Showing you just how easy bread is to make.

I think the title of this post pretty much sums it up: bread it easy to make. I've had this bread recipe for a little while and I've been making it every now and then. I wanted to post about it previously but I hadn't figured out how to add any value to it before I made it again today.

By taking photos along every step of the way, I hope to visually convince you that making bread can be extremely easy. I'm going to go as far as set a goal for this post as well: to inspire at least one person to make this bread! (So please let me know if you do end up making it.)

As for why I want to convince people to make bread, I have a few reasons.
First off, I believe that making food from scratch is something that everyone can come to enjoy and the more you do it, the more adventurous you'll want to be with your recipes and the more you'll like cooking.
Secondly, connecting with food can help us connect with the environment and learn more about food in general, how it's made, and what you're actually paying a company to do for you (for example, is it something you can do yourself and actually enjoy?).
Thirdly, making your own bread saves you the (mandatory) plastic bag that comes with it.
And finally, it's a fun and relaxing way of doing something handy, without too much time or effort.

Get your recipe from the 101cookbooks website and follow along.


Mix yeast and warm water, add some runny honey and let it sit until some bubbles form.


In the meantime, measure out your flour and oats.



Mix your dry and wet ingredients.


Place them in your pan and let rise.




About 10 minutes before your bread is done rising, preheat your oven.


And for the end result, you can bet it looks as good as it tastes.

Big thanks to Heidi Swanson for adapting and posting this recipe. Once again her website is: www.101cookbooks.com. And clicking the link will take you straight to the recipe itself.

Veggie recipe: Club sandwiches

I've procrastinated enough! Now's the time to unleash the first of many vegetarian recipes... I've only been waiting for the day when I made something that looked beautiful enough to take pictures of (because what's a recipe without a picture?) or the day I didn't forget to take a picture of something delicious before I ate it.

So you're already probably wondering how club sandwiches can be veggie... they definitely can! But really the name is because it's a spin-off of a club sandwich recipe we started making ages ago (with chicken and bacon) that slowly morphed into the veggie deliciousness you'll witness today.

So here's what you'll need to make this for 2 people:
- ciabatta or focaccia bread (from your local bakery, grocery store or made from scratch, see the bottom for more info about this)
- 1 big/medium tomatoes
- 1/2 cucumber (sliced)
- 1/2 red onion (white is great too, I just prefer red)
- 1 avocado (I buy mine a few days beforehand to give it time to ripen)
- some feta cheese
- your favourite mustard
- your favourite ketchup
Feel free to play around with some of your favourites, change the textures, or pick up whatever you have in the fridge. You'll be surprised how something so simple can taste so good.

How to whip it up:
1. Prepare your bread (make it from scratch if you want, put it in the oven if it needs to be cooked post-purchase or just slice it if it's fresh)

2. Cut your tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese, avocado and onions into thin slices.

Not a Heinz commercial.

3. Put the ketchup and mustard on the bread (or not, it's up to you!)
4. Carefully place the ingredients in the sandwich, being attentive to texture (crunchy vs. soggy) and taste. Also, these usually get pretty big so realize that you'll have to consolidate the 2 slices before you eat it.

5. Consolidate aka. put the two slices together and don't let go of them until you've finished eating...

6. And I guess by now you're already enjoying the best sandwich you've ever had!

Some details...
The first few times we made this, we bought ciabatta from the grocery store (wrapped in a rather thick plastic). It was ready-made but needed to be warmed up in the oven. A few weeks ago we got a similar bread to ciabatta fresh from the bakery in our grocery store (this was a little better and came in a paper/plastic bag). Most recently though, my friend Lauren came over and we made focaccia from scratch (thank you!). I had never made bread before but today was my second time making this recipe with home-made foccacia and it's by far the best. When you're feeling adventurous, try it out with your own bread. We used the following recipe.
The only adjustment made was the addition of fresh basil instead of Parmesan.

In addition to being delicious, I've managed to cut down the plastic waste of this recipe to almost 0. The only thing that still contains plastic from the above ingredients is the feta cheese and the ketchup (which was already in our fridge). Otherwise, it feels pretty good to make such a great meal with such a small trade-off.

Finally, don't expect to get something this good at most restaurants; I am constantly disappointed when I order similar things. Either the bread or the ingredients are not as fresh, or as well-selected.

Now it's your turn, how did the recipe turn out? What did you change? And did you take any pictures?

Awareness.

This next post is just as important as the previous one on canvas bags, but it's more of a mental exercise. I wouldn't call it a quick tip either though, but once you start thinking about it and noticing it, a lot of things get pretty obvious (and I find it's really hard to stop thinking about it... which is really good news!).

Today's tip: Be aware.

It has been said that every purchase is a political decision. I know I've thought this was extreme before, and I'm sure there are others who still think it's extreme. But once I started looking around at the packaging (plastic, paper, metal, glass, etc.) that are used in every-day products, it's hard not to notice anymore.

Don't just try this at the grocery store (where this exercise is at its scariest) but look at clothes, shoes, electronics, accessories, beauty products and pretty much anything else. Be aware of how things are packed in the store, and also what they are made of. Start thinking beyond the product's usage span and into its entire life cycle: from beginning to end.
Can you reuse the packaging somehow?
Will this go straight to the landfill?
Can the parts be recycled after you're done using it?
Will the company take back any of it for recycling and future production?

I'll build on this more in future posts but for now, that's your challenge: notice and register! The subsequent changes will come.