Betty Crocker doesn't live here anymore.

I realized the other day that I've been a vegan for about a year. So this must be my first "veganirthday." Not that I've been totally strict about it. Circumstances, and how willing I was to starve, have played a role. However, in the comfort of my own home, with the freedom to make my own choices, I feel pretty pleased with my progress.

It hasn't been easy, mind you. It's been especially hard to convince my family that Betty Crocker doesn't live here anymore. They keep waiting for her to show up and cook them dinner and bake desserts like in the "good ol' days." But, no, there's just little Miss Healthy in the kitchen, whipping up things that smell familiar and taste familiar, but aren't quite what Betty had in mind.

Cheese, for example, is a difficult ingredient to reproduce without a cow, sheep, or goat. So when setting down a pan of steaming hot "mac 'n' cheeze" on the familial supper table, it's a little difficult to pretend ignorance about the origin of said "cheeze." Some dishes carry off their disguises better than others. Trust me, vegan cheese is almost always a dead giveaway.

Baking, on the other hand---once you figure out how to do it without eggs and determine which milk alternative works with which recipe--can fool even the staunchest dairy and egg consumer. In fact, baking gives the vegan cook unsurpassed gloating rights. You can casually set a pan of vegan cupcakes, for example, in front of the most discriminating crowd and be perfectly happy in the knowledge that they won't know what you've been up to unless you confess. In most cases vegan baking rivals non-vegan baking.

Yes, there's the odd recipe that just won't rise properly or comes out crispier than it should, but, overall, baking is where the vegan cook can really shine. Sorry, Betty.

There are times when nothing else will do, and I find myself preparing some old, beloved dish that my family can't live without while I scrounge for something else to eat. But I've noticed that the times when I've had to do that are fewer and further between as new vegan dishes replace the old and familiar.

I knew we'd turned a corner the other day when I produced a batch of lemon poppy seed muffins and my daughter asked suspiciously, "Are these vegan?"

I hesitated. Admitting that they were vegan left me wide open for a disdainful sniff and a disinterested "No thanks." The old, "Why don't you try them and tell me," play isn't so effective these days. So finally I sucked it up and said, "Yes, they are."

A smile lit her face. "Good," she said.

"Wait," I gasped. "Let me get this straight. You like that they're vegan?"

"Well, yeah," she responded. "They taste good and there aren't any eggs in the batter so I can lick the spoon."

Which, when you think about it, made perfect sense. So, I'm sorry Betty Crocker, you'll just have to be moving on. Your services here are no longer required.

I see the old chef every now and then, forlornly wandering the baking aisle of the grocery store, looking for work. I feel a little sad for her, but not much. As for myself, I'm just getting started. There's a whole vegan cooking world out there waiting to be explored.

Celeste Perrino-Walker--a true friend to cows, sheep, chickens, and goats everywhere--writes from Rutland, Vermont. She's a published author and editor of Listen magazine.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

You can be the wonderful woman who dreams up the nicest new treats! Use our good cake mixes, so the routine work's all done. You add the special touches that matter. Fine ingredients are measured and blended for you in our Betty Crocker Cake Mixes. Soft, soft Softasilk Cake Flour. Creamy shortening. Fine flavorings. You add fresh eggs, for homemade flavor. And you never worry--

"I guarantee a perfect cake--cake ... after cake ... after cake!" Betty Croker General Mills