Bakeroise – Page 9 – A Portland vegan mom's kitchen journal

How I Got Into Blogging

July 2, 2021

Just so I’m not wasting your time, I’m going to go into my history of blogging which eventually leads me to my status as a relatively new food blogger as of December 2021. I’ve been asked a few times how I got into food blogging so I thought I’d just share my blogging history. If you don’t feel like reading about that, peace! Not offended at all.

This is a total overshare so if you’re one of those people who get annoyed with personal lives online, then do not proceed! Otherwise, grab some tea and popcorn and read on. This is probably the most personal I’m ever going to get on this blog.

The 90s, pre-blogging era:

I’d always been somewhat of a storyteller and over sharer. I kept a private journal as a kid and even as an adult.

2000:

I first started blogging during the “cam girl” era in 2000. I was still living at home and was enrolled at community college. I was depressed at the time because I was unsure about my future so I started a blog to have some kind of creative outlet while most of my friends went away to college. It just wasn’t in the cards for me and from the get-go, my parents told me we couldn’t afford it. My high school counselor wasn’t helpful and even the community college counselors where I was were kind of jerks. I was stuck and I needed to do something else.

On my blog, I had a refreshing webcam that was pretty much just images of me at my computer while I would be writing my blog in real time, before even hitting the publish button. But I thought the concept of the webcam was cool at the time.

I would write about random happenings in my life and I even had a wishlist that strangers, usually creepy dudes, would send me gifts from.

2001:

I co-authored a blog with my best friend at the time and it was more of a stereotypically definitely more of a girly, glittery type of blog. It was fun but it was short lived. It was too much work to update and we were using FTP at the time to upload posts.

Around this time, I decided that I needed to get out of Oakland and somehow make a life for myself. I then went off to college, finally, in fall of 2002.

2002-2003

I started another blog while I was away at college. I wanted to just blog about life in general again but this time it was focused on me at school. Nothing super nuts but because college was so expensive despite my loans, grants and some help from parents, I still had to work multiple jobs at once to get by.

Because I was also so sheltered by my parents growing up, I went tried to compensate for it at college. Because I worked so much, I also partied way too hard and consistently pulled all nighters to finish papers.

I stopped blogging when school proved to be too demanding.

2004-2009ish:

This was when all the online journal services were popular. My last year of college, I used Myspace, Facebook, Xanga, Livejournal, Blogspot, WordPress – you name it. I could update whenever I wanted to and it truly felt more fun.

After college, the focus was no longer on making money via a blog because I had the time to work “real” 9-5 jobs. Life was felt unfair. It was hard to find a job in my field that didn’t require me to go to grad school (and be in even more debt, no thank you!) and at one point I was working two full-time jobs. Yep! It was awful.

Towards the end of the 2000s though, I kept one of my jobs and eventually I started blogging again for real.

I’ve had so many names, domains, hosts, blogs and topics which included: health and fitness, budget travel in Japan, and even a bucket list blog! I never stuck to just one thing and none of the blogs survived.

2010s and beyond:

During a trip to Europe to knock off one of my bucket list goals, I met my future partner in London while I was traveling.

I started only having journals after a while and the only public blog I really had that had somewhat of a focus was a short-lived “lifestyle” one that centered on the bigger events of my life which included budget wedding planning, our two-month Asian honeymoon and eventually puppy training (because we all know that’s hard!).

I blogged about my pregnancy and was almost doomed to be a mommy blogger but once my kid was born, I pretty much stopped doing anything that wasn’t being with her. My main goal was to breastfeed and succeed at attachment parenting. Throughout the first six years of her life I pretty much did everything for her and my family. No regrets either because I loved it.

I was made for it.

After being so tired after having to work demanding, awful jobs out of necessity since I was 15, it felt like I finally got that break I needed.

2021:

Now that she’s in elementary school, I wanted to have a creative outlet for myself that would allow me to do something I was passionate about. So I started a vegan recipe/kitchen/food blog after my five year vegan anniversary. I plan to stick with this blog for at least a few years and see where it takes me. Right now though I’m enjoying myself, posting whenever life allows.

What Kind of Vegan Am I?

June 29, 2021

Hey, that’s me and one of my lentil and spinach empanadas!

Vegans in general are heavily scrutinized by both fellow vegans and non-vegans. Many people expect vegans to be extremists and go “all the way” without understanding that there are different factors as to why people have the boundaries they do have. There are people who don’t try as hard but shame others who try harder than them…for not trying harder.

For example, a meat eater who contributes to animal agricultural farming will post on social media about how soy farming is bad for the environment – most likely to make themselves feel better. Obviously, animal agriculture is way more detrimental to the environment but people like to deflect from themselves. For many non-vegans, shaming vegans truly is their way of coping and the rationalization is real.

So it’s like…”I eat meat and know it’s significantly worse for the environment and all that yet I’m still going to make it a point to make you feel bad about you eating soy and soy farming even though it’s way better for the environment. Why? Because I can.”

Yeah.

Individual vegans have different boundaries for those exact same reasons. When it comes to what they/we are individually willing to consume, there are still quite a few gray areas out there.

If I had to categorize myself, I am mostly a dietary, ethical and environmental vegan with a relatively well-balanced diet. I do try to stick with “cruelty-free” products (ex: shampoo) in general, which usually means they are vegan and not tested on animals. I also try not to buy leather products if I can help it. Although all my jeans have leather labels on them sadly.

I’m not perfect.

I also won’t purchase products with conventional sugar due to the bone char filtering process, making them not vegan. So this includes products like Oreos, Sriracha, etc. or anything labeled “accidentally vegan” but still uses conventional sugar. I used to buy “accidentally vegan” stuff all the time but that was when the sugar content just wasn’t on my radar. In all honesty though, I will accept food gifts from friends that have conventional sugar. To some people, it’s hypocritical but that’s where I personally will draw the line.

I also don’t eat honey in general. I’ve had it twice in six years and both time I knew I was having it. (Uh oh: here come the judgmental vegans!) However, I usually, don’t as the process of the honey making includes the nectar being inside the bee’s mouth.

Many vegans do knowingly eat and purchase “accidentally vegan” products that have the conventional sugar filtered with bone car even if they are strict about not eating honey.

Interesting right?

It’s just different for everyone.

My recipes will have no animal byproducts listed as ingredients whatsoever. It’s just easier for me to draw a hard line. If I ever list “sugar” as an ingredient, it will always mean organic sugar. If something is listed as a burger, it is obviously be always a vegan version of the burger. If I ever end up listing something as “beef” it always means “vegan beef”.

So just to make it clear: I’m just a vegan trying her best. This is a vegan blog.

Thanks for reading!

The Difference Between Light and Dark Soy Sauce

June 23, 2021

I use a lot of Chinese soy sauce in my cooking. I also use it as a condiment as much as I use salt. After all, it’s important to season food! I use both dark and light and the difference between light and dark soy sauce is important for me as a vegan.

One is vegan and one (usually) is not.

What is Chinese soy sauce?

Chinese soy sauce is a sauce usually made via fermentation of soybeans, wheat, water and salt. It is not gluten-free. Soy sauce was also originally used as an inexpensive way to stretch salt as salt was hella expensive back in the day. Can you imagine? Plain ol’ salt being a high priced commodity? Well, it was.

There are two main types of Chinese soy sauce that I use in my cooking and they are simply “light soy sauce” and “dark soy sauce”. The color is not the only difference.

What is light soy sauce?

Light soy sauce – This is the “regular” soy sauce you get at a Chinese restaurant. When you ask for soy sauce, this is what will be given to you. Light soy sauce is normally sold as “soy sauce” but it can also be explicitly labeled as “light soy sauce”. Light soy sauce does not necessarily mean low sodium.

Light soy sauce is saltier than dark soy sauce and pretty much is a substitute for salt as a flavor enhancer. Light soy sauce is plant-based and because it’s made with wheat it is not gluten-free. My soy sauce-based vegan Filipino adobo recipe (the adobong itim one) uses light soy sauce. My version of the more pre-Chinese trading, indigenous recipe for vegan Filipino adobo without soy sauce uses salt instead of the light soy sauce.

While light soy sauce is vegan, it is not gluten-free.

What are some gluten-free alternatives to light soy sauce?

Salt, coconut aminos or Bragg Liquid Soy Seasoning.

When substituting salt for light soy sauce, you would just salt to taste as you wouldn’t substitute it at a 1:1 ratio. I generally salt to taste for my dishes so I will leave that part to you.

If you would prefer an actual liquid, you can use coconut aminos. It’s a sauce that tastes similar but is instead made of coconut sap. It also happens to be soy-free if anyone has an intolerance to soy. Just remember to look into the ethics of the company you are purchasing from since not all coconuts are sourced ethically.

What is dark soy sauce?

Dark soy sauce is sweeter, darker and thicker. It much sweeter and a tad bit thicker than light soy sauce and can contain sugar and/or molasses as a sweetener. While it’s sweeter than light soy sauce, it has a higher sodium content. Dark soy sauce is more of a cooking ingredient rather than a condiment. It is generally used for braising and to achieve a thick, rich sauce. Non-organic Chinese dark soy sauce tends to not be vegan due to most of it using conventional sugar (which is filtered with animal bone char).

As a vegan with my specific boundaries that are right for me (no “accidentally vegan” products), I am unable to use the conventional dark soy sauce. Unfortunately, I cannot find organic Chinese dark soy sauce at the store or even online.

So what is a good vegan alternative to Chinese dark soy sauce?

One alternative is to make your own using light soy sauce (or liquid aminos or coconut aminos for gluten-free) sweetened with organic cane or light brown sugar. I personally would season to taste as everyone’s sweetness level is different.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_sauce#China

Woks of Life: Soy Sauce – Everything You Need To Know

Gluten-Free Asian Dipping Sauce

June 19, 2021

Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting Bakeroise.

Gluten-free Asian Dipping Sauce with add-ons of sliced green onions and toasted cumin seeds

Hi! I’m back with a gluten-free Asian dipping sauce recipe for June’s 12 Months of Dim Sum recipe. I know I said I’d make a dish each month but I thought it was important to make sure that there will be an emphasis on at least one dipping sauce. For my family, dipping sauces from sweet and spicy chili oil to plain ol’ light soy sauce complete our dim sum meals. It would be a real shame to make quite a bit of dim sum but not really have a fall-back recipe for a simple dipping sauce! This gluten-free Asian dipping sauce also happens to be versatile.

In some of my 12 Months of Dim Sum recipes like my vegan potstickers with ginger scallion tofu, I simply share a dipping sauce of light soy sauce, white vinegar and chili oil with a ratio of 3:2:1.

Today’s gluten-free Asian dipping sauce recipe is a special one as I’ve recently been trying to reduce my gluten intake for health reasons. I hope this recipe helps out other Filipinos as it’s a known fact that diabetes is a prevalent problem among our ethnic group. Diabetes runs in my Filipino family and a big part of why I struggle with my health is that I do tend to eat a good amount of refined carbs from white rice to wheat noodles to flour tortillas. I have no intention of giving up those foods either but I do think having alternative options are good.

Also, having multiple loved ones with real intolerances to gluten due to celiac or some other underlying cause is inspiring me to want to be more inclusive in my recipes.

If you are interested in this gluten-free Asian dipping sauce recipe but have no gluten-intolerance and/or no gluten-free tamari on hand, feel free to substitute with light soy sauce. The taste isn’t too different but it’s still just as good.

So here we are. I would use this gluten-free Asian dipping sauce for my jiaozi and siomai. If I ever put up a gyoza recipe, I’d use it for that too especially since I use gluten-free tamari. But I’d also drizzle it on my mushroom congee if I wanted to enhance the natural umami flavor of the mushrooms…not that this sauce wouldn’t have its own tasty flavor!

It’s a simple recipe: three parts gluten-free tamari (check the bottle to make sure it’s gluten-free), two parts distilled white vinegar and one part Chinese chili oil. It’s okay to use store-bought chili oil with or without the pepper flake sediment but I like to use homemade chili oil if I have the extra time.

All we do is carefully mix it together and it’s instantly ready. Of course letting it sit makes it better as the flavors marry but this is also easy to put together in a pinch as a tasty accompaniment to your Asian dish.

12 Months of Dim Sum Recipes:

January 2021: Vegan Siomai

February 2021: Instant Pot Congee

March 2021: Vegan Potstickers with Ginger Scallion Tofu

April 2021: Crispy Golden Fried Tofu

May 2021: Toasted Cumin Scallion Pancakes

June 2021: Gluten-Free Asian Dipping Sauce

July 2021: Sweet Red Bean Paste and Perfectly Golden Sesame Balls