Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Encyclopedia
Isa Chandra Moskowitz is an American author, magazine columnist, and former host of community access cooking show Post Punk Kitchen
. She has authored several best-selling cookbooks, including Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Veganomicon, Vegan Brunch,Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and Appetite for Reduction.
, New York
, and having dropped out of The High School of Music & Art
where she majored in fine art
, Moskowitz found herself drawn toward the punk rock
scene of the Lower East Side
of Manhattan
in the late 1980s, embracing first a vegetarian diet, then veganism
. The experimentation and adaptation required for her new diet led to developing her skills as a cook and as an inventor of her own recipes. She volunteered with Food Not Bombs
, an anarchist and punk-rock centered organization that provides free vegan meals to the homeless and needy.
The inspiration to create her own cooking show came while watching the Food Network
and wondering to herself why there were no vegan shows. According to Moskowitz the show used the title The Post Punk Kitchen to signify the feeling of being "older and facing the conundrum of growing up and making compromises that their eighteen-year-old selves might hate them for". The show was popular for its laid-back approach and unscripted dialogue. Bands played on the show, and even helped out with the cooking. The Post Punk Kitchen was co-hosted by Terry Hope Romero and aired on community access television in both Manhattan
and Brooklyn between 2003 and 2005.
The success of The Post Punk Kitchen led to the compilation of a cookbook, Vegan with a Vengeance, in late 2005. The recipes, rather than relying on expensive and heavily processed meat
substitutes, use readily available and inexpensive ingredients. The book also includes multiple references to the punk-rock subculture with Moskowitz visibly sporting a t-shirt from pioneering British
anarcho-punk
band Crass
on the book's cover.
In 2006, Moskowitz and her former co-host, Romero, created a cookbook consisting entirely of vegan cupcake
recipes, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which was named Cookbook Of The Year by VegNews
magazine. 2007 saw the release of yet another book, Veganomicon, which bills itself as the "ultimate vegan cookbook." Moskowitz has since written three more books, Vegan Brunch (2009), Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (2009) and Appetite for Reduction (2010).
In April 2008, she relocated from New York to Portland, Oregon
, then to Omaha, Nebraska
in 2010.
In 2008 she founded the organization Apron Activists ("four courses for causes") to raise money for local animal rights
organisations in Oregon and works with Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary to raise money through cooking. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake
Moskowitz posted on her blog a call for vegans to host bake sales in their home cities to fundraise for relief which resulted in over $75,000 being raised.
magazine columnist where she writes a column called "Nickle & Dined" that focuses on cooking on a limited budget and has written for Vegetarian Times
, Time Out NY, Natural Health and VegNews
. Moskowitz also starred in a short-lived podcast with Herbivore Publishing mogul Josh Hooten called Naked Vaygun in late 2007.
Post Punk Kitchen
The Post Punk Kitchen is a vegan cooking show that aired on Brooklyn and Manhattan public-access television cable TV from 2003 to 2005. The shows were available on DVD as well....
. She has authored several best-selling cookbooks, including Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Veganomicon, Vegan Brunch,Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and Appetite for Reduction.
Biography
Raised in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and having dropped out of The High School of Music & Art
The High School of Music & Art
The High School of Music & Art, informally known as "Music & Art", was a public alternative high school at 443-465 West 135th Street, New York, New York, USA that existed from 1936 through 1984, and then merged into the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing...
where she majored in fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
, Moskowitz found herself drawn toward the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
scene of the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in the late 1980s, embracing first a vegetarian diet, then veganism
Veganism
Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...
. The experimentation and adaptation required for her new diet led to developing her skills as a cook and as an inventor of her own recipes. She volunteered with Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, serving free vegan and vegetarian food to others. Food Not Bombs' ideology is that myriad corporate and government priorities are skewed to allow hunger to persist in the midst of abundance...
, an anarchist and punk-rock centered organization that provides free vegan meals to the homeless and needy.
The inspiration to create her own cooking show came while watching the Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
and wondering to herself why there were no vegan shows. According to Moskowitz the show used the title The Post Punk Kitchen to signify the feeling of being "older and facing the conundrum of growing up and making compromises that their eighteen-year-old selves might hate them for". The show was popular for its laid-back approach and unscripted dialogue. Bands played on the show, and even helped out with the cooking. The Post Punk Kitchen was co-hosted by Terry Hope Romero and aired on community access television in both Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and Brooklyn between 2003 and 2005.
The success of The Post Punk Kitchen led to the compilation of a cookbook, Vegan with a Vengeance, in late 2005. The recipes, rather than relying on expensive and heavily processed meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
substitutes, use readily available and inexpensive ingredients. The book also includes multiple references to the punk-rock subculture with Moskowitz visibly sporting a t-shirt from pioneering British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk is punk rock that promotes anarchism. The term anarcho-punk is sometimes applied exclusively to bands that were part of the original anarcho-punk movement in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
band Crass
Crass
Crass are an English punk rock band that was formed in 1977, which promoted anarchism as a political ideology, way of living, and as a resistance movement. Crass popularised the seminal anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, and advocated direct action, animal rights, and environmentalism...
on the book's cover.
In 2006, Moskowitz and her former co-host, Romero, created a cookbook consisting entirely of vegan cupcake
Cupcake
A cupcake is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup...
recipes, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which was named Cookbook Of The Year by VegNews
VegNews
VegNews is a magazine that publishes content about and relating to vegetarianism, including news, health information, recipes, global events, veg products, media, and more. It was founded in 2000 as a newspaper, and transitioned to full-color glossy in 2004. The bi-monthly publication now has more...
magazine. 2007 saw the release of yet another book, Veganomicon, which bills itself as the "ultimate vegan cookbook." Moskowitz has since written three more books, Vegan Brunch (2009), Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (2009) and Appetite for Reduction (2010).
In April 2008, she relocated from New York to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, then to Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
in 2010.
Activism
Moskowitz is vocal opponent of "humane meat", promoting animal rights through what she calls "Culinary Activism" or "Baketivism":"I think that activism isn’t what you decide to do but how it affects people. So if someone says, I’m going to become an activist! I’m going to stand on a street corner and preach about veganismVeganismVeganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...
! And then they go ahead and do that but no one listens and no one becomes vegan, then is that activism? On the other hand, maybe there’s a girl in the middle of nowhere who loves animals and decided to bake vegan. And then people taste her cupcakes and are like “What the hell, I’ll go vegan, too.” Obviously I think the latter is more effective, but I guess people might not see it as activism".
In 2008 she founded the organization Apron Activists ("four courses for causes") to raise money for local animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
organisations in Oregon and works with Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary to raise money through cooking. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
Moskowitz posted on her blog a call for vegans to host bake sales in their home cities to fundraise for relief which resulted in over $75,000 being raised.
Media
Moskowitz is currently a BustBust (magazine)
Bust is a bi-monthly United States-based women's lifestyle magazine. It was founded in 1993 by Debbie Stoller, Laurie Henzel, and Marcelle Karp.-Content:...
magazine columnist where she writes a column called "Nickle & Dined" that focuses on cooking on a limited budget and has written for Vegetarian Times
Vegetarian Times
Vegetarian Times is a monthly magazine published nine times a year by Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. The magazine's audience consists of vegetarians and "flexitarians" who are focused on a healthy lifestyle. Vegetarian Times promotes an eco-friendly lifestyle with recipes, wellness information, cooking...
, Time Out NY, Natural Health and VegNews
VegNews
VegNews is a magazine that publishes content about and relating to vegetarianism, including news, health information, recipes, global events, veg products, media, and more. It was founded in 2000 as a newspaper, and transitioned to full-color glossy in 2004. The bi-monthly publication now has more...
. Moskowitz also starred in a short-lived podcast with Herbivore Publishing mogul Josh Hooten called Naked Vaygun in late 2007.