Rustic No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

 

Here is a link to the recipe I was following: adailysomething.com 

I really loved how simple this recipe was to make. I made the dough around 8AM, and I left it in the oven with the light on (not actually turned on) for about 8 hours to rise. Then I folded the dough a little, and let it set again for 15 minutes. I took it out and placed it in a towel with flour and let it use in the oven for another 2 hours. The recipe said between 1-2 hours, but with such a short rise time during the day (8 hours is short- 18 is preferred) I could see where I needed the extra hour. The recipe said to generously coat the towel and dough with flour, well, I found out there is a limit to how much is too much. When I baked the bread I also put a little olive oil in my dutch oven to prevent any weird sticking from the dough. This caused the excess flour to bake and harden creating a tough bottom crust. I've been keeping a journal of my baking so I can avoid making the same mistake twice. I recommend dusting off the flour from the dough before baking, you want the flour to keep it from sticking but not enough where it's piled on top. Also, do not do the oil like I did. I saw online that it's more common to line the bottom with parchment paper. This helps with sticking and removing the loaf later. 

Another note: my dutch oven is extremely heavy. When I placed it in the oven to bake I felt like it was bending my oven rack. Does anyone else have this problem? Am I suppose to buy something special to put in my oven for baking? Help, I don't want to ruin my oven.

Other than those notes, this recipe was easy to follow and worked really well. We have been toasting it lightly with some homemade garlic infused olive oil. It's absolutely perfect. I plan I trying this again, but making the dough the night before and allowing it to proof for 18 hours. It's been 24 hours and half of it is goooooneee.

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Vegan Banana Zucchini Muffins

Here is a link to the recipe I followed: CozyPeachKitchen

I had some leftover bananas and zucchini, thank goodness I found this recipe on pinterest. I really loved the taste of these muffins, but sadly I didn't get to eat them all.

My fist note on this recipe, IT WAS TOO DRY. I followed everything exactly how it was written and it was so dry. I did not have apple cider vinegar so I used regular apple cider for the liquid and the flavor. I mixed everything and kept mixing, it would not mix. I added almost a 1/2 cup of the apple cider before I gave up. I also added almost double the recipe for shredded zucchini. That really helped bring some moisture into these muffins.

I don't want to completely bash this recipe, but do people actually try their own recipes? or at least proof read the instructions before they post it? This is exactly why I don't post my own recipes. I never follow one when I'm making something random, and I would feel bad giving you the wrong measurements. That's why in my more recent posts you'll just see a link to the recipe I used, and my comments on how it went in the blog post. 

That was super frustrating, but it's over and I will find a better recipe to use in the future. That is why I love following recipes from RainbowPlantLife or Caitlin Shoemaker (FromMyBowl). I know these ladies are testing their recipes before they post them.

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Naked Strawberry Chamomile Cake

Here is the link to the recipe I was following for this cake: HalfBakedHarvest

This cake did not turn out well. It was 100% my fault. For my birthday this year I decided to make my own birthday cake since I've been on such a cooking/baking spree lately. I settled on this cake because the pictures made it look delicious. I am also not a huge fan of heavy chocolate cakes, so this one seemed perfect.

The recipe was fairly easy to follow. It is not vegan- contains eggs, butter, and milk. I choose to use almond milk, and vegan butter as my swaps. For the buttercream frosting, I added way too much milk/chamomile and then I ran out of powdered sugar half way through. So I made a meringue to try and make it thicker- it didn't work. It was super thin, but tasted great. 

The actual cake was yummy. I messed up the top layer because I realized after it cooled that it did not cook thoroughly, so I put it back in the oven to try and fix it. It ended up sticking to the pan and started crumbling. That's why the top layer looks so bad.

So for assembly I just slapped it all together to take a quick photo and dug in. I want to try this recipe again, except I will make it a two layer cake or cupcakes. I would still do the same frosting, just more powdered sugar this time!

The cake was light and fluffy. I loved the strawberry jam in the actual cake. The chamomile gave the frosting an interesting flavor which worked really well with the strawberries. Loved it (minus my own mistakes)!

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A Happy Loaf or Two (Potato Bread)

Potato Bread

Here is a link to the recipe I followed: Butter with a side of bread

My loaves did not turn out like the ones in the recipe pictures, but it tasted amazing. I was inspired by my new friend, Andrea to make these. She was following this recipe over on her instagram page @Andycydesserts and it looked so yummy I had to try it. She usually makes this recipe using only one loaf pan, but her most recent dough overflowed in her pan and burned some of it. SO, I made sure to have two loaf pans ready to use. 

I tried my best to eliminate as much dairy as possible from this recipe and swap it for vegan substitutes. I made a vegan version of mashed potatoes which was a little watery, but I added cornstarch to fix that. I also used vegan-friendly "butter" by the brand EarthBalance. I did use eggs in this recipe because I wasn't ready to use a flax egg, I was scared it would make the loaf too dense.

I know that ceramic or glass pans are best to use for baking, but these were the only two I had and I wanted to see how they would bake differently. I actually ran to the store while the dough was rising the first time to get the glass dish you'll see below. I ordered one off Amazon a few days before, and it didn't arrive in time to bake this- so now I have 2 glass dishes.

As you can see there's even a difference in how the dough rose the second time after it was placed in these dishes. The dough in the glass dish rose significantly more than the metal pan. They also baked differently. In the very top photo of this post, the loaf on the left was baked in the metal pan, the one on the right in the glass. The metal pan loaf was sightly more dense and required a little longer to fully bake.

This bread was super light and fluffy (both loaves). it's the perfect bread to serve with dinner- mine was kind of sweet/savory like a dinner roll. We just toasted it and ate it with butter most of the week. I plan to make more of these, but it will have to wait since the recipe makes so much and I can only eat so much bread in a week before I'm sick of it. I also tried to mix it up a bit and ate it as an open faced BLT (veggie bacon) sandwich! I'm sure you'll see more of this bread in the future!

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Vegan Blueberry "Cinnamon" Rolls

Here is a link to the recipe I followed: MakeItDairyFree

Let just start off by saying, if you plan to make this for breakfast, WAKE UP REALLY EARLY. This took me HOURS to make. I was up by 8-9AM and we didn't get to eat these till almost noon. The part that takes the longest is allowing the dough to rise, twice. I was very hangry by the end of this, and really hated taking the time to style these photos before I could eat. Hence, why the main photo has a fork in it. It was taken as a joke when I thought I was done taking pictures and could finally eat.

Also I messed up during the actual baking and covered the pan with foil because I read that they can brown or burn easily on top. Yeah, don't do that. Just throw the dish in the oven to bake without a cover. it will be fine. The temperature is low enough that it will cook and brown perfectly (if you follow the recipe).

I also changed how I made the glaze and icing. I accidentally didn't read all the directions and basically made the icing, then added it to the saucepan to cook. oops. To fix this, I just simmered the glaze/frosting in the pan like the recipe called for, and then later added even more powdered sugar to a separate bowl with some of the "glaze" to make the icing. It worked out for me because I knew how to fix it (luckily). 

Besides those few hiccups I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out like this! I'm not the biggest fan of the actual dough recipe, as I think it needed more time to rise to be fluffier. Generally with vegan baking a lot of dough ends up becoming very dense, oily, or rubbery. This one was a little dense. I'll keep testing out recipes and let you know how it goes. If I'm going to make this full transition to veganism I need to master some good baking recipes to prove that I dont need eggs to bake something delicious.

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Vegan Crunchwrap Supreme

OMG. Let me tell you about this amazing crunchwrap supreme. It is the best thing ever, and will satisfy any vegan taco bell craving you're having. I have been dying to try some form of a vegan crunchwrap for the past year. My friend, Mikayla has sent me many recipes for us to try, then I moved away and we couldn't make it together. Then I saw Nisha's video of her attempting to make one, and it's stuck with me since. The recipe I followed was from RainbowPlantLife, you can find a direct link to her recipe, HERE.

As a vegan the type of crunchwrap supreme that you can typically get from TacoBell is just beans, tomatoes/salsa, lettuce, and guac. It's actually kind of sad looking and lacks a lot of flavor. Well this recipe is the opposite. It packs a punch and can definitely compete with the classic crunchwrap.

For my crunchwraps I choose to make my own nacho cheeze using Nisha's recipe which was the best nacho cheese I've ever made. I know I keep saying that about this recipe but I'm serious. I've actually been making it as a dip for chips since it's that yummy. I also followed her recipe to make the vegan "meat" and it tasted way better than just using a vegan "meat' ground from the freezer section (although that would work just fine if you're in a hurry or just feeling lazy. I also changed a few things with the recipe since I didn't find all of the right ingredients. 

For mushrooms in the "meat" I found a blend that had cremini, white, and bella mushrooms. I just chopped all of them and added it in, probably better if you just use cremini since the rest hold a lot of moisture.

I also couldn't find porcini mushroom powder so I used Trader Joe's Mushroom Umami seasoning instead.

We also made our own tostada shells, but brushing them with oil and baking them till they became crispy. Be careful of how long you bake them as they can puff up and make almost a taco shell shape. so take them out before they do this. You want them as flat as possible to fit in the crunchwrap (makes it easier for folding the edges.

For store bought items I bought Tofutti's Better than Sour Cream and a store-brand guacamole.

YUM!

Also with the leftovers you can make more crunchwraps the next day, or do what I did and turn them into vegan nachos! I took my corn tortillas and baked them the same as the tostada except I pre-cut them into chip shapes to bake. Sprinkled them with salt and lime juice. This was the perfect birthday dinner for me!

Birthday nachos with the leftovers, much tastier than it looks!

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Why I Don't use the Phrase Plant-Based

Plant based. What does it mean?
It has a lot of definitions, but the general definition from Wikipedia states that it "is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of foods derived from plants, including vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and fruits, and with few or no animal products. A plant based diet is not necessarily vegetarian." I have seen this phrase come up many times while scrolling through blogs and other forms of social media. There is not a clear definition as some influencers use the term to describe a standard American diet consisting of animal based products, and others for a almost fully vegan diet. This can be confusing for people who are looking for a lifestyle change, and are unable to find the information they need.

A vegan diet consists of food that is not derived from animals. This excludes meat, fish, dairy, eggs, and honey (2). I know that there is a debate with honey because a lot of people are taking up beekeeping as a hobby and finding more ethical ways to harvest it. But that's not what this post is about, and I can save that for another time.

A vegetarian diet has many subcategories to further divide them, but generally consists of a diet free from meat and fish(3). There are Lacto-ovo vegetarians who avoid animal flesh, but consume eggs and milk products.  Lacto-vegetarians consume dairy products, but no eggs. Pescetarians consume fish/seafood products, but no other animal flesh. Fruitarians consume fruit, nuts, seeds, and other plant food. There are even flexitarians that are primarily vegetarian (still consuming eggs and milk products), but on special occasion they will consume meat and fish. I actually know people who are flexitarian and they mainly eat meat for the holidays when the family makes it hard to avoid. There are so many categories for this, but they seem to be clearly defined, unlike plant-based.

Now that we have quickly gone over the definitions of everything, which category do you think plant based falls under? Most would assume it would be somewhere between vegetarian and vegan, but because the term has been used so loosely in recent years I don't want to identify with it.

For myself and on all of my social media pages I claim to be "vegan (most of the time)." For me, this means my diet is primarily vegan, and for special occasions I will consume eggs or milk products. I'm actually lactose-intolerant and should not be consuming any milk products, but sometimes its unavoidable depending on the social setting I am in. I'm afraid of using the phrase plant-based to describe my diet, and having someone misinterpret my dietary needs. For example, if I say plant-based how can I be sure that someone wont use milk products in my food? Then I'll be crying in pain in about 30 minutes and that's no fun. I fully understand that it is my responsibility to communicate that to whoever I need to, but I feel bad making people go out of their way for me so generally I say vegan and let it go.

For all the vegans who want to jump at me right now for saying "vegan (most of the time)" I understand that you may not like me using this term. I promise that I am working towards being fully vegan, and it has been a slow transition. I've been fully vegetarian for 3 years- no meat or fish, and limited dairy. The past 2 years I've been working towards the transition. I do veganuary every new year, and it has been surprisingly helpful. I am currently working on vegan baking which will solidify my transition (I've got the general cooking down).

I choose to be vegan (most of the time) by choice. I am in no way forcing anyone else to live like me and I will not do that. I choose to be vegetarian/vegan/plant-based for sustainability reasons. Yes, I love animals and do not approve of the more commercialized way of obtaining animal meat or products, but I also do understand that there are ethical sources out there (such as owning your own chickens and harvesting eggs that way, or from the small local farmer down the road).

I live with my boyfriend who is not any of these mentioned above. He consumes meat and animal products, but will also eat any vegan/vegetarian meal I prepare for us. It's not a big deal. But the eggs are always in the fridge and I keep reaching for them because its so much easier than figuring out how to properly bake with a flax 'egg.'

So now that I've addressed why I personally will not be using the phrase plant-based while transitioning to veganism, I will get back to my normal food posts. I hope this made sense and my audience can understand why I've taken this approach. I don't feel that plant-based is a phrase that fits me, or my lifestyle when it has such a loose definition.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant-based_diet
2. https://www.webmd.com/diet/vegan-diet-overview#1
3. https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/guide/vegetarian-and-vegan-diet#1

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My First Batch of Kombucha

Hi Everyone!

It's been a long time since I've posted on this blog, but I'm working to update it to reflect my current content. Many of you know my old Instagram account formerly named SimplyShannonLee was turned into a full-blown running account. I no longer felt that my food and low waste lifestyle mixed well with my new hobby. So I rebranded that account. Recently I recreated @SimplyShannonLee on instagram, and have been sharing new content. Thank goodness the username was still available.

Since moving to Utah I have been wanting to try kombucha brewing. My boyfriend and I love the drink and have it almost everyday, but the store bought stuff is getting too expensive. I went on a vegan facebook group and was able to find someone locally who had an extra SCOBY she was willing to sell to me. The lady was super nice and even gave me some tips on brewing.

What is kombucha?

Kombucha is a fermented tea, typically sweet-sour.  Sometimes called kombucha mushroom tea- even though mushrooms are not involved. It's become very popular in the past few years and everyone is trying to brew it. People love it because of the potential health benefits- mostly for the probiotics. For some, it has been great for digestion, others just drink it because it's so good. I'm not an expert on kombucha and cannot say whether or not the drink will have the same effects on you as it might have on someone else. Please be aware that you can have adverse affects, so do your research beforehand.

What is a SCOBY? 

SCOBY is an acronym for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast used to ferment tea to make kombucha. It is exactly what the name says. Honestly, it's kind of gross at first, but I kind of love it since I'm a bit of a science nerd. Many are skeptical of working with a SCOBY because of it's potential to grow mold, but after my first batch I can see how easy this is and mold shouldn't be an issue as long as I'm able to control the brew.

What materials/ingredients do I need?

A SCOBY, some type of ceramic or glass jar (preferably a half gallon or 1 gallon size- no metal), tea (Green, black, and oolong are the most popular), white cane sugar (no artificial things, you can experiment another time), a tightly woven cloth (no cheesecloth), rubber band, a funnel, and some type of vessel to store the kombucha in once it's done fermenting.

Optional: Heating pad/wrap. I personally use a heating wrap because I want my kombucha to brew at a higher temp than I can keep it without one. You don't need one, but you may find at lower temps that it brews much slower (i'm impatient). I've done my research and recommend a heating wrap- you want this to go around your jar, not sit at the bottom as a pad. The wrap will more evenly distribute the heat.

I will go into more detail about the materials and ingredients in a later post as there is a lot of information to know. I'm still learning too!

What is the process? (explaining for a 1 gallon batch)

****Disclaimer: I am not an expert. I am simply explaining what I did for my first brew, and some tips/tricks I was given during the process which has helped me not f*ck this up.*****

Before you start, make sure you're working in a clean sanitized area. All equipment should be properly cleaned and sanitized before working with. This is very important to avoid cross contamination. It is best to AVOID antibacterial soap on your products because this can harm your culture (I mean, the culture is bacteria, duh). If you do want to use this make sure to rinse everything extremely well and let it air dry before using.

To begin the brewing process you steep your tea like normal, but you want to make it concentrated (about 6 tea bags) and add about 1.5 cups white cane sugar and stir to dissolve. 

Note about Sugars: If you are new, I was told to keep using white cane sugar as this will be the food for your SCOBY, artificial sweeteners (stevia, coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc.) do not contain enough nutrients for your SCOBY and you will starve it. I can go into more detail about this on another post once I've brewed more batches (I plan to experiment with some sugars and teas).Note about Type of Tea: I highly recommend green, black, or oolong tea for new brewers. Everyone has recommended this to me and is the safest way to brew while building up your cultures. Other types of teas that are more herbal or flavored don't ferment as well, and may affect your SCOBY or starve it- even if you use enough sugar.

Once the tea has steeped and cooled, remove the tea bags (or strain the loose tea) and add in room temperature filtered water (I've used cold when the tea was still too hot). Don't fill up the jar completely, leave some space at the top for the SCOBY and the starter liquid. From when I started steeping the tea, I kept my glass jar covered with a piece of tightly woven cloth and a rubber band. This was my way of ensuring the tea was not contaminated while steeping. Once the water temperature has gone down to about mid 70s (degrees in Fahrenheit) it is safe to add the SCOBY and the starter liquid that comes with the SCOBY. The starter liquid is super important to ensure a good brew, otherwise it may die or mold.

Day 2 of my brew, SCOBy sunk to the middle and eventually to the bottom. He eventually rose to the top like normal. See? it happens.

Wash your hands (no antibacterial soap, remember) before working with your SCOBY. Slowly add the liquid to the jar and add the SCOBY. I've been told that a healthy SCOBY will float to the top of the vessel, but it's ok if your SCOBY hangs out at the bottom or in the middle instead. All that matters is your brew should start forming a new SCOBY at the very top. If that is happening, everything is good. Once you've done this step, cover with the cloth and rubber band to secure, and place somewhere warm and dark to ferment. Try to keep the brew out of direct sunlight as that can kill the bacteria. Keep checking the temperature and pH of the brew. 

Within the first few days of brewing, DO NOT TOUCH THE BREW. This is a critical time for your SCOBY as it is adapting to it's new environment and beginning to ferment. Moving it around can mess up the development of a new SCOBY and it may look funky.

Most people typically let the kombucha ferment for 7-10 days, some up to a month. The longer you brew the more tart/sour it will be. If you accidentally forget about your brew and let it go too long and its sour, thats fine. You can transfer some of that strong brew to a smaller vessel and make a SCOBY hotel or just have extra starter liquid for your next brew. Some people also really like the brew super tart, so this may be fine for you.

This brew is good to drink as is! If you want it extra fizzy like the ones you get in the store, keep reading about second fermentation below.

Second Ferment- Optional (do this if you want extra fizz)

I made 2 different flavors, orange and strawberry & ginger.

This is where I'm at right now. My brew has finished and I have bottled/flavored my bottles. I am using swing-top glass bottles. Simply add fruit or whatever flavoring into your glass bottles (sanitized again), and slowly funnel in some kombucha. Remember to remove your SCOBY and baby SCOBY that has formed, and SAVE SOME OF THE LIQUID. This will be your starter liquid for your next batch of kombucha. This is also good if you intend to add this to a SCOBY hotel. I would recommend saving about 2-4 cups of the brew as starter liquid. I think about 2 cups per SCOBY is sufficient.

Be careful with filling the bottles as the brew is a little fizzy and may bubble over if you pour too fast. I also use a filter on my funnel to catch any yeast strands that may have fallen off the SCOBY. Then close the bottles and gently mix the liquid in the bottles (lightly swirling or slowly flipping). let them sit for a little bit, then "burp" the bottle. Basically open the swing top lid, this should release som carbonation.

Place the bottles back in the dark, warm area to ferment for 2-3 more days before placing in a refrigerator. Every day you should "burp" the bottles during second ferment to avoid them building up too much pressure and bubbling over. You can spend more days doing second ferment if you choose, 2-4 is more typical for brewers (so I've seen online). The refrigeration will stop the fermentation, and you won't need to burp the bottles after this.

Day 2 of second ferment and the color looks so much better.

You can drink your kombucha at any time, so enjoy! As I become more experienced I will be sharing more of the process and things I have learned. Feel free to check out my instagram page where I'm posting everyday (@SimplyShannonLee).

Link to the recipe I was following as a base: CozyPeachKitchen

Tofu Veggie Spring Roll Bowl

I've decided to stop including a brief description for the recipes I am following. Most of these are super easy and just require assembly and you can modify the amount of anything. Cooking is more about what YOU want.

This was an amazing "recipe" I tried about a year ago (and forgot to blog about). I made it for my boyfriend while he was travelling for work and I was watching his cat. I decided to be nice and leave him something healthy in his fridge that he could eat throughout the week. I believe this was the trip where he went to Italy and was eating a whole lot of carbs and cheese.

This recipe is perfect for meal prep. I've made it a few times with different sauces and each time it's still amazing.