Hi there! My name is Gönül Johnston and I am a Turkish plant-based recipe creator who wants everybody to fall in love with Mediterranean cuisine & vegan food.
It's been years since I moved from a city on the Mediterranean, Izmir, to a city with a Mediterranean climate, Los Angeles; so now I am creating and sharing recipes from the former region to shorten the 7,000-mile difference.
My Story
I was born and raised in a Turkish city along the Aegean Sea coast. I followed my heart to the U.S. for a Bachelor’s degree and brought my love for vegetable-forward food along. After discovering the vegan lifestyle a few years ago, I realized how much of my diet back in Turkey was already vegan— and delicious. This led me to specialize in Mediterranean plant-based recipe development.
Aegean Delight
I am a registered civil engineer and have been working full-time in the public infrastructure industry for many years. Since my main job mostly requires me to utilize the analytical parts of my brain, I knew I needed a creative outlet—that's how this website was born.
Aegean Delight is where I share things that bring me utter joy (aka delight), mainly food. Although you will find many of my favorite traditional Turkish Mediterranean and Middle Eastern recipes like zerde and acuka, you will also come across some of my go-to American veganized classics like this miso mac & cheese.
In addition to being a recipe hub, I'd like for this space to become an environment where we can discover different methods of savoring life's delights. That is why I plan on sharing everything useful that I've learned on positive psychology. Did you know that savoring is an incredibly effective way to become happier? Good news—mindfully snapping a photo at your favorite restaurant does count!
All recipes are 100% vegan. Many of them also include alternatives to make them whole-food-plant-based, gluten-free, or nut-free if you'd like to.
You can say hi by commenting on any of my posts here on the blog, on YouTube, Instagram, or by sending an email! If you would like to receive my (quite infrequent) newsletter, make sure to sign up on the side menu. Have Pinterest? Pin my recipes to enjoy them later.
Thank you for being here!
With love,
Gönül
