Dinner Without the Drama

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I think the most important thing is keeping it simple.
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Maybe that's my problem. I got burned out because when my kids were little,
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I would make things like, you know, homemade from scratch wonton soup.
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Wait, Jesus, with like the dumplings and everything from scratch?
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Are you freaking... I was going to stay home. I'm feeding my kids,
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but also I'm using some creativity. I'm doing something a little extra,
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but maybe that's my problem.
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I went too hard, too fast, too early. Now I'm burned out.
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It's not something I'm going to come home and make that for the family after a long day.
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So scheduling that in.
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Yeah, no way. Working and making a big meal. No. For me at this point, I'm an empty nester.
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I'm just tired of making the damn decision when it comes to cooking.
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You guys, I feel like what you both just talked about right now is a hot freaking
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tip. Listeners, am I wrong?
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Welcome to Drinks with the Girls, conversations for women over 40 around connection,
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change, and the power of female friendship.
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Living well with stories to tell.
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I'm Karen, and this is Lisa.
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We are moms and solopreneurs stepping into our own, diving into real conversations
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about things that matter to women in midlife.
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We're here to spill the tea on everything that affects women in their 40s and beyond.
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Topics like loss and grief, changing relationships, launching kids,
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menopause, and reinventing ourselves in midlife. We are here to tackle it all.
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Connect with us through a blend of our lived experiences, our friendship,
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the memory of our moms, plus a collection of real stories, honest conversations,
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and engaging interviews that will make women over 40 feel seen and remind them
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that they're not alone on this journey called life. Let's go.
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Welcome back to Drinks With The Girls, the podcast where we keep it real with
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all things midlife and you get a healthy dose of girl chat in the process.
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I am Karen and we have a special guest today.
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But before we dive in, today I am actually double fisting with a beautiful...
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Because I feel fancy. Petit Syrah from our local winery, Montserrat,
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but also relief unsweetened iced tea. So I'm covering all the bases here.
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So Lisa, my beautiful co-host, what are you drinking?
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Okay, so I'm trying to step it up because I've been so boring.
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And I was at Trader Joe's the other day. I'm like, Karen always finds all these fun little drinks.
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So I bought a couple to try. So I am drinking Olipop, and it is supports digestive
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health with prebiotics, botanicals, and plant fiber.
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I was a little concerned when I saw the plant fiber, because I'm like,
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is it going to be floating around in the soda? Because that's kind of nasty.
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But it isn't, and it's good. It's very watermelon-y, if that's a word.
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So today, we are talking about something we all have to deal with,
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whether we love it or not.
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And everybody has various votes on this scale. Cooking!
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I am so excited for this conversation because I have a love-hate relationship with cooking.
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So for a lot of us, you know, cooking used to be something we did for our families,
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our kids, for obviously out of necessity, got to feed the people, right?
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But now in midlife, it can feel like a chore, a stressor, or something we just
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don't have the time or energy for.
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So I'm super excited to introduce our guest today.
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This is one of my besties, Lisa Potter.
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And Lisa is, well, she's my friend, but she is a cooking expert who's going
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to help us rethink the way we approach food so it feels less like a burden and
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more like something that nourishes not our bodies, but our lives.
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And I will say that this whole topic came about because Lisa and I travel for work a lot together.
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She's always telling me about some crazy things she made and sourdough this
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and this and that and the other. And I remember turning to her and I was like, girl, I don't have time.
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To do the kinds of
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Things you're doing. You are next level crazy. And so since we were stranded
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somewhere on some plane in some airport, she laid it out for me about how she
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does this and how it's not as crazy as it sounds.
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So I'm super excited to have her on tonight to share with you all how she does
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it because she's definitely changed the way I look at it. So Lisa,
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my love, welcome to the show.
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Oh, thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to do this with you.
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Oh, and by the way, I'm drinking a Classico Fiancé.
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Nice.
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Yum.
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Cheers. Food has always been a part of my family.
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I grew up in a pretty large family, like with a lot of her cousins,
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and we had huge holiday dinners and celebrations throughout the years.
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My dad probably played the biggest role in my life, and then my grandma.
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And so he really was the inspiration for me cooking at a young age.
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That's something that we did together.
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And so I've carried that through in my family and cooking with the kids when
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they were younger and now with my grandkids.
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So I've had three-year-olds flipping pancakes in my kitchen.
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At least they weren't flipping you something else. Just kidding.
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Okay.
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And don't you have a catering company too, because you're an overachiever like all of us?
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Yes so my oldest son is
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a chef and he and I decided that
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we would love to get together and create our own company so we have a catering
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company called smoke bridge custom catering on the side and so we get to enjoy
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that time together and it really is a bonding for us as well so We just have
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a whole line of cooks in the family.
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In fact, I have the knives of my great-great-grandfather, who was a line cook
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way back, depression time.
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My oldest son, who's a chef, he actually had those knives and my wooden spoon
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tattooed on his forearm because it's so special and important. That's so cool. Yeah.
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Yeah. That is really incredible. Like so much
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About what you just said.
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I mean, first of all, being in business with your child like that,
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you need to come back on the podcast and we just need to talk about that.
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And then you had like he has those tattoos. Oh my gosh. So precious.
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I wish I had that, that love of food and culinary things, but that,
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I mean, I don't know that that's pretty incredible.
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I'm thinking about the whole work with your child thing. I don't know.
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Mine might suffer greatly.
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Or me, I don't know. So we'll have to dive into that.
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But I know that this topic is going to strike a chord for our listeners because
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a lot of women in midlife feel like they're either over it when it comes to
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cooking or they've just lost the joy in it.
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What do you think the biggest reason so many of us struggle with cooking is,
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particularly at this stage of life?
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Well, I think that cooking can be really overwhelming, especially if you come
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home after working all day and it's just another thing you have to do.
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Even if you want to unplug, and that might be different for everyone,
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but there's busy schedules.
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Some of us have adult children. Some of us still have kids at home.
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And it's just such a gamut. I still, I have a sixth grade, excuse me, seventh grade now.
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So I have a wide range that I need to still cook for.
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So I think the most important thing is keeping it simple.
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Just keep it simple. We don't want a difficult and long process because that's just too much.
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So I try to do something that's quick, usually five ingredients or less,
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and pull something together.
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Maybe that's my problem. I got burned out because when my kids were little,
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I literally, I would make things like, you know, homemade from scratch wonton soup.
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Sweet Jesus with
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Like the dumplings and everything.
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I was from scratch?
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I was a stay-at-home mom, so I felt like I'm feeding my kids,
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but also I'm using some creativity. I'm doing something.
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I don't know. I'm doing something a little extra, but maybe that's my problem.
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I went too hard, too fast, too early. Now I'm burnt out.
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I found that if you do want to pull that creativity card, I like to do that
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on a weekend when I have more time and I can just for that.
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Like I have, I have made pasta. Like I wanted to make a homemade tortellonis.
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Right. And so I thought I'm going to do that on the weekend,
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but it was a creative time for me.
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It's not something I'm going to come home and make that for the family after a long day.
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So scheduling that in.
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Yeah, no way. Working and making a big meal. No, no, no, no.
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I, I, when I was doing those crazy meals, I was a stay-home mom.
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So I had all day to think about it and plan it and prep it.
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And like thinking about you with like a mortar and pestle and like wheat berries and shit.
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Like I have my mom's little mortar and pestle.
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That's so cool.
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But I mean, and for me at this point, like my kids are gone.
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I'm an empty nester. It's just me and my fiance, but I'm just tired of making
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the damn decision when it comes to cooking,
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you know even though it's just me and Tony it's just
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two of us but I mean full transparency I kind
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of resent being the default meal person he
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has gotten better I mean sometimes you guys you just have to tell them what
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they need to do and I told him at one point probably like a couple months ago
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I said I don't like this I don't like how at the end of the day it's always
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on me to figure this out and to do it and have it prepared and so now he's doing
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it now it's like tonight Since I'm recording,
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he cooks dinners on Monday nights when we record and then usually one other
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time during the week and he likes looking for recipes and he's getting more confident.
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So anyway, all it took was a conversation. Who knew?
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He can't read your mind?
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What is that?
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No, I thought he could,
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But no. But most women have spent years, decades, planning meals,
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figuring out what to make, getting the ingredients, putting it all together.
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And some of us just don't want to think about it anymore.
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And like I said, I was a stay-at-home mom, and I really got a lot of joy out of it then.
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But, you know, this mom is tired now. There are some ways to simplify cooking
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so we don't have to overthink every meal. because I get caught in that trap,
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I think, sometimes overthinking.
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Yeah. Again, it's the time, capacity, the flexibility.
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What is at the moment? Some days, you're going to be more tired than others.
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It's just nice to have a plan, something to fall back on.
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I love hearing that your fiance is stepping in and that conversation. That's so helpful.
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I can relate to that. My husband right now is at the store getting things for
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our dinner tonight, knowing that we're recording.
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But I will, I will say there is a tool that I use that could help other people.
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And I have an app, and it's called Cozi, C-O-Z-I. I've had it for years.
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That is something that all of the family members have access to because it's a family account.
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So what I've done is I've put all of the recipes or the way that I make things
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into the recipes portion and you can select it for the dinner on like a calendar.
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And so from that, you can also make it into a shopping list.
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So I can click, click, click, and I have my things in there.
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You can even add things from a website, just copy and paste the URL and it will
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compile it for you into a list and a recipe.
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So that has helped because he has that, that list.
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He doesn't have to ask me as much. I already have it on there.
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He can look it up on his phone and he, or maybe he stops at the store on the
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way home and he knows already that's my list.
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So everyone has the list. If
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you stop at the store, you got to look at the cozy list. Look at the list.
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Yeah. I use, I use one called plan to eat and it's very similar and I love it.
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I'll put the, I've got a referral link. I'll put that in the show notes as well,
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but it's the same kind of thing where it will import anything and we can just
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like plan the recipes. There's like a queue.
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And what I like about it is it spits out a grocery list so I can just throw it in there.
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Right. But there are times when I'm literally Googling.
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I have shoe leather,
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Stale potato chips, a carrot and ground beef.
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Show me recipes.
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And I'm not ashamed to say that out loud because that is just the way life rolls sometimes.
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My name is Karen Shatafian, and I am a shameless coffee addict,
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an empowerment coach for women, and my love language is authenticity.
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My mission is helping women unapologetically design a life they're in love with.
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Because what the hell are we waiting for?
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My website, karenshatafian.com, has all my coaching packages and free offers
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like my midlife reclamation guide. In it, you'll find tools to help you decide
00:13:18.986 --> 00:13:23.466
how to create the most inspired and empowered version of yourself and your life.
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You can find me on Facebook and Instagram talking about ways women can show
00:13:27.766 --> 00:13:30.986
up for themselves after decades of showing up for everyone else.
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Join me as we throw off the shackles and live our best freaking lives.
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See the show notes for all the details.
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Cheers. You guys, I feel like what you both just talked about right now is a
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hot freaking tip. listeners, am I wrong?
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I mean, okay. And granted, I'm not the most like technologically advanced person,
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but this is new to me that there is an app out there, especially the cozy app.
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Like so everybody, all the people are in on the app. All the people can see
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what's going on because you know what I have?
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Guess what? I have a fricking email folder full of emails.
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No, no, no, no.
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I do have Pinterest though. I do love me my recipes on my Pinterest board.
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Well, I don't know if cozy does this, but plan to eat like you could literally
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like cut and paste your email of like whatever it is, quesadillas, whatever.
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And then you just plop it in there and it imports it for you.
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Like it'll do a bulk import and do all that.
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And mine's similar to what Lisa has. Like my husband has it on his phone.
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So when I get my shit together and I have stuff planned, like he can kind of
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do the same thing. I know that there's ones out there that are like,
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you just like putting the contents of your freezer and all that, and they can like...
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You know, suggest meals,
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That's just like next level. Like I don't know that that's ever going to be
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me in my life, but I do know that just having this has been like a freaking
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game changer for me. So yeah, absolutely.
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Yes. We'll have LinkedIn in the show notes. Mine does push out a grocery list as well.
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Once you select the grocery list, it'll pop into there and you can check off
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the things you already have.
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So yeah, that was a game changer for me. People don't have to ask me anymore, what's for dinner?
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We go, it's on what?
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Cozy.
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That's the dreaded question for sure. And then another thing you've gotten me back into is sourdough.
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When I first started talking to you about this, I was like, this girl's crazy.
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There's no freaking way I have time to do sourdough.
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Didn't we give that all up after the pandemic for the love of God?
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But it is so much healthier to eat sourdough anything, especially when it's homemade.
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I must say that the last few weeks I've epic failed on my sourdough because
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my husband had surgery and I had the flu.
00:15:47.970 --> 00:15:52.010
And so the sourdough has been in the fridge and I finally just gave up on my
00:15:52.010 --> 00:15:53.730
discard and threw that out.
00:15:53.850 --> 00:15:58.990
But I know that soon it will be time to take that little baby out because Lisa
00:15:58.990 --> 00:16:03.150
has given me some amazing tips about different things and I've really enjoyed it.
00:16:03.210 --> 00:16:08.950
I've made bread, crackers, sticky buns cinnamon rolls blueberry muffins pretzels
00:16:08.950 --> 00:16:13.290
and bagels so far and lisa knows this i always tell everyone the only drama
00:16:13.290 --> 00:16:16.190
in my life i want is my sourdough starter and that's it.
00:16:16.190 --> 00:16:22.370
Yeah i love how easy it really is i don't even measure everything out with all
00:16:22.370 --> 00:16:27.050
the cups and measures and all of this it's so forgiving with the sourdough i
00:16:27.050 --> 00:16:31.870
just stick my mixing bowl on the scale and i just start dumping in the right
00:16:31.870 --> 00:16:33.870
amount of grams and reset.
00:16:34.250 --> 00:16:38.210
And I measure out the water, for instance, hit the reset button,
00:16:38.590 --> 00:16:42.430
measure the flour and so on, like four, five ingredients, tops,
00:16:43.134 --> 00:16:46.714
and it's just done. Mix it up. And I don't have to use the mixer.
00:16:46.814 --> 00:16:50.274
I don't have to use a bunch of equipment. It's just one little space on my counter.
00:16:50.534 --> 00:16:52.774
Takes the challenging part out of it.
00:16:53.274 --> 00:16:55.994
Yeah. I mean, when she was first telling me about that and she's like,
00:16:56.054 --> 00:16:57.234
oh, and you need a kitchen scale.
00:16:57.394 --> 00:17:02.054
Like I was like, oh, no, no, no. But I have to say, I think the kitchen scale
00:17:02.054 --> 00:17:05.634
is a very underrated kitchen tool.
00:17:05.994 --> 00:17:10.094
I was like, oh, this is going to be epic. But I love it because it makes,
00:17:10.094 --> 00:17:13.654
I mean, with baking, you have to be really precise. And I've never necessarily
00:17:13.654 --> 00:17:15.134
considered myself a baker because
00:17:15.134 --> 00:17:18.554
I'm the Italian, like just throw a little list or a little of that.
00:17:18.774 --> 00:17:23.134
But with the baking stuff, you have to be more specific. But I have found adding
00:17:23.134 --> 00:17:26.454
that kitchen scale has definitely helped.
00:17:26.634 --> 00:17:30.834
I don't like to have more crap in my kitchen than I need, but I just have like
00:17:30.834 --> 00:17:31.994
a little one and it's been great.
00:17:32.694 --> 00:17:36.274
So speaking of stress-free, let's talk a little bit more about stress-free.
00:17:36.334 --> 00:17:37.874
Can I interject something about sourdough?
00:17:37.994 --> 00:17:42.034
You may. You may. Please. So sorry that I asked you, Mead, that you didn't have
00:17:42.034 --> 00:17:43.714
anything to contribute when it came to sourdough.
00:17:43.914 --> 00:17:45.654
No, no, no. It's okay. I'm going rogue.
00:17:48.174 --> 00:17:55.074
So for those of us, like me, who have never made sourdough, do you have somewhere
00:17:55.074 --> 00:17:59.834
online we can go, Lisa, to walk us through it? Or do you have a recommendation?
00:18:00.014 --> 00:18:04.214
Or can we put something in the show notes that can help newbies like me who
00:18:04.214 --> 00:18:05.334
want to get started doing it?
00:18:06.034 --> 00:18:11.274
Absolutely. We'll put that in the show notes for sure. It's a website that I
00:18:11.274 --> 00:18:17.714
use regularly and she's always updating different recipes for both discard and making your own.
00:18:17.914 --> 00:18:22.914
But if you are lucky enough to know someone with a starter, by all means,
00:18:22.914 --> 00:18:27.094
just ask them for some and use that because that's going to be the quickest,
00:18:27.094 --> 00:18:30.534
most sure method for a starter.
00:18:30.774 --> 00:18:35.134
Lisa gave me, I swear to God, I'm not making this up. It's Scottish starter.
00:18:35.574 --> 00:18:41.214
And that shit is like incredible. I mean, it is sturdy for sure.
00:18:41.214 --> 00:18:43.754
And it's one of the best starters I've ever had.
00:18:43.894 --> 00:18:48.134
I have a friend who was gifted starters from around the world for Christmas.
00:18:48.154 --> 00:18:49.774
And she's like, oh, my German starter.
00:18:50.034 --> 00:18:53.174
And like, that's a little too like United Nations for me. Like that.
00:18:53.234 --> 00:18:55.974
That's so cool though. But it was super cool.
00:18:56.194 --> 00:19:01.334
But I agree. Like you can get them online, but it's a pain in the butt to like
00:19:01.334 --> 00:19:04.454
get them going and all that. And you're going to, it's just going to be too much.
00:19:04.794 --> 00:19:08.674
Just ask. I guarantee you somebody will have it.
00:19:08.774 --> 00:19:13.214
And I love the idea too. I love the idea that I have like starter that Lisa
00:19:13.214 --> 00:19:15.274
gave me and I'm thinking about her when I bake.
00:19:15.574 --> 00:19:20.034
So I think it's a win-win for everybody, but we'll put some stuff in the show notes for that for sure.
00:19:20.614 --> 00:19:24.034
Definitely. I love that. My daughter-in-law gave me mine.
00:19:24.154 --> 00:19:29.214
So it's, it's really fun. You just, you just start sharing it to the family and your friends and.
00:19:29.892 --> 00:19:32.132
And yeah, you do. You think about them when you cook with it.
00:19:32.752 --> 00:19:37.812
So back to stress-free. If someone listening right now is just completely overcooking
00:19:37.812 --> 00:19:42.932
and they want to make it easier, which Karen has indicated loud and clear, and I get that,
00:19:43.192 --> 00:19:48.452
what are three simple changes they can make right now to remove some of this crazy stress?
00:19:48.812 --> 00:19:55.652
First of all, you're going to want to know how much time you actually want to spend on making dinner.
00:19:55.652 --> 00:20:00.952
If it's going to be a quick 30-minute or even 15 or 20-minute dinner,
00:20:01.212 --> 00:20:06.812
know that first so you are finding the right quick way to make something.
00:20:06.952 --> 00:20:11.592
For instance, I try to have a protein, a side, and a salad. Keeping it simple.
00:20:11.892 --> 00:20:16.072
That's the second thing. Like five ingredients or less. And then having a well-stocked
00:20:16.072 --> 00:20:17.672
pantry is really important.
00:20:17.832 --> 00:20:22.412
So I can just walk in there and think, okay, I can make something with pasta.
00:20:22.932 --> 00:20:28.572
I've got some tomato sauce. I can make something with that. And I can go grab
00:20:28.572 --> 00:20:30.672
a protein out of my freezer. Boom.
00:20:31.212 --> 00:20:36.552
It's just trying to keep it simple, keep it easy, and know your capacity by
00:20:36.552 --> 00:20:38.932
the time you want to commit to making that meal.
00:20:39.212 --> 00:20:44.372
So, Lisa, what is your go-to quick, healthy meal that might feel homemade but
00:20:44.372 --> 00:20:45.392
they don't take forever?
00:20:45.692 --> 00:20:51.492
So, I love to use sheet pan dinners because it's one sheet pan.
00:20:51.492 --> 00:20:53.792
I line it with foil so there's not a bunch of dishes.
00:20:54.232 --> 00:20:58.572
You can grab a protein for one side, maybe a vegetable for another.
00:20:59.072 --> 00:21:02.932
And then I've got a salad probably in a bag in my fridge.
00:21:04.332 --> 00:21:06.152
Love it. I love sheep pan dinners.
00:21:06.912 --> 00:21:11.552
Sheep pan dinners are the bomb. And I love them when you have like a bunch of
00:21:11.552 --> 00:21:15.732
veggies like in your fridge that are just kind of random and you don't know what to do with them.
00:21:16.372 --> 00:21:19.132
Throw it on there with like some chicken thighs or some
00:21:19.132 --> 00:21:22.532
pork chops or salmon or like whatever there is
00:21:22.532 --> 00:21:25.232
nothing about a roasted vegetable with a
00:21:25.232 --> 00:21:28.212
little olive oil and salt that I don't love like it's pretty
00:21:28.212 --> 00:21:30.972
hard to screw that up and like she said the cook
00:21:30.972 --> 00:21:33.892
the cleanup is so easy and it's
00:21:33.892 --> 00:21:37.252
boom it's done like and I think I'll have to throw this in the show notes but
00:21:37.252 --> 00:21:42.612
I think I have like a blank canvas sheet pan recipe sheet pan dinner recipe
00:21:42.612 --> 00:21:46.672
rather somewhere because I think the only real trick to it is just the protein
00:21:46.672 --> 00:21:51.452
you use has to be kind of uniform with the veggies but But I'll throw that in the show notes because,
00:21:51.812 --> 00:21:57.432
boy, that is just such a rescue me from takeout kind of last minute meal for sure.
00:21:58.169 --> 00:21:58.709
Absolutely.
00:21:59.089 --> 00:22:01.429
And you can really clean out the fridge like you were saying,
00:22:01.489 --> 00:22:03.829
Lisa. Just clean out the fridge and stick stuff in there.
00:22:04.249 --> 00:22:09.349
And I'm going to take this back to the well-stocked pantry portion because with
00:22:09.349 --> 00:22:11.229
that, you can dress it up, right?
00:22:11.229 --> 00:22:16.589
So maybe you have a jar of artichoke hearts or some Kalamata olives and maybe
00:22:16.589 --> 00:22:21.269
in your fridge you have a wedge of lemon and you just kind of give it a quick
00:22:21.269 --> 00:22:23.869
spritz and add a few little things,
00:22:24.049 --> 00:22:29.649
just that added dress up to make it elevated a little bit more without having to do a lot of work.
00:22:29.889 --> 00:22:33.669
Okay, quick pause. Have we talked about the pod squad lately?
00:22:34.109 --> 00:22:40.429
Oh, the pod squad. You mean our email list slash VIP lounge slash digital wine club?
00:22:40.609 --> 00:22:45.589
Exactly. So listeners, if you're not on it yet, you're basically making life
00:22:45.589 --> 00:22:47.949
harder for yourself when it comes to podcasts.
00:22:48.429 --> 00:22:51.869
Like trying to scroll for show notes while speedwalking on a treadmill.
00:22:52.029 --> 00:22:55.069
Wait, what was that link again? Oh, no, no, no, no. Grab the side rails.
00:22:55.209 --> 00:22:58.789
Or pulling up that book we mentioned while you're in the Starbucks line and
00:22:58.789 --> 00:23:02.709
then realizing everybody else moved up three cars and now you're that woman.
00:23:02.909 --> 00:23:06.489
We've all been there. That's why we made the PodSquad. You'll get new episode
00:23:06.489 --> 00:23:09.889
alerts every week with direct links. Easy to listen. Easy to share.
00:23:09.889 --> 00:23:13.889
And show notes straight to your inbox. So when we drop a life-changing product,
00:23:14.169 --> 00:23:17.769
book, hot tip, or yummy new drink, you're not rummaging through your memory
00:23:17.769 --> 00:23:20.249
like a woman searching for her reading glasses when they're
00:23:20.249 --> 00:23:23.849
On top of her head. It's organized. It's helpful. It's for you, babes.
00:23:23.969 --> 00:23:27.309
So join the pod squad. The link is in the show notes. Just tap it.
00:23:27.429 --> 00:23:33.209
Snacks, sarcasm, solidarity, and obviously fighting the patriarchy. We write at dawn. Okay.
00:23:33.369 --> 00:23:36.689
Can we just talk for a second about the well-stocked pantry,
00:23:37.269 --> 00:23:40.769
like what are 10 things, or maybe that's too many, but five to 10 things that
00:23:40.769 --> 00:23:42.949
need to be in our well-stocked pantry?
00:23:43.069 --> 00:23:43.969
That's a really good point.
00:23:44.386 --> 00:23:49.106
I like to have definitely pasta and definitely rice.
00:23:49.286 --> 00:23:54.746
Those are two pretty critical elements that you can just grab and really have
00:23:54.746 --> 00:23:57.226
a nice side dish or in addition to the main.
00:23:57.406 --> 00:24:01.406
So from there, I like to have a couple of different soups,
00:24:01.566 --> 00:24:06.866
like our cream of celery or cream of chicken soup, some different tomato sauces
00:24:06.866 --> 00:24:12.826
that you might like, sometimes, you know, roasted or just plain sauce or roasted tomato or something.
00:24:12.826 --> 00:24:16.826
And a couple cans of vegetables that your family likes just in case.
00:24:17.006 --> 00:24:22.386
We prefer frozen, so it might be not a pantry, but it might be the freezer where
00:24:22.386 --> 00:24:24.166
you have some different frozen veg.
00:24:24.446 --> 00:24:28.366
The other thing I like to think about is some good spices.
00:24:29.146 --> 00:24:33.806
And so that might be just as simple as garlic powder, onion powder,
00:24:33.966 --> 00:24:36.366
some chili powder, maybe paprika.
00:24:36.946 --> 00:24:42.646
And from there, you can elevate a lot of flavors. some roasted red peppers.
00:24:42.666 --> 00:24:47.166
And I kind of went the Mediterranean style when I added the Kalamata olives
00:24:47.166 --> 00:24:52.666
and the artichoke hearts, but they really do add a lot of flavor and it looks
00:24:52.666 --> 00:24:54.266
really nice when you're using those.
00:24:54.666 --> 00:24:59.406
The other thing I really like to do that I think is kind of a hidden trick is
00:24:59.406 --> 00:25:02.506
Trader Joe's is the bomb, right?
00:25:02.666 --> 00:25:06.566
And they have really good canned goods. And And.
00:25:06.566 --> 00:25:07.286
There are so
00:25:07.286 --> 00:25:12.106
Many times when I'll grab like a can of something for Trader Joe's and I can
00:25:12.106 --> 00:25:13.466
make a quick and easy meal.
00:25:13.566 --> 00:25:17.206
Like I was there today and they have like eggplant with roasted garlic in a
00:25:17.206 --> 00:25:20.646
can or they have like beans that are, you know what I mean?
00:25:20.726 --> 00:25:25.566
And so I like to have a few of those things in my cupboard because that often
00:25:25.566 --> 00:25:28.906
kind of starts a meal. I mean, like you can make an easy pasta or whatever.
00:25:28.906 --> 00:25:34.846
Oh, I'm going to add some bouillon or some type of way to make a broth because
00:25:34.846 --> 00:25:40.946
I usually have a beef, a chicken and a veg and that way you can just really flavor it up.
00:25:41.086 --> 00:25:47.166
That could be a broth, it could be just a little scoop of that and that's a nice addition.
00:25:48.041 --> 00:25:54.481
The other one you mentioned that I don't want to roll over because it's so helpful is an Instant Pot.
00:25:54.841 --> 00:25:59.421
I swear to God, that thing is magic in an appliance.
00:25:59.881 --> 00:26:06.881
It is, what I love about it is that it makes an impossibly long dinner manageable.
00:26:07.321 --> 00:26:11.281
And sometimes my Instant Pot is the only thing standing between me and takeout.
00:26:11.481 --> 00:26:16.121
And I'm sure you have some secrets, Lisa, but oh my God, I love that.
00:26:16.121 --> 00:26:18.381
Like, that's what I need on my desert island is my answer.
00:26:18.661 --> 00:26:24.261
Absolutely. I use it all the time. Just yesterday, we visited my mom and she
00:26:24.261 --> 00:26:30.061
wanted to make something in her, you know, for dinner that was going to take forever, stroganoff.
00:26:30.361 --> 00:26:36.261
And I thought, well, if you have some meat in your freezer, and she's like,
00:26:36.321 --> 00:26:40.761
well, yeah, but it was like round steak or stew meat, something tough, right?
00:26:40.761 --> 00:26:43.861
So instead of having to make another
00:26:43.861 --> 00:26:47.361
trip to the store I grabbed that we had
00:26:47.361 --> 00:26:51.381
it already in chunks yeah it was stew meat and I
00:26:51.381 --> 00:26:58.041
was able to just throw that in the instant pot with some broth and in 10 minutes
00:26:58.041 --> 00:27:02.521
that meat was done from there I just made the sauce like you would normally
00:27:02.521 --> 00:27:07.241
just add some mushrooms and finish it with a little sour cream and it was great
00:27:07.241 --> 00:27:09.121
so we had dinner in about 20 minutes.
00:27:09.401 --> 00:27:15.661
Love it. Okay. Now for those of us that have sensitive eaters,
00:27:15.661 --> 00:27:20.661
I'll call them, which is another thing that Lisa and I have bonded about is our kiddos.
00:27:21.161 --> 00:27:24.541
You know, maybe you're cooking for a partner who doesn't like certain foods
00:27:24.541 --> 00:27:26.181
or doesn't have the same tastes.
00:27:26.541 --> 00:27:32.781
We have kids that are picky eaters and that have food issues and texture issues,
00:27:32.941 --> 00:27:35.121
which is always upsetting the apple cart.
00:27:35.341 --> 00:27:39.601
So what are some ideas about how we navigate that without making multiple meals?
00:27:39.621 --> 00:27:42.221
I am not a restaurant chef, I tell my kids.
00:27:42.441 --> 00:27:46.861
That's a great question. I do have one at home still. That is my seventh grader.
00:27:47.461 --> 00:27:53.021
Tonight, my husband and I want to have some fish and he does not like any seafood whatsoever.
00:27:53.481 --> 00:27:59.641
So what I did last week when I made lasagna, I made some in a ramekin.
00:27:59.841 --> 00:28:03.901
So I know that I can just pull that out and warm that up for him.
00:28:03.941 --> 00:28:07.201
And he has there. So if you're making something big like that,
00:28:07.739 --> 00:28:11.979
just pull a little out. No one's going to notice. Stick it in a small ramekin,
00:28:12.359 --> 00:28:16.059
throw it in the freezer for when you're ready, and they can just microwave it.
00:28:16.379 --> 00:28:21.019
That's a hot tip. Lisa, you are dropping some moms here on this episode.
00:28:21.259 --> 00:28:22.139
See what I mean?
00:28:22.419 --> 00:28:26.199
I don't have kids at home, but man, oh man, if I did that. Oh,
00:28:26.259 --> 00:28:27.659
I love that. That's a great idea.
00:28:28.139 --> 00:28:31.659
Yeah, we've even just made, I've made a meatloaf on the side.
00:28:31.779 --> 00:28:35.619
We had a big meatloaf, so I grabbed like, you know, a large meatball size or
00:28:35.619 --> 00:28:38.899
whatever and packed that thing in and cooked in the oven so that all I had to
00:28:38.899 --> 00:28:41.899
do was, you know, thaw that out if he needed a different meal.
00:28:41.999 --> 00:28:45.239
There's a lot of different things that we make that you can do that with.
00:28:45.699 --> 00:28:51.559
So good. So back to your magic apps that I've just learned about here on this
00:28:51.559 --> 00:28:52.779
episode of Drinks with the Girls.
00:28:53.019 --> 00:28:57.599
The closest thing I have to that, I discovered this website called Taste Better from Scratch.
00:28:57.979 --> 00:29:01.919
And the author, Lauren Allen, she sends weekly email.
00:29:02.059 --> 00:29:04.619
Actually, I think it's daily because I think I had to scale back.
00:29:04.739 --> 00:29:08.239
But anyway, she sends a lot of emails to my inbox, which I'm not mad about.
00:29:08.379 --> 00:29:13.779
And she has an app or something. It's not an app, but it's something that I can put these in.
00:29:13.899 --> 00:29:17.719
But it's a little, it has been a little clunky for me. So I haven't been able
00:29:17.719 --> 00:29:20.759
to, I guess, utilize it the way that I probably should have.
00:29:20.899 --> 00:29:24.839
But same, complete with grocery lists, you know, ingredients,
00:29:25.439 --> 00:29:27.299
pretty simple, you know, things like that.
00:29:27.439 --> 00:29:31.239
Let's talk about the common frustration of the grocery shopping.
00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:36.779
And I'm embarrassed to say I just discovered having groceries delivered.
00:29:36.979 --> 00:29:40.239
I mean, I don't know. I think I'm in the dark ages. I know. Even during COVID,
00:29:40.499 --> 00:29:42.799
I've never had any. I know. I know.
00:29:42.939 --> 00:29:43.839
Are you nuts?
00:29:44.419 --> 00:29:48.739
Honestly, I used Tony and I, during COVID, when we would go grocery shopping,
00:29:48.919 --> 00:29:50.739
we used it as like an adventure.
00:29:51.059 --> 00:29:53.599
Like we'd mask up and we'd get all ready.
00:29:53.939 --> 00:29:56.919
And he'd have one cart.
00:29:57.019 --> 00:30:03.639
I'd have one. one was full of food one was full of alcohol sorry i mean i had
00:30:03.639 --> 00:30:08.119
adult children at home with me i mean it was like okay how are we going to get through covid anyway
00:30:08.119 --> 00:30:11.619
It felt like an adventure that's for damn sure no
00:30:11.619 --> 00:30:15.699
i was just gonna say i don't necessarily do the delivery but i do the click
00:30:15.699 --> 00:30:19.819
shop so we can just pull up they put the groceries there because that's the
00:30:19.819 --> 00:30:24.419
thing that i can't stand is the hours that you have to spend in the friggin
00:30:24.419 --> 00:30:30.119
grocery store and i just oh my god So even if you could just pull it up and they put the bags,
00:30:30.199 --> 00:30:32.479
I'm telling you, that has taken years off my life.
00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:35.739
But is your grocery store close to you? Because mine is not.
00:30:35.879 --> 00:30:40.519
Like, it's a haul. I waste 45 minutes just getting to and from the grocery store.
00:30:40.619 --> 00:30:43.759
I mean, for sure. Like, we have one that's like 15 minutes away.
00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:45.959
But when we lived out in the country, like...
00:30:45.959 --> 00:30:49.959
I feel like I've just discovered this thing that I know all y'all have already known about.
00:30:50.119 --> 00:30:55.439
I know it. I'm admitting it. But I'm so happy. I'm a happy girl. Yeah.
00:30:56.576 --> 00:31:03.216
But so what are some tips to make grocery shopping faster, easier, or more enjoyable?
00:31:03.676 --> 00:31:06.636
Well, I do love the click list.
00:31:06.776 --> 00:31:14.756
And I missed out on this deal, but a grocery store near me had a half price subscription.
00:31:15.196 --> 00:31:21.756
So it was only $49 for the whole year to get your groceries delivered to your
00:31:21.756 --> 00:31:26.496
house unlimited times, as long as you had an over a $30 purchase.
00:31:26.716 --> 00:31:33.756
And I wanted it really bad. And I happened to be in an area far away with Lisa on an airplane.
00:31:33.776 --> 00:31:35.036
I remember I was like,
00:31:35.136 --> 00:31:39.956
You're saying this. And I'm like, I feel like I remember which airport we were
00:31:39.956 --> 00:31:44.156
stranded in when you made the horrible realization that you weren't going to
00:31:44.156 --> 00:31:45.696
be able to take advantage of it.
00:31:46.716 --> 00:31:51.016
And I missed out on it. But normally it's $100 though.
00:31:51.236 --> 00:31:54.976
But if you think about that, that's huge value of having $100.
00:31:55.436 --> 00:31:58.656
I know I spend $100 on gas for sure.
00:31:59.836 --> 00:32:03.736
And then your amount of time that you're shopping. So I would definitely take
00:32:03.736 --> 00:32:06.676
advantage of that. But there's, I mean, there's other things.
00:32:06.856 --> 00:32:11.036
So I take my youngest son to the store when I do have to shop.
00:32:11.256 --> 00:32:13.576
And I said, okay, we're power shopping.
00:32:14.156 --> 00:32:18.416
You have half the list. I have half the list. Who can get it done faster?
00:32:18.756 --> 00:32:22.676
And so we have a quick little race. Meet at the checkout.
00:32:23.856 --> 00:32:30.436
So good. It helps. Yeah. So I know you've talked before about a mindset shift
00:32:30.436 --> 00:32:32.696
is needed. Can you talk a little bit about that?
00:32:32.996 --> 00:32:39.036
So if it's a really busy or stressful time of the year, like holiday time or
00:32:39.036 --> 00:32:44.536
anything like that, I have had to stop and take a couple of breaths.
00:32:44.856 --> 00:32:50.156
You know, when the parking lot is packed full and you're just looking at all
00:32:50.156 --> 00:32:55.256
the cars thinking, okay, this is going to be a journey.
00:32:55.476 --> 00:33:01.896
So just take a couple of minutes, just take a few breaths and relax and kind
00:33:01.896 --> 00:33:07.576
of just change your mindset and thinking about, all right, I need to put my empathy hat on.
00:33:08.036 --> 00:33:13.416
Maybe I'll buy myself a coffee just to get in that more relaxed frame of mind
00:33:13.416 --> 00:33:20.276
and use my app that I know I already have. It's not a big deal. I can do this.
00:33:20.696 --> 00:33:29.636
So I just can get my calmness on, my empathy for others, because some of the people in the store are,
00:33:30.299 --> 00:33:33.779
are going to be rushing around. Maybe they had a rough day.
00:33:34.039 --> 00:33:40.199
I have to put that empathy hat very, very square on and shop through the store.
00:33:40.439 --> 00:33:41.439
Don't shop mad.
00:33:42.119 --> 00:33:48.499
No, do not shop mad. Oh, the other thing that I look at is how many carts are gone.
00:33:48.639 --> 00:33:51.619
Do you ever do that? No, but that's genius.
00:33:52.859 --> 00:34:00.179
I look at the carts and I think, oh boy, there's five carts left. it's gonna be a while
00:34:00.179 --> 00:34:04.639
Let me do a quick meditation in my car before
00:34:04.639 --> 00:34:09.079
I go in it's a five cart kind of a day I think I.
00:34:09.079 --> 00:34:15.299
Need a coffee that's brilliant they started putting Starbucks in I mean I'm
00:34:15.299 --> 00:34:20.339
not a fan of Starbucks these days but started putting Starbucks in grocery stores
00:34:20.339 --> 00:34:25.739
because I think like you said Lisa you know grab a coffee and then do your shopping
00:34:25.739 --> 00:34:27.439
it's like you're giving yourself a little treat.
00:34:27.619 --> 00:34:30.399
It definitely makes it more enjoyable. It's like a little splurge.
00:34:30.559 --> 00:34:32.379
Yeah, I think that's a good tip.
00:34:32.579 --> 00:34:36.599
Hey there, I'm Lisa Coricella McDowell, your midlife Pacific Northwest princess
00:34:36.599 --> 00:34:39.399
here to guide you in the art of next leveling your life.
00:34:39.579 --> 00:34:42.419
I'm passionate about women's health and wellness in midlife,
00:34:42.739 --> 00:34:45.859
especially for moms parenting kids with unique needs like I do.
00:34:46.039 --> 00:34:50.359
I truly believe we can learn, grow, advocate, and care for the planet while
00:34:50.359 --> 00:34:53.619
taking care of ourselves and our families. And I'd love to help you do the same.
00:34:54.459 --> 00:34:58.019
Les, I'm beyond excited to announce the launch of my new membership,
00:34:58.319 --> 00:35:00.499
the Empowered Parent Collective, this March.
00:35:00.679 --> 00:35:03.739
It's a space for parents to confidently advocate for their kids,
00:35:03.979 --> 00:35:08.459
build inclusive communities, educate themselves, and find balance and support along the way.
00:35:08.639 --> 00:35:11.779
To find out more about the Empowered Parent Collective, my classes,
00:35:12.039 --> 00:35:16.559
wellness offerings, parenting tips, advocacy resources, and exclusive drinks
00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:20.479
with the girls goodies, head to nextlevellifewithlisa.com.
00:35:20.579 --> 00:35:23.579
Let's survive and thrive in the messy middle together. Cheers.
00:35:24.059 --> 00:35:27.979
One of the things that Lisa has helped me with as well, and I've talked a little
00:35:27.979 --> 00:35:31.899
bit about this on the podcast, and I know we've got a plan to do a sustainable
00:35:31.899 --> 00:35:33.539
eating episode at some point.
00:35:34.404 --> 00:35:37.964
My family and I personally subscribe to several CSAs.
00:35:38.044 --> 00:35:42.724
We've really enjoyed having local and localish organic, wild-caught,
00:35:43.164 --> 00:35:47.804
grass-fed, and sustainably sourced food. I do a little garden in the summer.
00:35:48.124 --> 00:35:53.484
Lisa, I know you do some things on your little farmlet that wouldn't exactly fly in suburban USA, but.
00:35:53.484 --> 00:35:53.964
What are some
00:35:53.964 --> 00:35:57.864
Tips and tricks for our listeners to eat healthier and balance it with a little fun?
00:35:58.044 --> 00:36:02.744
I definitely agree with you with the CSAs. I'm sure a lot of people have those
00:36:02.744 --> 00:36:05.364
available to them. I would look that up for sure.
00:36:05.704 --> 00:36:08.704
And then there's always a farmless market, especially during the summertime.
00:36:09.024 --> 00:36:14.264
We have a weekly one that we can go and I like to buy the produce that I can't
00:36:14.264 --> 00:36:18.924
grow or is more unusual and definitely supporting the local business.
00:36:18.944 --> 00:36:20.644
I have a farm down the road from me.
00:36:20.784 --> 00:36:31.304
I'm able to order lamb or beef from them any time online and they deliver it to my door on Tuesdays.
00:36:31.304 --> 00:36:34.464
So that's a really nice well blessing
00:36:34.464 --> 00:36:37.324
really I don't have to go out and shop and find something but it's local
00:36:37.324 --> 00:36:40.084
and it's good for you I came across a
00:36:40.084 --> 00:36:45.244
website the other week it's called realmilk.com and we can put that in the notes
00:36:45.244 --> 00:36:50.584
as well but if you put your zip code in they can tell you where to find raw
00:36:50.584 --> 00:36:56.444
milk it's either cow or goat yeah I love that you can make so many things from
00:36:56.444 --> 00:36:58.824
the milk. I've made my own ricotta.
00:36:59.124 --> 00:37:02.824
Again, that'd be one of the creative days, not after work.
00:37:03.884 --> 00:37:05.824
Not on a Tuesday at 6pm.
00:37:07.384 --> 00:37:12.344
And then try a kitchen garden. I mean, it might be even in your kitchen window
00:37:12.344 --> 00:37:19.264
where you just grab a little rosemary start and maybe a little basil start and maybe parsley.
00:37:19.504 --> 00:37:23.284
Put those three pots in your window in your kitchen and just start clipping off of that.
00:37:23.544 --> 00:37:28.904
Just fun little things like that can really benefit a lot. Those are flavor bombs for sure.
00:37:29.588 --> 00:37:33.008
Also, I'm realizing we're throwing around these terms and we probably shouldn't
00:37:33.008 --> 00:37:34.828
assume that everybody knows what they mean.
00:37:34.928 --> 00:37:38.668
So a CSA is community supported agriculture.
00:37:39.048 --> 00:37:42.448
And basically, it's exactly what Lisa is talking about.
00:37:42.588 --> 00:37:47.368
It can be like a local farm that raises, you know, meat and they deliver it.
00:37:47.528 --> 00:37:52.548
It can be a seasonal thing. I have one where they give me a selection of seasonal
00:37:52.548 --> 00:37:58.468
fruits and vegetables and they trade with other local CSAs to make sure that it's really varied.
00:37:58.868 --> 00:38:02.848
So that's definitely a really good way of doing it.
00:38:02.948 --> 00:38:07.388
And the other thing I like about having a CSA weekly is that it gets me to try
00:38:07.388 --> 00:38:09.388
things that I may not try.
00:38:09.688 --> 00:38:13.888
Just, excuse me, it's there and I know I need to use it up. So that's what that
00:38:13.888 --> 00:38:17.208
means. The other one I'm going to recommend if you're in the Northwest,
00:38:17.588 --> 00:38:21.588
but there's a lot of different companies that do this. It's called Oregon Valley Farms.
00:38:21.888 --> 00:38:24.168
And they're local-ish to the area.
00:38:24.548 --> 00:38:31.168
ButcherBox is another one. They're national, but they are a certified B Corp.
00:38:31.228 --> 00:38:35.908
So they put some money back in the planet, which is the only way they're able
00:38:35.908 --> 00:38:38.388
to do that. So I'll put some of those resources in the show notes,
00:38:38.388 --> 00:38:44.588
but you should be able to just Google local CSA to me and it'll come up with a lot of great stuff.
00:38:44.808 --> 00:38:49.908
Lisa, that reminded me of another resource called Imperfect Foods.
00:38:50.448 --> 00:38:55.908
And what they do is they take vegetables and fruits and they even have some
00:38:55.908 --> 00:38:58.208
milk and other items there.
00:38:58.548 --> 00:39:01.828
You'll have to check it out on the website. We can put that in our show notes.
00:39:01.828 --> 00:39:07.788
But that's a way to really also give back because they take those items.
00:39:08.008 --> 00:39:09.568
Maybe they're not perfect.
00:39:09.868 --> 00:39:12.988
Maybe they were cut on an angle.
00:39:13.308 --> 00:39:18.148
Maybe just the shelf life is not the perfect, most round apple.
00:39:18.368 --> 00:39:23.688
So you can get those for a reduced price and they are delivered to your home.
00:39:23.828 --> 00:39:28.368
So I would look them up to see if they are a good service in your area.
00:39:29.128 --> 00:39:33.248
Yeah, I think in some places in the country, it's called Misfit Foods.
00:39:33.428 --> 00:39:37.708
I think it might be the same company, but I'll put that in the show notes for sure.
00:39:37.888 --> 00:39:43.588
That's some good information. Now, let's talk about cooking for one or two people.
00:39:43.908 --> 00:39:48.248
You know, some of us are in the empty nest or some of us are just cooking for ourselves.
00:39:48.988 --> 00:39:53.948
What are some ways to make cooking feel worth it when you're not feeding a bunch
00:39:53.948 --> 00:39:58.028
of people? Because I'm happy to eat cheese crackers and a glass of Merlot.
00:39:59.348 --> 00:40:01.768
So Lisa Potter, give us some hot tips Word
00:40:03.689 --> 00:40:08.849
Well, I found, and I have to relate to this because my mom, she is single and
00:40:08.849 --> 00:40:15.149
she needs to have me come over to help her cook food because it's more enjoyable when you're not alone.
00:40:15.449 --> 00:40:20.369
So my first tip is cook with someone else. That's more fun.
00:40:20.729 --> 00:40:24.269
Visit, open a bottle of wine and just relax and enjoy each other while you're
00:40:24.269 --> 00:40:27.289
cooking. Another thing that I would consider is
00:40:27.289 --> 00:40:28.329
When you do make
00:40:28.329 --> 00:40:33.489
Those large pans, like for lasagna or something big like that, it's okay.
00:40:33.689 --> 00:40:40.729
It's okay to make a large meal, but I cut it into portions or even make them into ramekins.
00:40:41.029 --> 00:40:44.389
Keep that as a freezer meal. Maybe you want one next month.
00:40:44.629 --> 00:40:47.649
That's fine, but you don't have to have the whole pan.
00:40:47.849 --> 00:40:52.389
Just consider, I'm going to make a few meals that are larger and know that I
00:40:52.389 --> 00:40:54.429
have that for later in my freezer.
00:40:54.769 --> 00:41:01.229
Something else that has come across throughout my seasons in my life is a cooking co-op.
00:41:01.229 --> 00:41:04.229
What we did was we got together and
00:41:04.229 --> 00:41:07.089
we had a few families so let's say you have five
00:41:07.089 --> 00:41:10.669
families in the co-op and each family
00:41:10.669 --> 00:41:13.969
makes one meal so let's
00:41:13.969 --> 00:41:17.489
say my meal was chili so I
00:41:17.489 --> 00:41:21.129
would make chili for five families
00:41:21.129 --> 00:41:24.449
and I put that in my freezer on co-op
00:41:24.449 --> 00:41:31.289
day I would bring those five gallon zips frozen and we'd all trade and I'd go
00:41:31.289 --> 00:41:35.349
home with five different meals because they all cooked a different meal so we
00:41:35.349 --> 00:41:40.149
all traded so we now have instead of five gallons of chili I have one and I
00:41:40.149 --> 00:41:43.849
have four other meals so that's kind of fun to trade such
00:41:43.849 --> 00:41:44.389
A good idea
00:41:44.389 --> 00:41:48.789
Yeah I mean I'm trying to think of like a way that you could do that because
00:41:48.789 --> 00:41:50.989
I'm like imagining just like,
00:41:52.058 --> 00:41:55.318
you and Tony having a party and just like cooking stuff.
00:41:55.458 --> 00:41:58.978
But then like, I don't know if you'd ever get to the cooking part because I'm
00:41:58.978 --> 00:42:03.218
picturing like the charcuterie board and the wine pops and everybody's like, why are we here?
00:42:03.338 --> 00:42:05.978
And what do we do? Like, I know that's what I would do, you know?
00:42:06.258 --> 00:42:09.538
But actually, that's another one that we do sometimes. It's an easy one.
00:42:09.598 --> 00:42:11.498
Sometimes I'm like, screw it. I don't feel like cooking.
00:42:11.958 --> 00:42:13.918
I don't want to order takeout. And we do.
00:42:13.918 --> 00:42:14.938
Like a charcuterie
00:42:14.938 --> 00:42:20.458
Board for dinner. Love that. And open a bottle of wine like on a Saturday or whatever.
00:42:20.698 --> 00:42:23.358
And the kids love it because they can pick little things out.
00:42:23.558 --> 00:42:27.598
And that, that's one of my favorite go-tos when I just don't, because frankly,
00:42:27.858 --> 00:42:33.038
like Karen, I could live on charcuterie chocolate and wine and probably some
00:42:33.038 --> 00:42:37.458
good French bread and, and be perfectly happy eating that like for the rest of my life.
00:42:38.218 --> 00:42:41.238
We would literally, we would do that during the pandemic. Again,
00:42:41.358 --> 00:42:44.818
those two big carts we got, we, yeah, we would have charcuterie,
00:42:45.238 --> 00:42:49.778
like we'd lay it out about 4 PM and then, you know, you kind of start there
00:42:49.778 --> 00:42:51.618
and then you just, that's it. That's your meal.
00:42:51.738 --> 00:42:55.318
And that's, it was good. And I didn't have to cook.
00:42:56.978 --> 00:43:02.778
Yeah. Yeah, totally. I love that too. And Lisa and I have also enjoyed Mezzi platters.
00:43:03.038 --> 00:43:04.258
Oh yes, we have.
00:43:04.578 --> 00:43:05.618
Those are the best.
00:43:06.038 --> 00:43:07.078
A little too many.
00:43:07.758 --> 00:43:10.678
I am very well versed in the Mezzi platters. Oh yeah.
00:43:11.278 --> 00:43:14.758
So good. And again, another plug for Trader Joe's. Like, I mean,
00:43:14.898 --> 00:43:18.818
it's just so great and they're reasonable and you can go in there and just grab a bunch of stuff.
00:43:18.918 --> 00:43:22.138
And who doesn't love something on a slab of wood, you know, just saying.
00:43:23.071 --> 00:43:29.071
So before we wrap up, do you have any favorite kitchen tools or gadgets that
00:43:29.071 --> 00:43:30.771
make cooking easier and more fun?
00:43:30.831 --> 00:43:31.871
I know we've talked about the
00:43:31.871 --> 00:43:36.491
scale and the instant pot, and those are definitely some go-tos for me.
00:43:36.711 --> 00:43:41.671
Absolutely. Definitely have to have those. But I'm going to keep it simple again.
00:43:41.851 --> 00:43:44.951
I love a good, sharp knife.
00:43:45.291 --> 00:43:49.551
If you're going to invest in anything in the kitchen, make sure it's a high-quality,
00:43:49.551 --> 00:43:52.851
good, sharp knife that you can sharpen or take it to a carpenter.
00:43:53.031 --> 00:43:58.391
And I know on Wednesdays at Whole Foods, there's a sharpening van out in front
00:43:58.391 --> 00:44:03.591
and I know that I can drop it off, go shop really quick, get my knife sharpened.
00:44:03.731 --> 00:44:05.831
And then on my way out, I grabbed my knife.
00:44:05.971 --> 00:44:12.251
So something that you can do that with to keep very sharp. The other thing is the microplane.
00:44:12.491 --> 00:44:15.611
Love my microplane. I could not live without it.
00:44:16.451 --> 00:44:21.651
I, instead of, you know, chopping or like mincing all the garlic or dirtying
00:44:21.651 --> 00:44:25.711
another tool, like the whole Cuisinart to chop up some garlic,
00:44:25.891 --> 00:44:26.931
something like that is small.
00:44:27.351 --> 00:44:33.931
I love to grab my microplane and I can just grate that garlic right into the bowl or pan.
00:44:34.111 --> 00:44:37.931
You just rub it right on there. It just makes it a beautiful mince.
00:44:38.271 --> 00:44:42.051
Same with ginger, another flavor pop. You just rub that on there.
00:44:42.251 --> 00:44:46.671
A nutmeg, right? When you're making maybe a white sauce of sauce,
00:44:46.731 --> 00:44:47.891
you want to add just that little bit.
00:44:48.111 --> 00:44:53.211
So that's my other favorite. And the lastly is my wooden spoon slash spatula.
00:44:53.771 --> 00:44:58.131
So it's kind of got a spoon, but one of the edge has a corner on it so I can
00:44:58.131 --> 00:45:01.351
get in the corner of the pan and the other side's more rounded.
00:45:01.511 --> 00:45:04.971
So I love that. I use it all the time.
00:45:05.311 --> 00:45:09.491
That's my go-to. You have to send me a link to one of those. That sounds amazing.
00:45:10.279 --> 00:45:10.579
Okay.
00:45:10.719 --> 00:45:13.659
Yeah. And it doesn't, it doesn't scratch any pan because it's not metal.
00:45:13.779 --> 00:45:15.219
You know, it's a nice wooden spoon.
00:45:15.419 --> 00:45:20.839
It's not going to mar up any, you know, your Dutch oven with enamel inside or anything like that.
00:45:20.939 --> 00:45:23.599
And it still works good. Those are my favorites.
00:45:23.859 --> 00:45:28.519
Lisa, this has been so helpful. I know I'm walking away from this episode with
00:45:28.519 --> 00:45:31.699
a lot of new tips that I wasn't even aware of.
00:45:32.099 --> 00:45:34.699
And you know, at 56, that's saying something.
00:45:35.239 --> 00:45:41.519
So thank you. You have given us so many great ideas for making cooking easier and way less stressful.
00:45:41.819 --> 00:45:46.559
Yeah, I'm going to put a bunch of stuff in the show notes. But tell our listeners
00:45:46.559 --> 00:45:50.959
where they can find you and learn more about what you do other than getting
00:45:50.959 --> 00:45:52.419
stranded in airports with me.
00:45:54.099 --> 00:45:55.999
Well, we have a.
00:45:56.299 --> 00:45:59.319
Again, our catering company is Smok Ridge Custom Catering.
00:45:59.419 --> 00:46:05.499
And we have a website available, SmokRidgeCC.com. and that will be in the notes.
00:46:05.879 --> 00:46:10.599
And we also have an Instagram page. So feel free to visit us anytime.
00:46:10.979 --> 00:46:15.019
So my son and I are happy to cook for a small family.
00:46:15.179 --> 00:46:20.639
We've done dinner parties, six to eight people. We've done holiday parties or
00:46:20.639 --> 00:46:25.639
business parties, as well as barbecues in the summer and weddings.
00:46:25.839 --> 00:46:32.999
So we really have a large customer base with very diverse menus and needs.
00:46:32.999 --> 00:46:34.899
So we're ready to meet you where you're at.
00:46:35.019 --> 00:46:39.559
Thank you so much for joining us today. And listeners, thank you for coming
00:46:39.559 --> 00:46:42.219
along on another ride with Drinks with the Girls.
00:46:42.739 --> 00:46:46.879
And if you liked this episode, if you're like me and you learned some new things,
00:46:46.999 --> 00:46:50.379
share it with a girlfriend because there's a sister out there who needs to hear
00:46:50.379 --> 00:46:52.479
some of the things that we talked about today.
00:46:52.819 --> 00:46:59.659
And for a fun idea, why don't you take a picture of you listening to this podcast
00:46:59.659 --> 00:47:01.599
and post it on your socials.
00:47:01.699 --> 00:47:06.659
Hello. Let's get the word out that Drinks With The Girls has some hot stuff happening over here.
00:47:06.959 --> 00:47:12.819
And thank you so much for having me today. I have had so much fun on Drinks With The Girls.
00:47:13.299 --> 00:47:17.999
The other thing we would love for you guys to do is leave us a five-star review.
00:47:18.499 --> 00:47:25.799
We'd love to hear what you think. And also, just hot tip, we got a fantastic review the other day.
00:47:25.819 --> 00:47:30.439
And I'm pretty sure this person meant to leave us five stars but accidentally clicked one star.
00:47:30.439 --> 00:47:33.559
And unfortunately the algorithm like looks at
00:47:33.559 --> 00:47:39.799
the stars not the words but we obviously want you to be honest but if you are
00:47:39.799 --> 00:47:43.839
enjoying what you're hearing take a minute to leave that five star review for
00:47:43.839 --> 00:47:48.039
us because it really does help our visibility and the algorithm is hungry for
00:47:48.039 --> 00:47:52.839
that so thank you so much everybody for joining us and lisa thank you.
00:47:53.360 --> 00:48:27.439