Discovering Vegan Delights with Lazy Cat Kitchen: An Interview with Ania Marcinowska

Today, we have the pleasure of featuring Ania, the creative force behind the popular website Lazy Cat Kitchen. Her blog is a delightful blend of healthy and decadent recipes, captivating readers not only with her exceptional culinary creations but also with her genuine personality and approachable style.

Ania Marcinowska is likely a name you recognize if you’re familiar with Lazy Cat Kitchen. Ania’s blog has distinguished itself as a top-tier vegan blog, celebrated for her remarkable ability to craft visually appealing and unique plant-based dishes. What truly sets her blog apart is not just the quality of her recipes, but also her engaging writing style and the overall charm of her beautifully designed website. It’s a space where the spirit of the “lazy cat” – relaxed, content, and observant – seems to infuse every recipe with a sense of ease and joy.

My first encounter with Ania’s work was through her vegan hazelnut mousse, and I was immediately drawn to her inventiveness, meticulous attention to detail, and her warm, relatable voice. While I appreciate finding excellent vegan recipes, I also seek a connection with the recipe creator. Lazy Cat Kitchen expertly provides both, offering a beautiful online space to find inspiration and joy in vegan cooking.

Ania’s culinary foundation is deeply rooted in her Polish heritage, where food held a central place in family life. Her grandmothers played a significant role in shaping her approach to cooking. These early experiences, immersed in the love and care poured into each meal, instilled in Ania a profound respect for food’s power to connect people. This foundation, combined with a curiosity for global cuisines, has shaped her distinctive approach to vegan cooking, making Lazy Cat Kitchen a treasure trove of plant-based inspiration.

Upon moving to London, Ania’s culinary horizons broadened, fueled by the city’s dynamic and diverse food scene. However, it was her shift to veganism, prompted by a move to a small Greek island with limited vegan resources, that truly sparked her creative cooking journey. This unexpected turn led to the birth of Lazy Cat Kitchen, a blog named after the relaxed felines she encountered, embodying the simple joys of life and cooking.

The challenges of embracing a plant-based diet in a location where vegan options were scarce ultimately led to the creation of Lazy Cat Kitchen—a platform for Ania to share her passion for vegan cuisine with a global audience. The blog’s name, inspired by the laid-back cats that kept her company while cooking in Greece, reflects the essence of simplicity and pleasure that Ania brings to her food. It’s a reminder that even cooking, like a lazy cat’s day, can be approached with a sense of calm and enjoyment.

Lazy Cat Kitchen has become a beacon for those seeking inspiration in vegan food, offering over 800 recipes that highlight Ania’s innovative culinary perspective. Her recipes are a celebration of seasonal produce, global flavors, and the simple delight of creating beautiful, nourishing meals. Through her blog, Ania provides some of the finest plant-based food available to an engaged community eager for wholesome yet satisfying meals, all with the relaxed and inviting spirit of a lazy cat in the kitchen.

Ania’s story is a powerful illustration of food’s transformative ability. From the comforting tastes of her Polish childhood to the creative freedom that vegan cooking unveiled, her work on Lazy Cat Kitchen encourages us to explore the vast possibilities of plant-based ingredients. It’s an invitation to find joy and satisfaction in the kitchen, much like a lazy cat finds contentment in simple pleasures.

As we virtually chat with Ania today, it’s evident that her dedication to cooking goes beyond mere sustenance—it’s about crafting experiences that spark joy and connection, one delicious vegan dish at a time.

When did your journey in the kitchen begin, and what aspects of cooking have held your interest over time?

Food preparation and communal eating have always been deeply ingrained in my family life. Growing up in Poland, both my grandmothers were exceptional cooks – in a culture where cooking and baking were traditionally considered women’s roles.

My paternal grandmother reigned supreme as the pierogi (Polish dumplings) queen. Since our families lived together and my parents worked, my grandmother cared for my brother and me in the afternoons. I spent countless hours at her kitchen table, observing her hand-roll various doughs – for pierogi, homemade pasta, apple noodle Kugel, and Ukrainian pierog, a yeasted dough pie filled with cheese, onion, and potato, baked and served in triangles with cold clotted cream. These moments, watching her create with such care, were formative in my understanding of food.

My mother was also a highly imaginative cook, constantly exploring new flavors and combinations. She instilled in my brother and me a profound appreciation for all kinds of vegetables. I absorbed so much from them both – the dedication and effort invested in food, the emphasis on fresh, seasonal produce. Like a cat observing its surroundings, I was constantly learning.

Convenience foods were not part of our upbringing, and I still rarely use them. Moving to London in my early twenties for a gap year that turned into a longer stay, I was captivated by its multiculturalism and vibrancy. That’s where my personal interest in food and cooking truly blossomed.

Embracing veganism only intensified this passion. I transitioned to a vegan lifestyle while living on a small Greek island where vegan substitutes were almost nonexistent, and veganism itself was a foreign concept to many. I had to arrange clandestine meetings with a local health store owner just to get tofu, which she specially ordered from Athens. This scarcity of vegan substitutes actually pushed me to become more creative in the kitchen. Just like a lazy cat needs to be resourceful to find the best sunbeam, I had to be inventive with my cooking.

How do you approach recipe development, and what sparks your creative ideas? Could you also share some challenges you encounter in this process?

Generally, I develop recipes based on foods I personally enjoy eating. Inspiration comes from seasonal ingredients, travel experiences, and dining at excellent vegan restaurants and eateries. My primary challenge is that while I adore baking and creating sweet recipes, I also have a significant sweet tooth, which can be problematic.

Each time I test a dessert recipe (which often requires several attempts), I tend to overindulge and then feel guilty about it. I can’t bring myself to waste food; it goes against my upbringing. It’s a constant battle between my love for baking and my desire for balance, a bit like a lazy cat tempted by a treat but knowing it should perhaps resist.

To address this, I started a cake giveaway group in my neighborhood. It helps considerably. Although the doorbell rings quickly after I announce something is available, there are always imperfect pieces left over, too messy to give away, and these usually end up being eaten by me.

This January, I challenged myself to quit sugar, and I’m still succeeding, which is quite surprising. I feel fantastic, but the thought of never baking or creating another dessert makes me a little sad. Once I’m more settled into this lifestyle, I hope to occasionally create a sweet recipe without completely derailing my progress. We’ll see how it goes. It’s about finding that balance, much like a lazy cat finds the perfect balance of rest and play.

How would you define your cooking style?

My cooking style is quite eclectic. I tend to create dishes that I personally love to eat, and my tastes are shaped by a diverse range of experiences – my Polish childhood, living in London, extensive travel in my twenties, and living in Greece in my thirties. It’s a melting pot of influences, much like a lazy cat that has wandered through many gardens, picking up scents and experiences along the way.

For savory dishes, I appreciate bold flavors, but I also aim to keep things relatively healthy, so I use oil sparingly, for example. Regarding desserts, I used to believe that if you’re going to have dessert, it should be fully indulgent. However, my perspective might be shifting now, as cutting out sugar significantly alters your taste preferences.

What’s the story behind your blog name, Lazy Cat Kitchen?

When my husband and I moved to Greece, we became involved in fostering cats. There were so many stray, unloved cats around that it was impossible not to get involved. Cats are not known for their strong work ethic; they sleep during the day (especially in hot climates like Greece) and are more active at night. So, while I was cooking, I often had a sleepy feline lounging on a kitchen chair for hours. That’s where the name came from. My husband suggested it, and we both felt it was a perfect fit. It captured the relaxed, joyful approach I wanted to bring to vegan cooking.

Could you describe the best dish you’ve ever created?

That’s a tough question! I currently have over 800 recipes on the website, so choosing a single favorite is nearly impossible. For me, excellent food is about fresh, flavorful ingredients and satisfying contrasts in flavor and texture that make each bite exciting.

I hope my dishes nourish and satisfy people – especially since vegan food is still often associated with deprivation. It brings me immense joy when people tell me, ‘My non-vegan [family member/friend] couldn’t get enough of this dish.’ That’s the ultimate compliment, showing that vegan food can be both delicious and satisfying for everyone, much like the simple pleasure a lazy cat finds in a nap in the sun.

Two dishes that I was particularly thrilled to veganize are nostalgic recipes that remind me of home, and both happen to be sweet. The first is soft nougat. My maternal grandmother – a huge foodie with similar flavor preferences to mine – loved all kinds of nuts. Every Christmas, she would go to great lengths to find thick slabs of nougat from the best Italian deli in Krakow.

I also succeeded in veganizing her delicious gingerbread layer cake last Christmas, and the flavor almost brought tears to my eyes. It’s the kind of cake that’s made weeks before Christmas because it needs time to mature and for the flavors to develop. It’s a family favorite, and I’m so happy to now make a vegan version. These dishes, rooted in tradition and now vegan, are perhaps my proudest culinary achievements, embodying the heart and soul I pour into Lazy Cat Kitchen.

If you could cook with anyone in the kitchen, who would it be?

I would love to travel back in time and cook with both of my grandmothers, to have the chance to connect with them more deeply. I’m not sure what they would think of my veganism, but I believe they would eventually understand (my mother is now almost entirely plant-based), and we would bond over our shared love of good food. It would be a beautiful connection across generations, united by the simple joy of cooking, something even a lazy cat would appreciate – the comfort of family and home.

If you could host a dream party, who would you invite, and what would the menu look like?

I would invite all of my and my husband’s friends who are scattered around the globe. And honestly, a good idea would be to hire excellent caterers! I’m not very good at hosting dinner parties. I tend to overcommit because I constantly worry that people will go hungry, and I end up a nervous wreck on the day. So, for my dream party, I’d let the professionals handle the food, allowing me to relax and enjoy the company of my friends, much like a lazy cat enjoys a peaceful afternoon.

What is one ingredient and one kitchen gadget you can’t live without?

That’s incredibly difficult; I can’t possibly choose just one… but perhaps mushrooms. I adore mushrooms. They always remind me of home (Poland has a strong mushroom culture, including foraging), and I’m fascinated by them; they are such incredible organisms.

In terms of gadgets, I prefer simplicity. I love my carbon steel wok – I use it daily – and my cast iron skillet… it’s really hard to pick! These simple, reliable tools are essential to my cooking, much like a lazy cat’s favorite napping spots – simple but indispensable.