sassy pepper and friends
A sassy lady pepper stands in the foreground in front of a merry band of dorky veggies doing a kick line
Plant-based cooking with a side of snark
sassy pepper and friends
A sassy lady pepper stands in the foreground in front of a merry band of dorky veggies doing a kick line
Plant-based cooking with a side of snark
About Marla2024-02-04T07:39:32-05:00

A Bit About Me! Me! Me!

Max, Marla, Michael & Marjorie hiking in Escalante, UTI’ve worked as a marketing professor, investigative journalist, marketing consultant, consumer advocate, and anti-Trump hell-raiser. In 2012, I co-founded The Philanthropy Connection, a women’s grant-making organization, and served as its president until 2017. I have an M.B.A. (University of Texas Austin), and a Ph.D. in Marketing (Northwestern University). I live with my husband Max Bazerman and good dog Becca Sue (a rescue from Natchez, Mississippi) in Cambridge, MA and Stowe, VT.

My favorite activities are thinking about plant-based food, writing about plant-based food, cooking plant-based food, eating plant-based food, and traveling to beautiful places to hike with Max  … where we seek delicious plant-based food (that’s us in Escalante, Utah; Max on far left, then me, and friends Michael and Marjorie).

October 1960
October 1970
Gran & Her Sisters

The only food I liked more than Camp Food was Gran’s Food, particularly Friday night Shabbat dinner and Sunday brunch. Homemade chicken noodle soup with pearls of chicken fat and thick chunks of carrots floating on top. Brisket with crispy ends, the middle so tender, no knife required.

October 2022
Max & Becca

When I met Max he was a lanky, at 6’2”, 145-pound doctoral student, his stomach so concave his torso resembled a giant comma. On our first dinner date, at an Italian restaurant, we ordered pizza: half plain cheese (him), half pepperoni (me).

February 2023
My Beliefs

In my Perfect World, humans would eat only plant-based foods. But I’m a realist. My intent is to encourage you to discover new plant-based recipes you love, wherever you are on the omnivore-vegan spectrum. Instagram, Tik Tok, Pinterest, and YouTube are exploding with plant-based recipes and sublime, mouthwatering photos of the finished product. My role as Recipe Explorer and Tester is to share the best of this with you. (I do the trolling, so you don't have to). I’m grateful that products made by companies like Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat exist, but I don’t eat them. People who say “I hate kale” have not tasted these kale chips. Plant-based cheese that is served on a cheese platter rarely tastes like cheese. It often tastes good, but calling it “cheese” is likely to lead to disappointment. (At least for now. Many folks are working on this). I’m grateful that restaurants like Slutty Vegan and Plant Pub exist, but junk food is junk food, whether it involves animal products or not. As a treat, yes, as a habit, no. People who say, “I hate tofu” have not tasted air fryer crispy tofu croutons. Happiness is a prolific summer garden that produces too many tomatoes. Eat food. Not too much. Only plants. (Hats off to Michael Pollan).

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