Integrative Cooking

     Hello all! I am going to do a little revamping of the blog to incorporate my new outlook: Integrative cooking! So often vegan and vegetarian diets are very exclusive, and almost make you feel as though people with opposing diets are bad or wrong, but it's just not true. I think there are lots of households out there that have only one maybe two members being vegan or vegetarian and the others not.
    This does not mean we should look down upon our family members or friends who are not vegan or vegetarian, we need to embrace it and remember we were once just like them! So I am hoping to make videos and posts more centralized around this issue. Meals can accommodate both meat eaters as well as vegan and vegetarians. So that is the meaning behind Integrative cooking. So keep an eye out for my next video. I will be filming soon!!

Where have I been?!

      After what seems to be like a million years I finally made a YouTube video! It was just a short video explaining where I have been. So I'll share a bit here as well. My last post expressed my excitement for signing on a new house. We have lived here for several months now and we love it! The town is not my favorite, but coming from Austin not much was going to live up to it. I returned to school to finish my Bachelors degree and will soon be moving on to get my masters in Psychology. I am loving it so far and we are happy. Ben loves his job and I have a boring little part time job as well, but am working on a resume.
      I will be doing more cooking videos soon, Maybe even tomorrow. It will be the 4th of July, my birthday month which is always exciting! I will make corn fritters, guacamole and tomato stuffed mushrooms, and steak fries for our little celebration. I may make a video on the corn fritters... Not sure yet, but check me out tomorrow to find out. Ben and I will walk up to the park to check out the fireworks tomorrow to see if anyone is shooting any.
      Well, I know it has been too long, but this is all the updates I have for now. I will be better about keeping in touch. I do love to blog and I feel like people like my stuff, so I will keep on keeping on. Thanks guys!!!

Here is the link to my new video: GO CHECK IT OUT!!!

http://youtu.be/rPzmg1yDoNo

Slow Sunday..

Here is an update on my status, I know I have been a little distant and i'm sorry :( Ben and I sold the house and are living with one of my sisters here in Elk City, Oklahoma. We are super excited because we signed the contract for our new house this week and will be able to move in the beginning of March!! So when I get into the new house I will have more space and my own things I will be right back on the blogging band wagon! Talk to you soon!

Tonight is Sister's/girls night at Jessi's house!!

So, tonight we are getting together to make candles and eat healthy snacks! I think tonight will be Cesar salad bites, homemade hummus and crudités, black bean and corn relish with maybe pita chips... I think yes! I'll post some pics of the festivities later :) enjoy your day.

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Saving Herbs

Hey hey everybody!

I did a little video on how to preserve herbs. I gave 4 easy tips that everyone can do. They give every dish a little extra boost, so give 'em a try!

Tip #1: Herbed butter

1-3 tablespoons chopped herbs to every 1 stick of butter

Let the butter sit out until it's soft and combine with a spoon or a food processor and save in a tupperware. 

You can use it cooking meats, veggies, spread on bread, use your imagination!

Keeps for months.

Tip #2: Herbed Salt

1/2 cup sea salt

3 tablespoons of herbs

lemon zest (optional)

Crush together in a mortar and pestle. If you don't have one, just put ingredients in a plastic bag and beat it with a rolling pin or meat tenderizer.

Use a sieve to strain out any large pieces and let it sit out in a low even layer to dry out and store in dry container.

Keeps for months.

Tip #3: Dehydrated herbs

Use a dehydrator to dry overnight or in an oven on 170 degrees for 1.5 to 2 hours. Store in a dry container and it keeps for months.

Tip #4: Herb cubes

Chopped herbs

olive oil or water

ice tray

Put herbs in ice tray and cover with olive oil or water.

You can toss olive oil pods in with veggies or pan frying meats.

Toss water pods in to pan steam veggies.

I hope you love these and use them! It can definitely save money!

Enjoy responsibly!

Pasta Carbonara bites

Hey everybody!

 Last night we had the seminar and Harmony Health and I wanted to make sure I had all the recipes on here in case people wanted to try to make them on their own. One of the heartier dishes was the pasta carbonara bites and they were a hit! Typically pasta carbonara has a very oozie, silky kind of sauce, but since I baked it after cooking it was much easier to manage. So without further adieu:

Gluten free pasta (I used rice pasta)

2 eggs

1 cup of parmesan or pecorino plus some for sprinkling

handful of parsley

chopped sundried tomatoes

pinch of cayenne

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente.

In a food processor or blender combine eggs, parsley, cheese, cayenne, and salt and pepper.

IMPORTANT:

When the pasta is ready to be drained, save about 1 cup of the pasta water. 

*Since the sauce is a base of raw egg, the hot pasta and hot pasta water will cook it enough to be creamy. If you choose to not bake it, it will still be a delicious pasta dish*

Combine all ingredients back in the pan and use a fork to twist pasta into bundles. Just put these bundles into a greased muffin tin and top with remaining parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes. Bake on 375 for 15 min. Let cool, and you have a tasty and portable pasta dish.

Enjoy!