Christine Waltermyer

Christine Waltermyer is the founder and director of The Natural Kitchen Cooking School. With over 15 years of experience in the field of natural cooking, Christine is a masterful chef and teacher specializing in macrobiotic, vegan and raw foods cuisines. Christine is also the author of The Natural Vegan Kitchen.

I was elated to find that you suggested some online sources for some of the macrobiotic elements especially which are hard to find like bacteria for tempeh but, when would you suggest sourcing for other items? For authenticity’s sake? For organic items that can’t be purchased in your local areas?

Ah yes, thank goodness for the internet!  Gotta love online shopping.  Though I try to buy as much local as possible, sometimes I can’t find everything in my local area.  So in addition to the resources mentioned in the back of The Natural Vegan Kitchen (under “Mail Order Suppliers”) I am also a big fan of Amazon.  I’ve ordered items on there that are hard to find, such as Irish moss, agar powder and bulk quantities of xanthan gum.  I even sourced out black walnuts and hickory nuts over the holidays! (nativenuts.com – not organic, but one of the few sources for native nuts)

I was delighted to find you advocate not only shopping locally but, buying fruits and vegetables in season. For your home kitchen do you grow any herbs or produce on your property? What herbs have made a distinct taste difference in this manner?

I love to grow my own fresh basil, rosemary, mint & parsley.  These herbs make such a flavor difference when used fresh out of the garden!  When I lived in Massachusetts I enjoyed picking wild-growing thyme.  The scent in the fields was intoxicating!

I loved your recipes and even found some could overlap categories like the fruit pizzas which could also serve as a Breakfast item. Was it difficult to narrow so large a repertoire into your book? Do you have any per meal smaller book offerings in the works?

That’s great that you discovered some crossover categories such as the fruit pizza!  It was definitely difficult to narrow down the recipes to the ones we kept in the book.  That’s where a great publisher and editor help!  I had the honor and pleasure to work with Cynthia Holzapfel and Jo Stepaniak, who helped me to know what to keep and how to best organize it.  I love the idea of a second book offering, so well see what happens…(to be continued…) : )

Some of the history tidbits you shared as with the background on chili as we know it prior to your Chili Con Veggie was really fun to read. Did you discover things through travel and research solely? Or through some students stories as well? What notable story could you share with Veg Cookin readers for this interview?

I am an internet addict, and love exploring food history using this incredible tool!  So yes, my information came from a combination of travel, research and through talking to people such as my amazing students (who I learn from all the time).  Some of my favorite stories have come from the older generation, including my father who grew up on a farm with a running stream beneath their house.  They stored food in the root cellar and in the stream itself to keep the food fresh.  His grandmother made wild elderberry pie and picked watercress from the stream to use in sandwiches instead of lettuce!

Why is it in the U.S. that we adopt tastes from places like Italy where there are over 40 some varieties of bean that are so celebrated  and Italian restaurants here in the U.S. pay no homage to something simple like bean dishes?

One of our graduates, Manisha Patel (who is also an instructor at the Natural Kitchen Cooking School), is from India and she said the very same thing about Indian cuisine.  She said that there is such a diversity of recipes that Indian people make at home, but in restaurants they serve a limited menu of Northern Indian cuisine.  I discovered this myself while in India by eating at “Thali’s,” little eateries inside people’s homes.  The food was incredible.  I’ve also had the pleasure of eating at Manisha’s home and her creative combinations were like nothing I’ve ever experienced!  I also experienced the same thing while living in Mexico, where the authentic cuisine was so much more diverse than just burritos and tacos.

So I’m not sure why this happens, but the more we can cook a variety of cultural recipes at home or have regional themed potlucks, the more we can bring back the diversity of each country’s food history.

I really liked that you provided a useful glossary for those who buy your book who are among those who are new to Vegan cooking. Do you often suggest substitutions to include in a pantry for items in your classes? If not, why?

Yes!  I know items like kuzu can be expensive and I would never want a whole foods diet to be financially out of reach for anyone.  So in that case I would recommend a less expensive substitute such as arrowroot.  We also get a lot of students who participate in our Chef Training Program who have food allergies, so there is always a great substitute that I can recommend.  If someone can’t have soy, South River Miso Company makes two varieties of miso (adzuki and chickpea) which are totally soy-free.  There’s also Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos to use in place of soy sauce.  I love getting creative and offering substitute pantry items when needed!