[APPLAUSE]
DANA SHULTZ: Thank
you, thank you.
SPEAKER: First time
at Google, so welcome.
DANA SHULTZ: Thank you.
This is amazing.
SPEAKER: So tell
us a little bit how
you got started on your blog.
DANA SHULTZ: Well,
my husband John and I
started the blog in 2012.
I had been blogging
in another space
or on another website
for a couple of years
and it just never
really did well.
It was kind of a
lifestyle blog, and it
was kind of my training wheels.
And I started to post my
recipes and people really
started to resonate with that.
And so once we figured
out what was working
and what wasn't
working with that blog,
I just came up with
the idea to make
a blog that represented the
way that I cooked at home,
which is extremely simple.
I'm kind of lazy, kind of
impatient, as most people are.
And most times I would
go to a food blog
and I would love the
photo, love the idea.
And I would see ingredients
that I could never find
and it took two hours and I
just was never going to make it.
And so that's the
heart of our blog.
That's where it came from.
And the reason that we decided
to call it "Minimalist Baker"
is because we were also getting
really into simple living
and minimalism at the time.
And I have a sweet
tooth, so that's kind
of where the name came from.
And I think that people
are drawn to websites
that they know what the message
is right away when they come.
You don't want to have to search
to find out what this person is
about, which is why we decided
to make all the recipes
10 ingredients or less, 30
minutes or less, or one bowl.
And that's--
SPEAKER: Huge.
DANA SHULTZ: --truly how I
cook when I make us dinners.
So we've been doing it now for
four years, full time for three
years, and John does all the
techie, design, Google things.
SPEAKER: John's here
with us today, too.
Say hi, John.
Welcome.
So your new book is specifically
focused in that space.
DANA SHULTZ: Yes.
Basically our readers started
asking us for something
that they could get
food on, cook from that
didn't require an iPad
or their iPhone out.
And so we've been doing
that for-- we started
working on that in early 2015.
And it's called "Minimalist
Baker's Everyday Cooking."
And I wanted it to be a
collection of breakfast, lunch,
dinner, sides, desserts,
so that it truly
covers all the bases
in terms of what
you would want to cook from your
kitchen on an everyday basis.
SPEAKER: Great.
And we're going to try a
couple of those recipes today.
So what are we going to have?
DANA SHULTZ: We're going
to try two recipes.
The first one is a Southwest
sweet potato black bean dip.
It's good for--
you guys do sports.
Do you guys watch
sporting events?
Be really great for that.
We don't watch sports,
but we like dips.
SPEAKER: Sports not required.
DANA SHULTZ: And
that one, I believe,
comes together in
30 minutes, yes.
And it's gluten free,
very, very simple.
And then the other one is
a butternut squash pasta.
There are so many ways that
you can make alternative sauces
if you're dairy free,
if you're vegan.
I have lactose intolerance.
So that's kind of why
I started experimenting
with alternative sauces.
And I didn't write
the book on that.
This is my inspired version.
And I actually have since
created more sauce recipes
that I gravitate more
toward, but this one
is excellent for fall.
And you get a whole serving
of vegetables with your pasta,
so it's kind of nice space.
SPEAKER: And you do quite a
bit of vegan cooking as well.
DANA SHULTZ: Yeah, that's
become the focus for the blog,
because I'm lactose
intolerant and I was mostly
eating vegetarian anyways.
And I love experimenting with
egg free and dairy free baking.
That has become the
focus for the blog,
and most people know us for
vegan, gluten free things.
SPEAKER: Fabulous.
Well, let's go.
DANA SHULTZ: OK.
Let's do it.
So we're going to
start with a dip.
And the first thing
you want to do,
make sure you've rinsed off
your sweet potato, which
I assume they have.
SPEAKER: Absolutely can
confirm sweet potato is clean.
DANA SHULTZ: Yeah, and
you're just going to-- you
don't have to remove
the skin or anything.
Just chop it up.
You're just going to want to
cut it into bit-sized cubes,
being very careful, obviously.
I have accidentally
cut myself before.
SPEAKER: I think if you haven't
accidentally cut yourself,
you're not cooking enough.
DANA SHULTZ: You're
not the real deal.
SPEAKER: My chef
teammates tell me
a good cut is your first real
badge of honor in a kitchen.
Quite a chicken.
I try to avoid it,
but they tell me
it makes you really super
legit, so [INAUDIBLE].
DANA SHULTZ: John
usually comes down
to check on all my
injuries during the day.
Like, I burned myself again.
He's like, stop doing that.
It's part of the game.
SPEAKER: Badges of honor.
DANA SHULTZ: So I think I
learned early on that there
is a big difference, especially
with sweet potatoes when
it comes to organic
and non-organic.
The flavor and the texture
of organic sweet potatoes
is immeasurably better
than non-organic.
And I'm sure you're all very
smart, intelligent people
and you probably know that
organic produce is better.
But just for the
sheer sake of flavor,
organic sweet potatoes
are so, so much better.
And you don't have to add as
much oil and salt and sweetener
to them because they're just
naturally already tasting
a lot better.
SPEAKER: Are there other
produce items you feel strongly
are significantly better from a
taste perspective when organic?
DANA SHULTZ: I think most of
the squashes are, actually.
I can usually tell
a big difference
with apples and
strawberries, especially.
Just things that
are in season are
going to taste better as well.
But mostly, I think the biggest
one has been sweet potatoes,
actually.
So all you're going to do is
just drizzle on a little bit
of cooking oil.
I usually use melted
coconut oil at home,
because it's a really nice
source of healthy fats.
And then all you're
going to season
these with is a little bit
of salt and maple syrup
just to bring out their
sweetness a little bit more.
Just drizzle that on.
SPEAKER: Our flat top just wants
to talk to you for a second.
It's supposed to be
a safety feature.
It's most often an
annoyance feature,
I can say from
persona; experience.
DANA SHULTZ: And then this
is just cumin, chili powder
and cinnamon, which enhances
the flavor even more,
adds a little bit of spice.
SPEAKER: So a little bit of
salty, sweet, savory spice
mixed-- love it.
DANA SHULTZ: You
don't really have
to add a lot to sweet potatoes,
because they are already
so delicious.
But this just kind of
enhances their flavor
and makes some pop
in the actual dip.
So you're going to roast these
for about 20 minutes at 375,
or just until they're tender.
Because we don't
have that much time,
we already have some roasted.
SPEAKER: Through the
magic of preparation.
Ta-da.
DANA SHULTZ: Sweet potatoes.
Wow, we did it, you guys.
SPEAKER: It came out perfectly.
I'm so impressed.
DANA SHULTZ: I mean,
I didn't even do this,
so I can't take the credit.
But essentially, the rest
of the dip is very simple.
I'm going to go ahead and
put these ingredients in here
and then we'll
whip up the sauce.
This is just fresh corn.
You can also use canned
corn if you can't
find a whole corn on the cob.
And then this is just diced
red onion, black beans.
You could also use pinto
beans or other beans.
Or if you don't
like beans, quinoa
would actually be an excellent
substitution and then just
a little bit of fresh cilantro.
So that makes up the bulk
of-- can I set things on here?
SPEAKER: Sure.
DANA SHULTZ: OK.
SPEAKER: The beeps will
just tell it to stop.
DANA SHULTZ: Yeah.
I think I will actually use
this bowl for the sauce.
So we are going to--
essentially the sauce is just
a slightly saucier guacamole.
And I like to have the avocado
and then cut it in cubes
so it smashes up a lot easier.
Usually if you knock
it, it comes off.
Make sure you don't
cut your hand.
That would not be good.
I don't think I want that
another badge of honor
on Google today on camera.
So once it's cubed, you can
just scoop it out like so.
You can be fancy and
use a potato masher.
I like just using a fork,
because I think it's faster.
And you can usually tell
if the avocado is ripe.
Obviously it's soft, but
also when you buy it,
there's usually a little-- I
don't know what it's called,
stem at the top.
And if you take it
off and it's green
that means it's still fresh
and it's going to be good.
Because sometimes you open
an avocado and it's brown
and it just ruins your day.
SPEAKER: And that can also
help you avoid squeezing them
so everyone else
who comes through
doesn't get bruised up avocados.
DANA SHULTZ: So you're just
going to mash up your avocado.
It doesn't have to be perfect.
You can actually-- if you like
the chunkier guacamole texture,
you could just leave
a lot of it whole.
We're also going to be
adding some lime juice.
I have a fancy juicer at home.
But before I had a juicer,
I just stuck a fork in there
and juiced it out like this.
It just adds a little bit
of acidity to the dip,
since we have quite
a bit of sweetness
going on with the
sweet potatoes.
It also helps keep the
avocado from browning.
And then we're also just
going to add a pinch of salt
and a little bit of olive
oil just to thin it out.
If you try and avoid
fats, that's optional.
You don't have to.
And then just a tiny
bit more of-- you
can use agave nectar
here or just maple syrup.
I think it just-- I don't know.
In most of the
sauces that I make,
I like to have an acidity and
saltiness and a little bit
of sweetness, which
is why I like adding
the maple syrup in there.
So you can just taste as you go.
But this is looking
just about right.
And now we're just going
to-- I lost my mixing spoons.
SPEAKER: I'm certain
we have more.
DANA SHULTZ: Perfect.
Thank you so much.
And you can make this
dip ahead of time.
It would actually be--
I think the flavor gets
better the longer it marinates.
Once it's mixed together,
you can taste it
and see if it needs
more lime juice, more
salt, more maple syrup.
I'm usually adding more of
all these things, because I
like big, flavorful dishes.
And then we're just
going to finish it
with a little bit more
fresh cilantro, just
for some more color.
And that's essentially it.
I'm just going to use some
in my serving dish here.
SPEAKER: Cilantro is sometimes
a controversial ingredient
here at Google, as many
people I think in general
have a reaction in a
bad way to the taste.
Is there another herb
you might recommend
or another garnish you might
play with if you, say, wanted
to avoid cilantro?
DANA SHULTZ: Yeah, John doesn't
like cilantro, so I know.
The struggle is
real in our house.
SPEAKER: It's real real here.
DANA SHULTZ: How many people
don't like cilantro here?
OK.
Know who to throw
food out later.
You could easily just leave
out cilantro to be honest.
It's not a key ingredient.
You could also use parsley.
Mint might actually
add a nice flavor--
really kind of whatever
you have on hand--
but if you have an
adversity to cilantro,
you might not like the taste
of other herbs as well.
Maybe parsley would
be too similar.
So maybe just leave it
out if it's not for you.
SPEAKER: Feel free
to leave it out.
Or as we try to do here, you
could put it on the side.
And then your guests could
perhaps add it themselves.
DANA SHULTZ: Well, it's in the
dip, so sorry about that, guys.
We already mixed it.
SPEAKER: Totally fine.
DANA SHULTZ: So you can serve
that-- actually I just made
this for a friend
yesterday and she just
ate it like a burrito
bowl with a fork,
but usually I serve
it with chips.
That's our first recipe.
SPEAKER: Looks amazing to me.
DANA SHULTZ: So
pasta-- shall we?
So how many of you guys have
made a vegan cheese sauce?
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
SPEAKER: Experts, all.
DANA SHULTZ: I know what
I'm working with here.
So personally, I like to
use the cheaper almond milk
that you get at the
store, because if you
get too high of
quality of almond milk,
the flavor of the almonds
is way too strong.
I like using the cheapo ones
that are, like, $1 a carton,
because they're mostly water.
But for the sake
of showing you guys
what a nut milk looks like, I
sometimes make my own at home.
It is quite simple.
You basically can just
make your own at home,
and that way you can control
how much water is in it
and you can control
the flavor, and you
don't have to add sweeteners,
which oftentimes brands do.
So this is just one
cup of soaked almonds.
You can soak them
overnight in cold water,
or if you're in a hurry, which
I usually am because I forget,
you can just pour really
hot water over them.
Let them soak for an hour
and they're good to go.
And this is five cups
of filtered water.
It's going to get very loud.
[MACHINE GRINDS ALMONDS]
So normally I would let that
go for about a minute or two.
Really, the longer you
blend your nut milks,
the more meat you're
going to get out of it
and the creamier your
sauces are going to be.
And so but for the
sake of time, I
will go ahead and pour it out.
Usually what I do is, you
can buy nut milk bags.
Do you guys know what those are?
You guys are so cool.
I don't actually have a nut
milk bag, so I'm not that fancy.
I just put a really thin,
clean towel over a mixing bowl
and just pour it over.
But today, we're going to use
this sieve contraption here.
And you're essentially
just trying
to get out any of the
extra bits of almonds that
may be left behind, because
that makes your nut milk taste
gritty and that's
not what we want.
So you can at this stage
or when you're blending,
you can add dates to sweeten
or maple syrup or add vanilla
if you want to have
vanilla almond milk.
But since we're going to be
making a savory sauce today,
you don't really want any
of that extra sweetness.
And of course you can
use other nuts as well.
I think hazelnuts
would be great.
You can make oat milk.
You can make hemp seed milk.
It's the same general principle.
SPEAKER: So similar methodology,
different root ingredient.
DANA SHULTZ: You don't
need to soak things
like oats for as long as
nuts, just because nuts
are kind of hard
and you need to soak
them to open them up and
get the flavor out of them.
And then you have about four
to five cups of almond milk,
and that will keep in the
fridge for a few days.
I think I'm going to
set this over here.
SPEAKER: I feel incredibly
lazy for purchasing almond milk
if it's really that easy.
DANA SHULTZ: I mean, I
still purchase almond milk.
I just think that it's nice
to know how to make it,
because I honestly think
the taste is better.
But for the average person
who's working all day and you
go home at night, you
don't need to be making
your own if you don't want to.
So do you guys know how to
cut up butternut squashes?
Yes?
Have you guys done that?
It's dangerous.
SPEAKER: It's super dangerous.
If you have tips,
I would love it.
DANA SHULTZ: I watched the
YouTube video like three times
before I attempted it
so I didn't hurt myself.
Butternut squash is
just pretty firm,
and so they're kind
of difficult to peel.
But essentially,
all you want to do
is cut off the
top and the bottom
so you have a stable base.
And then I also like
to cut off the bulb
from the skinny top part.
And then you want to
peel it, which you
can do with a vegetable peeler.
I've never used this one,
so we'll see how this goes.
I actually just prefer
using the knife.
I think it's a lot easier.
You have more control.
Butternut squash I think
is the most difficult,
but I think it's also
equally difficult
to do pumpkin sometimes.
But the more you do
it, the easier it gets.
And it's not that difficult.
And I use butternut squash a lot
during the fall, when it's
in season and really fresh.
And then you just
want to scoop out
the seeds, which I will
attempt to do with a spoon.
But you can also do this
with a melon baller.
That might actually be easier.
SPEAKER: Perhaps more robust.
DANA SHULTZ: That might
work a little bit better.
You're essentially just trying
to get all the seeds out.
And there's a lot of seeds, so
I might actually just do half.
You actually only need two
cups of cubed butternut
squash for this.
If you're in a super big
hurry, like I was yesterday,
you can just buy cubed
butternut squash at the store.
But for those of you
who might get CSA boxes
or if you just want
to how to do it,
it is nice to know that
it's very easy to do.
And you probably save
money that way as well.
SPEAKER: Does anybody have
any questions for Dana
while she's diligently
skinning the squash?
So for our TV
audience the question
is, what do you do with the
almond pulp once it's strained?
DANA SHULTZ: You can do a lot
of things with the almond pulp.
You can dry it out in the oven
and then add it to baked goods,
for instance, like banana bread.
It's really easy to
make gluten free.
So that's what I end
up doing a lot of times
is just drying it out
and keeping it on hand.
You can also add it just like
it is to things like, say,
date-based desserts, which
are some of my favorite vegan
desserts.
Just blend up some dates,
throw in the almond pulp,
throw in some nuts and
roll them into balls,
and they're like
little energy bites.
That way, you're
not wasting any part
of the almond, which is nice.
If you just dry it out in the
oven, I think at just like 350
for, I don't know,
15-20 minutes.
You want to start
looking burnt or brown.
You just want to basically
remove the moisture from it.
And then you have kind
of like the almond meal
that you buy at the store.
It has been processed
slightly differently,
but it's the same exact texture.
And then I think
that's the easiest
thing you can do with it.
And then you can just-- the way
that I make things gluten free
is sub in oat flour, almond
meal, and a gluten free blend.
And that usually takes the
place of the all purpose flour.
SPEAKER: And your favorite
gluten free blend,
because there's a lot of them?
DANA SHULTZ: I have my own
blend that I use on the blog.
But in terms of store bought,
I really like Bob's Red Mill,
their new One to One Gluten Free
Baking Blend is pretty spot on.
It has a really nice,
light, airy texture
and it has a nice
blend of ingredients.
And that tends to be my go-to.
Does anybody else have any
favorite gluten free blends?
There's always more
that I haven't tried.
Bob's.
It's pretty good.
They have it figured out.
I've also heard
good things about,
I think it's called Cup for Cup.
SPEAKER: Yeah, I've used
that one to great effect
but certainly selectively
in terms of what I'm making.
DANA SHULTZ: Right.
And I think that one is a
little bit more pricey too.
SPEAKER: Likely so.
DANA SHULTZ: There's
so many great blogs now
that are just strictly gluten
free in terms of like baking.
And you can go and try a
million different blends.
The one that I have is a
pretty good all purpose blend.
But I've been trying new ones
from other sites as well,
and there's just a lot of
really beautiful blends
out there for
different purposes.
So we have most-- we'll
just call it good.
We have most of
the squash cubed.
And you're going to add
a little bit of oil.
Again, I would probably
use coconut oil or avocado
at home, a little bit
of salt. And we're
going to throw it in there right
alongside the sweet potatoes.
And butternut squash doesn't
take that long to bake, usually
only like 15 or 20 minutes.
And you're just looking
for a soft texture.
Like, when you poke a fork
in, it should fall out.
Which we have here.
Isn't that just magical?
So I'm just going to
saute up some garlic
to add some kick to the sauce.
And because we're
going to be blending
and it doesn't have to be
finely minced or anything,
just kind of a loose chop
so it gets evenly cooked.
And we're just going to add
a little bit of olive oil
to the pan, I believe
a few tablespoons.
Going off of memory here.
There we are.
I haven't tried this
recipe with roasted garlic,
but I would think it
would pair really well
with the flavors of the squash.
Going to rinse this off.
So as I'm sure most
of you guys know,
you aren't looking
for burnt garlic,
because that's an awful flavor.
You're just looking for
it to be slightly browned.
That should only take
a couple of minutes.
While that's happening, I
think I will go ahead and add
my squash to the blender.
You don't have to have a
nice high speed blender.
You could probably do
this in a food processor,
but I just like the texture
that high speed blenders give
sauces, because there's
zero grittiness, which
can be a problem sometimes
with vegan sauces.
We're also going to
add nutritional yeast.
Actually, I don't even know
what nutritional yeast is.
I know that it has B12 in it
and it tastes like cheese.
And I call it fairy
dust for vegans.
We're also going to be
adding some salt to the sauce
and a bit of pepper.
And I also like to add in some
vegan Parmesan cheese, which
is basically just raw
cashews, nutritional yeast,
garlic powder, and
sea salt. And it
ends up tasting an
incredible amount
like real Parmesan cheese.
And I basically put
it on everything.
We're also going to add a
little bit of vegetable broth.
If you don't have broth, you
can just sub all almond milk
and unsweetened
plain almond milk.
If you have a nut allergy,
you could also sub rice milk.
I would probably stay
away from soy milk,
because it has kind
of an intense labor.
And let's just pretend
that this is perfectly--
SPEAKER: It looks really
brown from up here.
You have to be close.
It is really, really brown.
DANA SHULTZ: I
would probably let
it go a couple more
minutes, but I kind of
like the flavor of raw garlic
as well, so that's fine.
Depending on how much
you like spicy food--
I guess we'll turn
this baby off.
We're good.
You can also throw in
a little red pepper
flake, which I usually prefer.
You can also add
chili garlic sauce.
You don't need much of this
because it's quite strong.
But because the butternut
squash when it roasts up gets
a tiny bit sweet,
I just feel that it
needs to be offset with
something a little bit spicier.
[MACHINE BLENDS]
And when you're
blending it, you'll
be able to tell how thick
the sauce is getting.
Right now, it's looking
more of like a puree.
So I'm just going to add in
the rest of my almond milk
and a little bit more broth.
You're looking for a thick
but pourable consistency.
[MACHINE BLENDS]
That's looking just about right.
And I just realized I
need the cooktop again.
We're just trying to put it
back on the stove to warm it up.
It's ready as it is, but just
to heat it up and develop
the flavors a little bit more.
It is still looking
a little bit thick,
so I might add in just a
tiny bit more of my water.
Or almond milk is fine too.
SPEAKER: The color is beautiful.
It's very reminiscent of
beloved mac and cheese color.
DANA SHULTZ: That's
the great thing
about using fresh
vegetable purees
as a base for your
sauces, because they
add such a beautiful color that
looks like there's actually
cheese in it when there is not.
So I think I'm just going to
grab a little bit more water
and thin it down a little bit.
And you're just going
to warm that up.
I'm looking for a whisk.
So you're just
going to heat it up.
And while this is happening,
cooking some pasta,
I'm eating gluten
free at the moment
so I usually am going for a
gluten free pasta, which I've
actually been very
impressed with the quality
of gluten free pastas that
you can find at the store now.
It's like they're undetectably
gluten free, which is great.
SPEAKER: That's big progress.
DANA SHULTZ: It is big progress.
SPEAKER: Do you have a favorite
specifically from a brand
perspective?
DANA SHULTZ: Trader Joe's has
a great organic brown rice
and quinoa pasta,
which I really think
it doesn't taste like--
I don't think it tastes
much different than regular.
SPEAKER: Has anybody
else tried that?
Yeah, do you like it?
DANA SHULTZ: I think it's good.
If you let it sit too long,
it can get a little bit gummy.
That's true of
regular pasta too.
Then you're just going to
add in your cooked pasta
and give it a toss.
And you're basically good to go.
The only other things I
would add as a garnish
here would be more
vegan Parmesan cheese,
because I always put more vegan
Parmesan cheese on my pastas.
It just adds a lot more flavor.
But that's essentially it.
SPEAKER: It smells amazing.
If you can't smell it
where you're sitting,
I can tell you it
smells amazing.
DANA SHULTZ: And the
sauce to pasta ratio
is probably a little bit heavy,
but I personally like that.
And then just finish it off
with some garnishes just
to make it look a
little bit more pretty.
If you are interested
in another more,
I guess-- I have developed more
pasta sauces since this recipe
that I almost like
a little bit more.
SPEAKER: Don't tell that pasta.
DANA SHULTZ: This pasta is
wonderful and beautiful and
special.
SPEAKER: But if you
had other pastas,
you might like them also.
DANA SHULTZ: Yes.
I have a lot of mac
and cheese recipes
on the site using
different things.
So you can experiment with
a lot of different bases.
But this is great
for fall, and it's
great to get a serving of
vegetables with your pasta.
SPEAKER: I love it.
Thank you so much.
DANA SHULTZ: Yeah.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER: Does anybody have
any questions for Dana?
How do you balance
your love of food
and having to maintain a blog
to promote it and really,
the upkeep aspect of running
a blog professionally?
DANA SHULTZ: Sure.
Well, I genuinely do love
cooking and developing recipes
and eating all day.
And so I think that you
have to have a heart for it,
as I'm sure most people who do
it would be able to confirm.
But I also make sure
that-- and John always
encourages me-- just to
make the things that I'm
interested in making and
the things that I love.
Otherwise it can feel
really constraining.
You want to make a recipe
that gets good search traffic.
Well, is that
actually what you get
excited about in the morning?
So generally, the
things that I am
making during the week or the
recipes that I schedule out
are ones that I am really
interested in trying.
Like, I love mac and cheese, so
how can I make that for vegans,
or how can I make that taste
just as good as the real thing?
SPEAKER: So sounds like
authenticity is key,
like you have to really
love what you're doing
and not get too worried
about forcing it to make
it successful from a blog.
DANA SHULTZ: And the
further you get along,
like we've been doing
it for four years,
it is sometimes hard
to remember that.
And it can be a struggle.
Some days, like, oh,
this is a business.
It's not fun anymore.
But it's just the two of us.
And we have a lot of fun.
We love working at home,
and I love cooking.
So it's usually pretty
easy to keep that in mind.
SPEAKER: Do you have
formal culinary training,
and how would you
more specifically
recommend vegan culinary
training so you don't have to,
to your point, compromise
your principles
to get traditional
culinary training?
DANA SHULTZ: I don't have
traditional culinary training.
I've worked in a humorous
number of restaurants,
like probably 20 restaurants.
I've been a server and a host,
and I've also prepared food.
So I did get a really good
handle on cooking that way.
And then watching
the Food Network,
honestly just learning,
like, how does Emeril Lagasse
chop an onion?
And then I would try it.
And then just a lot
of experimentation.
I have wondered about
going to culinary school.
But like you said, I don't
know if I would want to do it
the traditional route of having
to learn how to make butter
sauces, because I
personally couldn't try it
or if I'm gluten free, I don't
know if I could try, like,
a souffle.
SPEAKER: Or even the
butchering aspect, I imagine,
would be a huge turnoff.
DANA SHULTZ: Yeah.
But I think that more
and more programs
are understanding that.
And I actually just
spoke with a friend
who went to a culinary
program in New York City
that was fused with nutrition.
And she's a vegan,
and at the time
she was vegan when she
went through the program.
And they were able
to accommodate
for all the different
students' diets
which was very encouraging
to me, because prior to that,
I didn't think that you
can go to culinary school
without doing the
traditional French methods
of the butchering and the
cheese sauces souffles
and those types of things.
So I think that if
you do some research,
there are definitely options.
And even in a city like
Portland, where we live,
there are a number
of restaurants
that do cooking classes.
And there's businesses
that are solely based
around teaching people cooking.
So I haven't done any research
on if there's vegan options,
but I'm sure there are.
SPEAKER: Yeah, like tips for
the experimentation process
and any guardrails that
can help abort fails.
And then how do you
manage your fails?
DANA SHULTZ: Yeah.
John is good to remind me
that it's all experimentation.
So he'll come down.
I'm like, all my
recipes failed today
and I had to throw them away.
SPEAKER: Compost
them, hopefully.
DANA SHULTZ: Yeah,
definitely composting them.
It's just a part of the process.
I see what I do as learning
what doesn't work so you
don't have to do that at home.
But I would say for
every recipe I try,
I'm testing it two
to three times.
And that means that the first
two times just aren't-- it just
didn't go well.
Or maybe I have
something in mind
and I just can't figure it out.
And so I just set it
aside for the day,
because I've tried it five
times and it didn't work.
So it's just part
of the process.
And hopefully, you can
find reliable blogs
out there that steer you
in the right direction.
And there are more and
more blogs all the time
specifically focusing on
gluten free cooking, plant
based cooking.
So I think it's getting
easier to become
vegan and gluten free.
SPEAKER: Maybe use
that as a jumping off
point for experimentation.
That's what I do, frankly.
I look at five
different ways somebody
has said to do something,
and core elements
that can be combined I
figure must be important.
I use those.
Yeah, exactly.
Because I always
like to-- I don't
want to feel constrained
by it, but I also
know people like Dana are
failing for us in that regard,
so I try to acknowledge that
and use that to my benefit.
DANA SHULTZ: And I
think it's helpful too
when you're trying to attempt
something, say, like a cheese
sauce.
This one isn't a
great example of it,
but the newest
one on the blog, I
think it's called the best
gluten free mac and cheese,
or even mac and cheese.
I just went and looked at,
how does the best French chef
make a cheese sauce?
And then I just
tried to mock that,
but with vegan ingredients.
I think that it's really
helpful on recipes like that
where you want to know
what the basics are.
You want to know what the
foundational principles are so
that when you go to attempt
it, you have some frame of mind
and you're not just throwing a
bunch of stuff in the blender
and hoping it turns out.
SPEAKER: So you can at
least follow a methodology.
DANA SHULTZ: I usually go to
Ina Garten and Alton Brown,
because they know and they've
tested and they've tried,
and they're seasoned chefs.
That way I have
some type of path
to go off of when I'm trying
to veganize something or make
it gluten free.
SPEAKER: Kenji
Lopez-Alt is great too,
because he speaks really
about the why behind why
recipes work.
You can use that
for experimentation,
because you won't take out
those core elements that
are make or break.
Best recommendations for someone
transitioning off of dairy?
DANA SHULTZ: Yes.
Vegan Parmesan cheese, I
think, is a huge lifesaver,
because I used to put
Parmesan cheese on everything
and then it was
just stripped away
and my life was incomplete.
SPEAKER: Life was in shambles.
DANA SHULTZ: Yeah.
So once I realized, oh, I
can still make cheese sauces.
I can still have pizza.
Like, I bring my Parmesan
shaker to the restaurants.
It's very tacky.
Like, oh, no waiter,
I have my own.
I have my own.
SPEAKER: I think in
Portland and the Bay Area,
you can get away
with that for sure.
DANA SHULTZ: And in Portland,
sometimes you go to pizza shops
and they have nutritional
yeast on the counter.
So it makes it a lot easier.
SPEAKER: You are not alone.
DANA SHULTZ: Testing out
a lot of-- just trying out
a lot of the different
dairy alternatives-- diet
cheese is great.
I know some people
don't love it,
but I think it's kind
of an acquired taste.
And then the further I get away
from having had cheese, I kind
of forget what it was like.
SPEAKER: It just takes
time, like any breakup.
DANA SHULTZ: But the good thing
is that a lot of companies
are putting more and more plant
based items on the market.
And there's amazing
vegan cheeses
now that-- or soft
cheeses and hard cheeses
that genuinely do taste
like the real thing.
And of course, all the different
nut milks you can make.
I don't miss dairy because
there's coconut milk ice cream
and I can put the Parmesan
cheese on my pizza.
There's definitely some
things that I miss,
but I think that there
are so many alternatives.
So I think just finding out
what are the things that you
miss most about it and then
trying to find substitutions.
I really missed ice
cream, so that's
why I have so many ice
cream recipes on the blog.
There's 15 or something.
SPEAKER: Sounds good to me.
Well, thank you so
much for joining us.
I'm glad you were
able to come to Google
and especially to share
this with all of us today.
DANA SHULTZ: Yeah,
thanks for having me.
[APPLAUSE]
