional Food

Holy crêpes, did you know how amazing vegan crêpes are? Students learned how to make these tasty creations at the March 30 Maverick Kitchen event.  

Karl Shewry, a chef educator with Turn Compost, did a cooking demonstration for students and UTA staff members, showing them a healthier alternative to traditional dishes like crêpes.   

"I wanted to do something that I didn't think many people do, which is vegan crêpes," Karl said. "Traditional crêpes have eggs and milk, but because of my own vegan lifestyle and trying to find another niche market for my crêpes, I have developed these vegan sweet crêpes."  

The main difference between Karl's crêpes over traditional ones was using a vegan egg substitute, which acts as the binding agent. The binder binds all ingredients in the recipe tighter, giving strength and stability to the crêpe batter.   

He noted that vegan egg substitutes could be found in several local stores.   

The ingredients were then combined and whipped together in a bowl before being cooked in a pan on a stovetop.    

To top off the crêpes, Karl created a lemon curd topping. This topping was composed of white sugar, cornstarch, nondairy milk, fresh lemon juice, turmeric and lemon zest/lemon shavings.   

"If you follow this recipe, you should be able to get about 20-25 crepes," Karl said. "There are no eggs and milk, so it keeps. You can make them and freeze them. They are pretty hearty."  

Caroline Ocampo, a history major, stated she was eager to learn about something new.  

"I thought that it was a good recipe. I didn't know that there was an egg replacer with water. I thought that was fascinating, and this was more of a healthier option," Caroline said. "It's also tasty."  

Mayte Campos, an interdisciplinary studies major, really liked how all of the flavors in the recipe came together to create a unique taste.  

"I think that it (the recipe) is very good. It is really interesting how the mint works with the rest of the recipe," Mayte said. "It is really strong, but at the same time, it goes well with the lemon."   

For more information about the upcoming Maverick Kitchen events, go to the UTA Libraries website, https://libraries.uta.edu, or follow the libraries' social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.   

Information about Turn Compost can be found online at www.turncompost.com.    

 People interested in chef Karl Shewry's culinary creations can visit his website at  https://www.greatgalettes.com.