Find Joy in Food with Tara Teaspoon: Cookbook Author, Chef, TV Personality, & Food Blogger

Season 2, Episode 3: Find Joy in Food with Tara Teaspoon, Cookbook Author, TV Personality, Trained Chef, & Food Blogger. Tara is a two-time cookbook author, TV personality, former food editor & stylist, and food blogger. Her cookbooks are Live Life Deliciously (affiliate link)  https://amzn.to/3MyCVT1  120 recipes to include classics and innovative ways to cook with global flavors and Delicious Gatherings (affiliate link) https://amzn.to/3QSnwQ3 composed of meals for gatherings, easy menu ideas, recipes for a crowd, & signature desserts. She worked as a food editor for Martha Stewart Living and appeared on the show multiple times to share recipes and cook with Martha. She has also appeared on The Today Show, The Food Network, and many other national and local tv shows. She also worked as a food director at the Ladies Home Journal Magazine. She blogs at http://tarateaspoon.com/ where she focuses on food and recipes for busy weeknights and leisurely weekends.

Tara shared her experiences being a personality and chef/cook on tv shows, working as a food editor and stylist, and more recently as running her own business as an independent food blogger. We chatted about cooking easy meals, and she shared tips to help people find joy in cooking, and even advice for those who don't enjoy cooking. She shared her favorite way to make a Thanksgiving turkey and other holiday recipes and ideas, including Christmas. She gave us the skinny on what she likes to stock her pantry with, how to use herbs without waste, and her opinions on recipe substitutions. She also gave us the behind-the-scenes info on her experiences in creating cookbooks.  We both shared our love of flavored vinegars and oils, and how it makes for a great date night to go to a specialty store and taste test them. Get all her secret tips and awesome insights in this episode!

Photos by: Photographer Ty Mecham

Also connect with her on social media:
IG https://www.instagram.com/tarateaspoon/
FB https://www.facebook.com/tarateaspooninc

Thanks Tara for coming on my show!

GREETING CARD discount with Basic Invite: https://www.juliehoagwriter.com/2023/11/27/make-amazing-online-photo-christmas-cards-the-easy-way/

More about me... the podcast host: Julie Hoag
You can find my cookbooks at the links below:
American Midwest Cooking Quiches cookbook by Julie Hoag. Affiliate links. This podcast will receive a small advertising fee with purchases made. Thanks for supporting the podcast!
https://amzn.to/3DpQoaE

One Dish, Two Diets Cookbook. Recipes for Split Table Recipes, including easy hybrid meals and simple Midwestern recipes for busy people  https://storyoriginapp.com/universalbooklinks/36b9ce90-6b57-11ec-837f-8f2460b6a963

40 Ways to Honor Your Mom After She Has Passed Away

Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour.
Free delivery on your first order over $35.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Season 2 episode 3: this episode's transcript was created by Lemonspeak ai so it is not 100% accurate. Please email me at jahoag15@gmail.com with any questions.

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Hello everyone.

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I am so excited to talk to this person.

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She has an amazing career and just awesome.

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I'm like, just giddy.

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I'm excited.

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My name is Julie and I have vegetarians and meat lovers, split table recipes podcast.

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And I interview people who have something to do with food.

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And then I also post my own recipes.

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So I have so much fun doing it.

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And I want to introduce you to Tara Teaspoon.

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Welcome, Tara.

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Thank you.

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Thanks for having me.

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So excited to chat with you.

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You have such an amazing career.

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Like when I was researching you, I was like, oh wow, oh wow, oh wow.

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Thanks.

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It has been a great adventure.

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I've loved what I've been able to do for a living.

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That's awesome.

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So you're a cookbook author, a TV personality, and a blogger.

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And you've been on multiple TV shows about cooking.

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So you've done TV appearances.

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Yes.

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Yes.

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I've been lucky enough to do it all, kind of share food and recipes in all those mediums.

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Yep.

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That is awesome.

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And we'll get into which shows, but why don't you tell us first, what are your cookbooks?

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You have two of them, right?

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Yes.

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So my first one was called Live Life Deliciously, and the tagline was recipes for busy weekdays

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and leisurely weekends.

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And it was my first baby and just a collection of all my favorite flavors and takes on classics

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and everything I ever wanted to put in a cookbook.

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My second cookbook is Delicious Gatherings, and it's recipes to celebrate together.

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So in Delicious Gatherings, I was able to explore a little bit more about entertaining

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and gathering people around meals you want to share and recipes that are shareable, but

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easy enough for a weeknight dinner.

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So that was a fun book to put together as well.

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I love that you have the word easy in there because I have three boys and I'm really busy,

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you know, and I do like to cook, but sometimes I just need something easy and I want it to

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be good and I want it to be easy.

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And so some people will be like wanting all this gourmet stuff.

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That's great.

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Okay.

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Maybe for Saturday or Sunday when you have a lot of time, but the reality of it is we

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need easy meals.

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We need easy meals.

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And I have to say, I do throw around the word easy, probably a little bit more than a novice

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cook might care to hear me say, but I think I've got a few tips for making cooking easy.

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I want to share the idea of having fun in the kitchen, enjoying your time in the kitchen,

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even though weeknight dinners are a chore and feeding yourself and your family can sometimes

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feel like a chore.

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So when I say easy, I do have that thought in my head that easy, if you make sure to

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number one, read through the recipe, get all your ingredients in place, do what I, you

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know, mise en place, which is get everything in order and prepped before you start cooking.

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So if you take a few simple steps before you endeavor on any of my recipes, that's when

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I say, okay, this is going to be easy.

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But there is a little of that preparation, both mental and thought and physical preparation

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that goes into an easy meal.

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That's not just dumping a few cans in a slow cooker.

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Right.

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And I mean, I think I know what you're saying when getting everything ready, because I've

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done things where I like, don't have something ready.

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I'm like, okay, I'll, I'll chop this while that's cooking.

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Sometimes that brings in the panic mode for yourself, trying to keep up and you're like,

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oh no, I can't do it.

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Or the dog is bothering you, the kids are asking you things.

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But if you have everything ready, it makes sense.

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It's going to be less stressful for you because you work all day long and then you're making

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a meal.

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So you don't want to have more stress in your meal.

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Right?

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I think that's totally true.

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Even to the extent of pulling those spices out of the cupboard and pulling out your measuring

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spoons, whether you put it in a little bowl or not, right?

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You just, like you said, you think, oh, I'm going to start the soup and I don't need to

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add the mushrooms until halfway through the process.

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But if you don't have those chopped, yep, you're right.

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The dog needs to be let out.

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The kid comes in and says, and then you've got to turn the pot off and like it throws

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everything off.

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Right?

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Yeah.

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Well, I've had that too.

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And if you're anything like me, my spice cupboard is crazy.

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I mean, it's just crazy.

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And so like, I'm like pulling things out.

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Sometimes you have to pull out like 30 spices to get to the right one.

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I'm like, how do I have this many spices?

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But I do.

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It's so true.

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I feel you.

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Oh my gosh.

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That's so crazy.

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So I love that.

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And I also love the whole holiday stuff because obviously everybody's thinking about Thanksgiving

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right now.

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Yeah.

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So one of the things I wanted to ask you too, on your website or in your book, do you have

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some favorite Thanksgiving recipes that you'd like to recommend?

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I certainly do.

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Thanks for asking.

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Oh, Thanksgiving.

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That is like the food marathon of the year, right?

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It is just one of my favorite meals to share and to make.

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And in Delicious Gatherings, I actually, let's start with the turkey.

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I did a unique turkey.

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So working in publishing and working in magazines for many years, I have cooked countless turkeys.

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And usually I'll do something classic or add a fun flavor or base it in something unique.

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And I think turkey should just be very simple and flavorful so that the gravy that you make

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from that turkey is delicious.

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And so that your sides can really shine.

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But in Delicious Gatherings, I wanted something that would be faster.

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The turkey is usually the thing that takes the longest and the most work.

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So I have a recipe where I cook the turkey in pieces.

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So you can cut it into pieces or your butcher can cut it into pieces and you cut it into

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five large pieces, lay it on your baking sheet and roast all those pieces.

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It is glorious.

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The skin gets nice and golden.

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The meat gets perfectly cooked and it's almost in half the time.

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So that's my big turkey call out.

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I love it.

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And so since I've created that recipe, we've been doing that as a family for many years.

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And then I have to say the sides for me are what shine.

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And I've got some miso honey brussel sprouts in my cookbook.

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The rolls, dinner rolls, I mean, you can't be beat with just some classic dinner rolls.

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I'm cooking in my book right now and cranberry sauce is another staple.

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And often it's cooked with a lot of sugar and it's this almost like jam, right?

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And it's delicious.

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But I did a fresh cranberry sauce, which sounds so interesting.

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I blended fresh cranberries or frozen in a food processor and chopped them up and added

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orange zest and orange juice and a little sweetener.

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And it makes this almost like a fresh relish.

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It's so good.

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Yummy.

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Yes.

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Well, and I could go on.

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I mean, next would be the pies.

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And I love bringing in, you know, I think there should be a pie per person at Thanksgiving.

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I know, right?

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When you want leftovers, right?

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I mean, everybody wants the leftovers, so it's not bad to make more pies.

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Oh my gosh.

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Isn't that what we do?

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Pie for breakfast the next day?

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I mean, that's a thing.

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That's a thing.

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Pie for breakfast.

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I've heard many people say that.

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I'm like, it's not just me.

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We can just really dive into that pie for breakfast thing after Thanksgiving.

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I love it.

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I know.

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Absolutely.

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So when you were making your cookbooks, what drove you, first of all, to want to make them?

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And was it more arduous to make than you expected?

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Great question.

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I had been a food editor at magazines for over 10 years.

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And I thought, oh, I could write a cookbook.

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I've been publishing recipes professionally every month in these monthly magazines.

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I could absolutely, it'll be so easy.

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And I will tell you, it knocked my socks off.

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It was much harder than I thought it would be.

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And while creating the recipes was a joy and one of the best parts, I think for me, it

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was very hard to figure out the flow of the cookbook, the organization of the cookbook.

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And once I got all these wonderful recipes created, I was like, oh, wait, I need this

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kind of recipe to round this chapter out, or I need this kind of chapter.

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And you get so far into the process, and I wanted the book to be a beautiful journey

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and be able to flip through the pages and really get into the book instead of just having

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it piecemeal.

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So for me, that was tricky because it wasn't just a story about the best mashed potatoes

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that I would put in a magazine.

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It was one mashed potato recipe and then things that go with it.

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And how do you put that together in a meal, a dinner, something accessible for people?

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So it was a challenge.

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It really is.

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And then, so how many times do you generally make your recipes before you decide, okay,

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this is it?

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Or is it different for every recipe?

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Oh, it's absolutely different for every recipe, for sure.

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Certainly there are things like maybe a cookie or a vegetable side dish or a salad that you

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can put together and have.

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I have a vision.

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I've written down sort of a skeleton of a recipe on paper and I can make it once.

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It's great.

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And I send it off to a friend or my mom or somebody to cross test it.

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So I've made it maybe once, right?

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And then I was just talking with a friend the other day.

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There was a recipe in Delicious Gatherings for a lemon pound cake.

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And I made that over 16 times to get it perfect.

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Because when you're developing something, you only want to make one little change each

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time you make it to see how it reacts, especially with a baking recipe, because it's chemistry.

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And so there's your spectrum.

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I mean, sometimes it's once or twice and other times, very rarely, it's 16 times.

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And that's brutal.

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But yeah, you're right.

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You need to do it.

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And then you also have to have it look nice for the pictures.

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I mean, that's the whole thing too.

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Now, do you do your own pictures or do you hire a photographer?

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A little of both.

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So for my cookbooks, I hired my friend who is a professional photographer.

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And he is so talented.

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And so Ty Mecham is his name.

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And he photographed both of my cookbooks.

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And I did the food styling, which is making the food for the photography.

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So it was a great team effort.

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And I also brought in my friend Veronica, who is a prop stylist.

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So she was able to pull all the beautiful props and the linens and the dishes.

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And we worked as a team.

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When I create content for my blog, I often will be shooting it myself.

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Sometimes I use a fancy camera, sometimes I use my iPhone.

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And I do the prop styling and the art direction and all of that.

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So it's a mix.

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It depends on what I'm shooting, what I'm working on.

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For the most part, my books are professionally shot.

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And then my blog is often me.

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Exactly.

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And that's really fun because you get the full gamut of doing things.

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You know, I think that's really cool and really fun.

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So tell us some of the magazines you've worked for.

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And also, you're also a trained chef, right?

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So tell us a little bit more about your background.

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Yeah.

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So my training, really, I went to a traditional university.

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I went to both BYU and Utah State University.

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And between the two, I got my degree in culinary arts.

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And I minored in journalism, knowing that I didn't want to work at a restaurant.

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I thought, I would love to get into publishing.

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And so that really propelled me into the world of publishing.

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And I did an internship at Martha Stewart Magazine.

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So cool.

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Yeah, it was amazing.

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It was not to date myself, but it was over 20 years ago.

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And when the industry was very robust and Martha Stewart was the place to be.

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So it was a great after school education.

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But my internship turned into a job.

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And so I became a food editor at Martha Stewart Living Magazine.

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Awesome.

00:12:27.100 --> 00:12:29.020
Yeah, it was really amazing.

00:12:29.020 --> 00:12:36.620
I got great experience learning recipe development, and food styling and publishing and TV, all

00:12:36.620 --> 00:12:39.620
aspects of food media.

00:12:39.620 --> 00:12:41.700
And after that, I was there.

00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:48.180
I mean, I often joke, I was there until she went to jail.

00:12:48.180 --> 00:12:54.420
And then that sort of made me think, okay, maybe I should move on.

00:12:54.420 --> 00:12:58.980
But I left Martha Stewart and just did some freelance work.

00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:04.860
So I was able to do food styling and recipe creation for different publications, for other

00:13:04.860 --> 00:13:08.060
people's cookbooks, for advertising.

00:13:08.060 --> 00:13:13.260
And a few years later, Ladies Home Journal came to me and said, Hey, you know, we're

00:13:13.260 --> 00:13:15.860
looking for a new food director.

00:13:15.860 --> 00:13:20.700
And so after quite a few months of back and forth at work that I became the food editor

00:13:20.700 --> 00:13:23.100
of Ladies Home Journal magazine.

00:13:23.100 --> 00:13:25.500
And yes, it was fantastic.

00:13:25.500 --> 00:13:29.860
So Ladies Home Journal was one of the seven sister magazines.

00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:34.740
They called those women's lifestyle magazines, the seven sisters and it was, you know, Women's

00:13:34.740 --> 00:13:40.340
Day, Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal, you know, classic, yes, classic.

00:13:40.340 --> 00:13:47.820
And those magazines really changed the way women cooked and ran their homes.

00:13:47.820 --> 00:13:52.020
And it just was sort of education.

00:13:52.020 --> 00:13:57.220
Those pages had articles and inspiration, not just about food, but for everything.

00:13:57.220 --> 00:14:04.500
And it was so fun to be part of that legacy of lifestyle magazines and be a part of that.

00:14:05.260 --> 00:14:06.260
That is amazing.

00:14:06.260 --> 00:14:11.660
I mean, just to be a part of that and think about how many people, women in particular,

00:14:11.660 --> 00:14:15.820
I'm sure some men, maybe we have read it too, but how many you've influenced?

00:14:15.820 --> 00:14:17.340
I mean, that's just phenomenal.

00:14:17.340 --> 00:14:21.020
I mean, that's a great, I don't know what they call it, footprint in your life.

00:14:21.020 --> 00:14:22.580
I mean, that's just amazing.

00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:24.660
Yes, it was a great experience.

00:14:24.660 --> 00:14:28.580
And I learned so much from both publications.

00:14:28.580 --> 00:14:32.540
They were run very differently.

00:14:32.540 --> 00:14:38.980
And I think I got a lot of great experience sort of speaking to the masses and sharing

00:14:38.980 --> 00:14:41.260
my food and recipes with the masses.

00:14:41.260 --> 00:14:48.380
And so when I transitioned from publishing to writing my blog and doing my own thing,

00:14:48.380 --> 00:14:52.260
I still wanted to share with a lot of people.

00:14:52.260 --> 00:14:57.060
And that's what turned me on to starting my own blog because I was just sharing my recipes

00:14:57.140 --> 00:15:02.140
with a few friends and family and I would just get people saying, Oh, do you have a

00:15:02.140 --> 00:15:03.140
recipe for this?

00:15:03.140 --> 00:15:04.980
Oh, do you have a recipe for this?

00:15:04.980 --> 00:15:09.980
And I thought, you know, I'm used to sharing all of this with so many people and how can

00:15:09.980 --> 00:15:10.980
I do that?

00:15:10.980 --> 00:15:12.340
And so it turned into my blog.

00:15:12.340 --> 00:15:14.900
Well, that's perfect because yeah, it's always there.

00:15:14.900 --> 00:15:18.260
People can, I mean, you can be in the grocery store and be like, Oh wait, what did I need

00:15:18.260 --> 00:15:19.260
for that recipe?

00:15:19.260 --> 00:15:20.260
And you can pull it up.

00:15:20.260 --> 00:15:21.260
You know what I mean?

00:15:21.260 --> 00:15:22.260
Yes.

00:15:22.260 --> 00:15:24.420
It's such a cool day we live in, isn't it?

00:15:24.420 --> 00:15:25.420
It is.

00:15:25.420 --> 00:15:26.420
It really is.

00:15:26.780 --> 00:15:30.300
So you're, you now moved into the era of your career where you're your own boss, right?

00:15:30.300 --> 00:15:31.820
So you're like your own business.

00:15:31.820 --> 00:15:33.300
How do you like that?

00:15:33.300 --> 00:15:39.060
I like it and I don't, but in bad things about it, I never set out to be an entrepreneur

00:15:39.060 --> 00:15:41.260
or run my own business.

00:15:41.260 --> 00:15:46.620
And while I'm doing it and I'm really proud of what I do, it is daily challenge to wear

00:15:46.620 --> 00:15:51.340
all the hats of being an entrepreneur and a creative person.

00:15:51.340 --> 00:15:57.020
So yeah, it's needing to create that content and go into that artistic mode and creation

00:15:57.020 --> 00:16:02.380
mode and then switch over and do accounting and marketing and emails and business and

00:16:02.380 --> 00:16:04.580
estimates for clients and all of that.

00:16:04.580 --> 00:16:06.260
And it's, it's a challenge.

00:16:06.260 --> 00:16:07.260
It's hard.

00:16:07.260 --> 00:16:08.260
It is.

00:16:08.260 --> 00:16:10.180
I mean, you can hire some things out, but yeah, you end up doing, you end up just doing

00:16:10.180 --> 00:16:12.460
everything at some point or another.

00:16:12.460 --> 00:16:16.660
You know, even if you hire something out for a while or, you know, a part of it, you still

00:16:16.660 --> 00:16:18.260
end up doing something.

00:16:18.260 --> 00:16:21.780
So in saying that, where do you tend to like publish your stuff?

00:16:21.780 --> 00:16:26.860
Do you use Pinterest or what's your biggest social media platform that you are presenting

00:16:26.860 --> 00:16:29.660
stuff to the masses through?

00:16:29.660 --> 00:16:30.660
Pinterest is always there.

00:16:30.660 --> 00:16:34.060
I'll say that you mentioned it and active on Pinterest.

00:16:34.060 --> 00:16:36.100
All my content is on Pinterest.

00:16:36.100 --> 00:16:42.700
I'm mostly my face and me and my engagement is on Facebook and Instagram.

00:16:42.700 --> 00:16:47.220
And so I'm there, that's a great place to be able to engage with people and answer questions

00:16:47.220 --> 00:16:50.660
and share my newest content.

00:16:50.660 --> 00:16:55.820
But I will say as a business person, we're often told you don't own Instagram, you don't

00:16:55.820 --> 00:16:57.780
own social media.

00:16:57.780 --> 00:17:03.540
So I've really been focusing on my newsletter and that has been so fun because it's so much

00:17:03.540 --> 00:17:09.860
more personal and I can connect with people as often as I want and in a very personal

00:17:09.860 --> 00:17:12.400
way and curated way.

00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:19.000
So my newsletter is a big part of my business, but like you said, I do still publish in a

00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:20.240
lot of other magazines.

00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:25.640
So Better Homes and Gardens, Food Network Magazine, All Recipes Magazine, I will do

00:17:25.640 --> 00:17:29.440
little articles and things for those magazines as well.

00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:31.160
So that's still fun to do that.

00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:35.360
That's a great way also to reach more people and, you know, like, okay, you're just, you're

00:17:35.360 --> 00:17:39.440
reaching another potential audience when you do that kind of stuff.

00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:40.440
Yeah.

00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:41.440
So important.

00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:44.760
But it's very arduous and we don't own these social media platforms, but that's another

00:17:44.760 --> 00:17:50.560
reason to be on multiple also because, so I feel like, I always feel like Pinterest

00:17:50.560 --> 00:17:54.880
is like a slow burn, you know, like it's just, it takes a while.

00:17:54.880 --> 00:18:00.160
It's a slow burn and other, other platforms aren't that way, but it's good to be on multiple

00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:02.000
and then you have YouTube as well, right?

00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:06.480
I have a YouTube channel and that's where I put all of my videos and things like that.

00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:10.760
And, but I don't focus on creating content just for YouTube.

00:18:11.080 --> 00:18:16.240
I really just want to create content that can live in one place on my website.

00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:20.760
Everyone can go there for videos, for recipes, for tips and content.

00:18:20.760 --> 00:18:25.760
And then all of the other things are sort of just little outlets that help people get

00:18:25.760 --> 00:18:27.840
to TaraTeaspoon.com.

00:18:27.840 --> 00:18:33.320
So yes, I'm on YouTube and of course I'm on TikTok, but I don't like TikTok.

00:18:33.320 --> 00:18:36.200
I know, but it's good to be there.

00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:37.840
Someone might bump into you, right?

00:18:37.840 --> 00:18:38.840
You know?

00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:39.920
Yes.

00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:42.920
It's like, Hey TikTok, come on over to TaraTeaspoon.com.

00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:43.920
Yeah.

00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:46.840
And again, like you said, then you own your website.

00:18:46.840 --> 00:18:50.200
So you, you know, someone's not going to all of a sudden decide, Oh, you're out.

00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:54.760
I'm going to kick you out, you know, whatever reason, or your engagement goes down.

00:18:54.760 --> 00:18:55.760
Yeah.

00:18:55.760 --> 00:18:56.880
Yeah, exactly.

00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:59.160
So when you, where did you start your website?

00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:02.040
Have you been doing it for many years or is it relatively new for you?

00:19:02.040 --> 00:19:06.560
Oh, well, started my website coming up on my 10 year anniversary.

00:19:06.560 --> 00:19:08.520
It seems crazy.

00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:14.160
It seems crazy to me because it's always been only one arm of my business.

00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:17.600
So for several years, when I started it, it was sort of on the back burner.

00:19:17.600 --> 00:19:19.120
I was doing client work.

00:19:19.120 --> 00:19:24.360
I was creating recipes for food brands and I was doing food styling and I was, and my

00:19:24.360 --> 00:19:29.600
blog just kind of was something that I could contribute to and share time.

00:19:29.600 --> 00:19:30.600
Yeah.

00:19:30.600 --> 00:19:31.600
When I had time.

00:19:31.600 --> 00:19:36.320
And so it was quite a few years until I started treating it more as a business and my primary

00:19:36.320 --> 00:19:38.880
mode of sharing content.

00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:41.720
So I don't often think of it as being 10 years old.

00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:47.880
It is, but I probably have been working on it probably about six or seven years more

00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:48.880
robustly.

00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:49.880
Yeah.

00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:51.520
And that's a whole thing to learn too.

00:19:51.520 --> 00:19:56.280
And I think, I feel like in this day and age, all this technology, that's a challenge to

00:19:56.280 --> 00:19:59.920
being an entrepreneur because you're constantly new technology.

00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:00.920
You're keeping up.

00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:01.920
Oh, this is new.

00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:02.920
You've got to try this.

00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:03.920
Oh, you've got to go this way.

00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:04.920
It is.

00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:05.920
It's a challenge to keep up on.

00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:07.360
Oh, Julie, it really is.

00:20:07.360 --> 00:20:12.600
And I've told a lot of people, it feels like I've gone back to school the last 10 years.

00:20:12.600 --> 00:20:19.760
I've had to self-educate, I've gone to conferences, I've read manuals, I've taken courses in order

00:20:19.760 --> 00:20:22.480
to run my business online.

00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:28.240
Because when I was an editor, we had a web department, we had somebody that ran Pinterest,

00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:33.640
we had a photo department, we had all of these, the infrastructure to support me as the food

00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:34.640
editor.

00:20:35.360 --> 00:20:41.200
So when I created my own business, oh, suddenly I've got to learn keywording and SEO and backend

00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:44.520
website management and all of this stuff.

00:20:44.520 --> 00:20:45.520
And it was a lot.

00:20:45.520 --> 00:20:48.000
It's been a constant education.

00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:50.320
Oh, absolutely.

00:20:50.320 --> 00:20:51.320
It's rewarding.

00:20:51.320 --> 00:20:53.000
But like you said, it's constant.

00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:56.380
It's often changing, trying to keep up.

00:20:56.380 --> 00:21:02.680
New things come out, all the AI stuff now, it's definitely crazy.

00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:05.960
I would love to know a little bit more about what it was like being on the TV shows and

00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:06.960
doing the spots.

00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:07.960
How was that?

00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:08.960
Was that fun for you?

00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:09.960
Was it painful?

00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:10.960
Was it a joy?

00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:18.480
Well, I'll tell you what, funny enough, my first foray to television was with Martha

00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:20.600
Stewart herself.

00:21:20.600 --> 00:21:27.480
So as a food editor, yeah, it was crazy and I didn't realize the impact of it at the time.

00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:32.680
When I was an editor at the magazine, they often would ask us to go on TV with Martha

00:21:32.680 --> 00:21:35.120
and to share some of our recipes and things like that.

00:21:35.120 --> 00:21:40.320
So I was asked to share some of my recipes and go and demonstrate them with Martha on

00:21:40.320 --> 00:21:41.880
her television show.

00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:47.140
And I didn't think much of it other than, oh, I've got to make sure I know my content

00:21:47.140 --> 00:21:50.200
and I can be presentable.

00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:52.160
And they gave us a script.

00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:56.360
And you know, what's funny is those first few episodes with Martha, we had a script

00:21:56.360 --> 00:22:00.440
and it would say, Tara says this, Martha says this, Tara says this.

00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:04.760
And we didn't have to follow it exactly, but we knew what topics or questions we would

00:22:04.760 --> 00:22:08.440
be asking and answering so that the flow of the show went well.

00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:09.440
Yeah.

00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:10.960
Julie, I get on there.

00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:12.760
Martha started stealing all my lines.

00:22:12.760 --> 00:22:14.480
Oh my God.

00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:16.920
So I didn't have anything to say.

00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:19.440
I think on your feet.

00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:20.440
Yeah.

00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:26.120
So that was my first experience having to improvise on TV and to, you know, sort of

00:22:26.120 --> 00:22:29.640
jump in and be like, okay, my line is no longer there.

00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:30.640
What do I say?

00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:31.640
How do I keep this going?

00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:36.600
So that was just, I looked back and I laughed because she, she was in charge.

00:22:36.600 --> 00:22:41.640
She could do whatever she wanted and she was just kind of taking it and running with it.

00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:47.560
But after I did several shows with Martha, then I started to do a little bit of national

00:22:47.560 --> 00:22:49.020
and local TV.

00:22:49.020 --> 00:22:55.380
So I was lucky enough to be on the today show and appear demoing recipes and talking

00:22:55.380 --> 00:22:59.060
about food products and all this fun stuff.

00:22:59.060 --> 00:23:02.340
And I loved being on the today show as a food editor.

00:23:02.340 --> 00:23:03.700
Yeah, it was so fun.

00:23:03.700 --> 00:23:08.520
I was on quite a few times and I've done local TV.

00:23:08.520 --> 00:23:15.300
So my family lived in Utah for many years and I would do local TV shows there.

00:23:15.380 --> 00:23:19.340
I've done some Fox News out here in New York.

00:23:19.340 --> 00:23:26.460
I, then let's talk about the pandemic during the pandemic, suddenly, yes, all these local

00:23:26.460 --> 00:23:28.980
TV shows needed content.

00:23:28.980 --> 00:23:30.300
So we would zoom in.

00:23:30.300 --> 00:23:37.940
So I had to figure out how to light myself at my home and demo for zoom to go to Chicago

00:23:37.940 --> 00:23:40.740
or California or wherever it was zooming into.

00:23:40.740 --> 00:23:44.580
So yeah, I've kind of been all over the place with TV.

00:23:44.580 --> 00:23:47.140
You have what a journey that is.

00:23:47.140 --> 00:23:52.380
I mean, not everybody can say they've been on these shows, you know, like that's so fun.

00:23:52.380 --> 00:23:53.380
It's been great.

00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:54.380
Yes.

00:23:54.380 --> 00:23:55.460
Do you do you still seek that kind of stuff out?

00:23:55.460 --> 00:23:57.940
Are you kind of focusing in a different way?

00:23:57.940 --> 00:24:03.380
Well, as much as I say it's fun, I, I don't like being in front of the camera.

00:24:03.380 --> 00:24:07.580
It's a considerate part of my job, but I get very nervous.

00:24:07.580 --> 00:24:11.620
I have stage fright and I sort of turn into a different person.

00:24:11.620 --> 00:24:16.300
And I sort of say, okay, Tara, you've got to go into TV mode now so that I don't have

00:24:16.300 --> 00:24:17.540
that stage fright.

00:24:17.540 --> 00:24:20.140
So honestly, like you said, do I seek it out?

00:24:20.140 --> 00:24:25.420
Not very often, you don't really need to, you know, I mean, you have other ways that

00:24:25.420 --> 00:24:26.420
you're out there.

00:24:26.420 --> 00:24:27.420
Yeah.

00:24:27.420 --> 00:24:31.780
So if it comes to me, that's great, but I do every once in a while when I had my cookbooks

00:24:31.780 --> 00:24:38.340
were launching or I have a big sort of content event, then absolutely I will pitch that to

00:24:38.340 --> 00:24:41.580
TV stations because it's a great marketing tool.

00:24:41.580 --> 00:24:42.580
Oh, for sure.

00:24:42.580 --> 00:24:43.580
Yeah, absolutely.

00:24:43.580 --> 00:24:47.540
And just like there's, you know, kind of the whole TV market has exploded.

00:24:47.540 --> 00:24:51.420
We have all these cable channels, all these subscriptions, there's subscriptions, there's

00:24:51.420 --> 00:24:54.900
just so much out there that people can access.

00:24:54.900 --> 00:24:58.220
So it definitely is a great way to spread it around.

00:24:58.220 --> 00:24:59.220
Yes.

00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:00.220
And podcasts.

00:25:00.220 --> 00:25:06.300
I love that you brought me onto your podcast because that is a great fun way to share my

00:25:06.300 --> 00:25:08.100
content with other people.

00:25:08.860 --> 00:25:09.860
It really is because you can reach more people.

00:25:09.860 --> 00:25:13.380
And, you know, a really cool thing about, I think, podcasts is that you see the list

00:25:13.380 --> 00:25:14.380
of them all.

00:25:14.380 --> 00:25:17.940
You go to that and see the list of them right there and you can go to them and listen anytime

00:25:17.940 --> 00:25:18.940
you want.

00:25:18.940 --> 00:25:19.940
Yeah.

00:25:19.940 --> 00:25:20.940
So it's just like this directory.

00:25:20.940 --> 00:25:22.300
We're like, hey, look at this.

00:25:22.300 --> 00:25:23.300
Look at that.

00:25:23.300 --> 00:25:24.300
You know, it's, I think it's great.

00:25:24.300 --> 00:25:25.300
It's fun.

00:25:25.300 --> 00:25:26.300
It's great.

00:25:26.300 --> 00:25:27.300
Yeah.

00:25:27.300 --> 00:25:28.300
It really is.

00:25:28.300 --> 00:25:31.780
So do you have any, like, secret tips you can tell us about anything?

00:25:31.780 --> 00:25:35.140
I mean, any kind of, I always like to ask people what they're, because, you know, most

00:25:35.140 --> 00:25:41.260
people who cook have ideas or they have tricks that work for them that are just really valuable.

00:25:41.260 --> 00:25:42.260
Oh, gosh.

00:25:42.260 --> 00:25:47.740
I, well, we could start in on another hour there, but I think there are a few things

00:25:47.740 --> 00:25:52.740
that I like to share with people that maybe don't enjoy cooking or say, I would like to

00:25:52.740 --> 00:25:59.300
learn to cook more, but, you know, I don't know how, or it seems like a daunting task.

00:25:59.300 --> 00:26:03.860
So there are a few things that I like to say, get the right equipment in place.

00:26:03.860 --> 00:26:04.860
Start out right.

00:26:05.580 --> 00:26:06.580
Set yourself up for success.

00:26:06.580 --> 00:26:10.140
Have a set of sharp knives and keep them sharp.

00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:15.780
Have a great cutting board, have a nice set of pots and pans, or some of the basics.

00:26:15.780 --> 00:26:19.940
You don't need to have a giant test kitchen like I do with every piece of equipment, but

00:26:19.940 --> 00:26:26.340
just giving yourself the opportunity to be, like I said, set up for success, get some

00:26:26.340 --> 00:26:33.780
basic tools, a few gadgets that you know you'll use, and then you can start cooking and enjoying

00:26:33.780 --> 00:26:39.300
it because you have the right tools to create what you're, what you're making.

00:26:39.300 --> 00:26:44.060
And the other thing we talked about spices earlier, and it just made me think, I think

00:26:44.060 --> 00:26:45.260
we have a tendency.

00:26:45.260 --> 00:26:46.380
I love flavor.

00:26:46.380 --> 00:26:53.700
I love adding new and unique flavors to different dishes and spices are often that easy way

00:26:53.700 --> 00:26:54.700
to do that.

00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:56.980
But I think we keep our spices too long.

00:26:56.980 --> 00:27:00.620
So sometimes we'll be like, Oh, I know.

00:27:00.620 --> 00:27:07.260
So we think our food isn't as flavorful as we want, or, you know, whatever.

00:27:07.260 --> 00:27:10.380
Go through your spices about every six months to a year.

00:27:10.380 --> 00:27:17.100
And I know some chefs and aficionados will say three months to six months, but it's okay

00:27:17.100 --> 00:27:21.580
to change them out after a year or so, but just do go through them.

00:27:21.580 --> 00:27:27.260
Like if you open up that dried basil oregano and it doesn't smell like dried basil or oregano

00:27:27.260 --> 00:27:28.260
anymore.

00:27:28.260 --> 00:27:29.260
Right.

00:27:29.260 --> 00:27:30.260
Right.

00:27:30.260 --> 00:27:31.260
You got to throw it out and get some new stuff.

00:27:31.260 --> 00:27:35.020
Same with all those spices like cinnamon and ginger and all spice.

00:27:35.020 --> 00:27:40.620
Now that we're coming up on holiday baking, if yours don't smell potent and fresh, they

00:27:40.620 --> 00:27:42.420
have lost their power.

00:27:42.420 --> 00:27:45.700
So your gingerbread is not going to taste delicious.

00:27:45.700 --> 00:27:49.100
So get some new spices, refresh those every once in a while.

00:27:49.100 --> 00:27:54.820
And I think that kind of helps people be so happy about what they've created and cooked.

00:27:54.820 --> 00:27:55.820
I think that's so true.

00:27:55.820 --> 00:27:56.820
Yeah.

00:27:56.820 --> 00:27:57.820
And that's like something I don't usually think about.

00:27:57.820 --> 00:28:00.980
Like I think, Oh, I have that in there, but I don't often know how long I've had it.

00:28:00.980 --> 00:28:04.860
You know, like maybe I need to start putting the date on there, you know, like in a Sharpie

00:28:04.860 --> 00:28:06.500
on the lid or something.

00:28:06.500 --> 00:28:10.820
We would all be better off if we just tip that spice jar over and wrote the date on

00:28:10.820 --> 00:28:11.820
the bottom.

00:28:11.820 --> 00:28:12.820
Right.

00:28:12.820 --> 00:28:13.820
Right.

00:28:13.820 --> 00:28:14.820
And I do that for myself.

00:28:14.820 --> 00:28:17.900
Like I do it for like dressings and stuff and pizza sauce in the oven, not in the oven,

00:28:17.900 --> 00:28:20.300
in the fridge, but I never do it for my spices.

00:28:20.300 --> 00:28:24.180
And it didn't even occur to me until now that that's something that would be very beneficial

00:28:24.180 --> 00:28:25.180
to me.

00:28:25.540 --> 00:28:27.820
That would be helpful because we do have all our senses.

00:28:27.820 --> 00:28:32.940
We have the taste and the smell to check them, but just knowing, Hey, Oh, this is two years

00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:33.940
old.

00:28:33.940 --> 00:28:37.380
I didn't even realize, you know, so that's a fun one.

00:28:37.380 --> 00:28:41.380
And then I would say, you know, I talked about it, having the right equipment and keeping

00:28:41.380 --> 00:28:48.980
your flavors fresh, but having a pantry with fun stock basics in both of my books, I have

00:28:48.980 --> 00:28:55.020
a page that talks about what I call pantry staples, but they're, they're new.

00:28:55.860 --> 00:28:59.620
You think of pantry staples as like, Oh, we've got cans of beans and flour and sugar and,

00:28:59.620 --> 00:29:01.100
you know, our chocolate chips, whatever.

00:29:01.100 --> 00:29:08.620
But I think new pantry staples can include things like Sriracha sauce and different seasonings

00:29:08.620 --> 00:29:15.260
and make sure you've got that bottle of Worcestershire on hand and things that bring a lot of umami

00:29:15.260 --> 00:29:19.740
and flavor in are now the new pantry staples, right?

00:29:19.740 --> 00:29:23.060
That's great idea to think about and just make sure you have it, you know, and they

00:29:23.060 --> 00:29:24.060
stay fresh.

00:29:24.060 --> 00:29:27.620
If you don't open them, you can have an extra bottle there when they're sealed, right?

00:29:27.620 --> 00:29:29.420
They're going to, you could usually have a date on them.

00:29:29.420 --> 00:29:32.020
They can stay fresh for a really long time.

00:29:32.020 --> 00:29:33.020
Absolutely.

00:29:33.020 --> 00:29:36.540
But to just have it on hand, it can be so important.

00:29:36.540 --> 00:29:37.540
Yes.

00:29:37.540 --> 00:29:42.660
And then I think also one last thing would be to change up your grocery lists and it

00:29:42.660 --> 00:29:49.300
goes along with this new pantry staples idea of bringing new and unique flavors into your

00:29:49.300 --> 00:29:51.180
home if you don't already use them.

00:29:51.180 --> 00:29:57.460
So I use things like always make sure I'm stocked with garlic, fresh ginger, one or

00:29:57.460 --> 00:30:01.220
two fresh herbs in the fridge just to pump up a dish or two.

00:30:01.220 --> 00:30:05.220
Like if you throw something in the slow cooker, how delicious is it if you put some chopped

00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:08.020
fresh parsley or rosemary on top of it?

00:30:08.020 --> 00:30:11.700
And then, you know, if you don't use that rosemary up before it's going bad, throw it

00:30:11.700 --> 00:30:16.820
in with some roast chicken or let it dry and crumble it into a jar.

00:30:16.820 --> 00:30:23.180
So expense of these ingredients can be utilized more than we think if we just kind of change

00:30:23.180 --> 00:30:24.180
our mindset.

00:30:24.180 --> 00:30:29.340
I think other things that I keep in my pantry and fridge, maybe we didn't use to, are coconut

00:30:29.340 --> 00:30:36.620
milk, you know, different broths that better than bouillon or different vegetable broths

00:30:36.620 --> 00:30:44.500
and beef broths, things like that, capers, spices like turmeric and sumac and sesame

00:30:44.500 --> 00:30:49.700
seeds, different vinegars, balsamic, white balsamic, sherry vinegar.

00:30:49.700 --> 00:30:54.380
Oh, isn't that fun to think that, oh, I've got those flavors on hand and I can make something

00:30:54.380 --> 00:30:55.380
different.

00:30:55.380 --> 00:30:58.140
And where I am, I don't know, they probably have them by YouTube, but they have a lot

00:30:58.140 --> 00:31:01.820
of these stores where they have all these different flavored vinegars and oils.

00:31:01.820 --> 00:31:04.060
And it's so fun.

00:31:04.060 --> 00:31:08.020
And the last time we went, I think they would still let you taste it, but COVID changed.

00:31:08.020 --> 00:31:09.820
They used to always have like their samples out.

00:31:09.820 --> 00:31:13.180
Now you have to like go specifically ask, Hey, can I taste this?

00:31:13.180 --> 00:31:15.340
But it's such a fun thing to do.

00:31:15.340 --> 00:31:19.740
And it's amazing how many different flavored vinegars and oils there are out there.

00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:20.740
It's amazing.

00:31:20.740 --> 00:31:22.860
I mean, it changes your salad game.

00:31:22.860 --> 00:31:28.700
It changes your roasted vegetable game just by having one of those fun ingredients that

00:31:28.700 --> 00:31:33.140
might think is a specialty ingredient, but it might become your new favorite staple.

00:31:33.140 --> 00:31:34.140
Yeah.

00:31:34.140 --> 00:31:35.140
Yeah.

00:31:35.140 --> 00:31:37.940
Like, and I never used to use sesame oil and when I'm making an Asian dish, now I use sesame

00:31:37.940 --> 00:31:41.940
oil and I'm like, oh wow, this actually, it does change it.

00:31:41.940 --> 00:31:42.940
For sure.

00:31:43.700 --> 00:31:46.940
So it's fun to, you know, find one of those new things that you and your family love.

00:31:46.940 --> 00:31:48.300
I think it's great.

00:31:48.300 --> 00:31:50.620
We also went to one and they had a, oh, it was amazing.

00:31:50.620 --> 00:31:53.260
I think it was like an 18 year aged balsamic.

00:31:53.260 --> 00:31:55.440
Oh, it was unbelievable.

00:31:55.440 --> 00:31:57.180
I'm like, we ate it so quickly.

00:31:57.180 --> 00:31:58.780
I'm like, wow, this is a thing.

00:31:58.780 --> 00:32:01.860
I was thinking of wine as being aged, but vinegar?

00:32:01.860 --> 00:32:02.860
Vinegar.

00:32:02.860 --> 00:32:06.420
That balsamic, that aged balsamic vinegar, I have to quickly tell you a story.

00:32:06.420 --> 00:32:13.420
My friend owns the company Oleo Piro, which is a Tuscan olive oil company, and they just

00:32:13.420 --> 00:32:17.260
acquired a balsamic vinegar company from Italy.

00:32:17.260 --> 00:32:24.940
And so she brought me a tasting of balsamic vinegars and just that one drop of like a

00:32:24.940 --> 00:32:33.540
24 year old balsamic vinegar is, was incredible, tasted like nothing I have ever experienced.

00:32:33.540 --> 00:32:39.260
And like you said, a 12 year old or an eight year old vinegar, it opens your mind and your

00:32:39.260 --> 00:32:44.500
palate to just something that you may never have experienced unless you just say, that

00:32:44.500 --> 00:32:47.620
is something I really want to try and explore.

00:32:47.620 --> 00:32:48.620
Oh yeah.

00:32:48.620 --> 00:32:51.900
And you know, just even tasting it by itself or putting it on a little bit of bread.

00:32:51.900 --> 00:32:56.820
I mean, let alone using it in recipes, it's, it's amazing in all of those ways.

00:32:56.820 --> 00:32:57.820
Oh, so fun.

00:32:57.820 --> 00:32:59.820
Isn't that, I just love it.

00:32:59.820 --> 00:33:01.900
I know my husband and I did that as a date.

00:33:02.020 --> 00:33:06.340
We went and tasted all these vinegars and I was like, this is really fun.

00:33:06.340 --> 00:33:10.660
Of course we had to buy some, you can't go and not buy some, right?

00:33:10.660 --> 00:33:11.660
What a fun date.

00:33:11.660 --> 00:33:12.660
That sounds great.

00:33:12.660 --> 00:33:13.660
It was fun.

00:33:13.660 --> 00:33:14.660
It was really fun.

00:33:14.660 --> 00:33:17.060
So since we're at the holidays, how about Christmas?

00:33:17.060 --> 00:33:20.580
You have any special Christmas things you like to share or recipes?

00:33:20.580 --> 00:33:23.100
Well, I'm definitely a Christmas cookie gal.

00:33:23.100 --> 00:33:27.820
So my website is full of such fun Christmas cookies.

00:33:27.820 --> 00:33:31.300
Cookie swaps are often a big thing in most neighborhoods.

00:33:31.300 --> 00:33:34.140
And so I say, try something new.

00:33:34.140 --> 00:33:39.780
You know, I did a take on gingerbread a few years ago and it's a honey cinnamon cookie,

00:33:39.780 --> 00:33:42.700
but it has the same texture as gingerbread cookie.

00:33:42.700 --> 00:33:48.100
But instead of using molasses and all those spices, I used honey and cinnamon and it's

00:33:48.100 --> 00:33:54.540
just a delightful Christmas cookie to share and to make that sort of a change from the

00:33:54.540 --> 00:33:55.540
norm.

00:33:56.140 --> 00:34:00.300
Of course, I love all the classics, sugar cookies and, you know, snickerdoodles and

00:34:00.300 --> 00:34:03.940
chocolate cake cookies and things like that with peppermint.

00:34:03.940 --> 00:34:07.740
But take a look at my website, try a new cookie this year for the holidays.

00:34:07.740 --> 00:34:12.540
I just think that is so fun and festive and exciting.

00:34:12.540 --> 00:34:20.140
And for a holiday dinner, my family, we often do a roast, a big roast with all the sides

00:34:20.140 --> 00:34:25.340
and twice baked potatoes and seasonal vegetables and squash.

00:34:25.340 --> 00:34:28.860
My thing for the holidays is I love to use seasonal food.

00:34:28.860 --> 00:34:35.060
You know, the rich root vegetables and hearty greens, things like that.

00:34:35.060 --> 00:34:39.300
Isn't that so fun to now celebrate during the holidays?

00:34:39.300 --> 00:34:45.940
So anyway, we can wait for spring for, you know, artichokes and asparagus, right?

00:34:45.940 --> 00:34:50.820
Let's get in those pomegranates and butternut squash and all those delicious things.

00:34:51.820 --> 00:34:59.220
Try switching up your menu and try a new side dish for your Thanksgiving dinner or your

00:34:59.220 --> 00:35:01.340
Christmas dinner.

00:35:01.340 --> 00:35:07.220
Make a few new appetizers for New Year's or Christmas Eve, you know, get.

00:35:07.220 --> 00:35:09.300
And here's a thought.

00:35:09.300 --> 00:35:11.740
My family is a mixed family.

00:35:11.740 --> 00:35:13.540
Sometimes we have a vegan in the family.

00:35:13.540 --> 00:35:17.140
We have somebody with celiac, so we often cook gluten free.

00:35:17.140 --> 00:35:18.420
We have meat lovers.

00:35:18.420 --> 00:35:20.500
We have it runs the gamut.

00:35:20.500 --> 00:35:21.940
So I think of the holidays.

00:35:21.940 --> 00:35:28.300
Isn't it nice to think about sort of new menus that can feed a varied crowd?

00:35:28.300 --> 00:35:29.300
Yeah, so true.

00:35:29.300 --> 00:35:30.300
I'm true.

00:35:30.300 --> 00:35:31.300
Yeah.

00:35:31.300 --> 00:35:32.460
So I think just switch it up that way.

00:35:32.460 --> 00:35:34.900
Maybe you have something that's a little more main dishy.

00:35:34.900 --> 00:35:38.940
That's a vegetarian dish, but make it so meat lovers can like it.

00:35:38.940 --> 00:35:44.900
You know, I have zucchini stuffed or ricotta, zucchini ravioli, where I use the zucchini

00:35:44.900 --> 00:35:50.360
as the pasta and it's vegetarian and also meat lovers love it.

00:35:51.220 --> 00:35:55.120
So things like that that you can create for a varied crowd are great for the holidays.

00:35:55.120 --> 00:35:56.120
Absolutely.

00:35:56.120 --> 00:35:59.840
Now, do you have any special substitutions that you use?

00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:03.640
Like, you know, you know, people like maybe use applesauce in a recipe instead of something

00:36:03.640 --> 00:36:04.640
else.

00:36:04.640 --> 00:36:08.000
Do you have any of those kind of things you like to do?

00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:13.880
You know, I don't love playing around with substitutes unless it's for a specific diet.

00:36:13.880 --> 00:36:19.440
And then I have my go to's because I think a recipe should be developed for the ingredients

00:36:19.520 --> 00:36:20.520
that you're using.

00:36:20.520 --> 00:36:23.560
Otherwise, you're not setting yourself up for success.

00:36:23.560 --> 00:36:29.960
But I do because I've dealt with these very diets when you're making something dairy free

00:36:29.960 --> 00:36:30.960
or vegan.

00:36:30.960 --> 00:36:34.360
I love that Oikos cultured butter.

00:36:34.360 --> 00:36:40.400
I find that that butter substitute, you could use margarine as well, but the Oikos tastes

00:36:40.400 --> 00:36:44.320
like butter and it still bakes really well in your baked goods.

00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:46.100
So that's a great substitute.

00:36:46.100 --> 00:36:51.480
And then cup for cup flour is my favorite gluten free flour.

00:36:51.480 --> 00:36:58.340
It doesn't have too much cornstarch or thickeners, and it tends to be a really great one for

00:36:58.340 --> 00:37:01.220
one swap other than yeast spreads.

00:37:01.220 --> 00:37:02.420
Yeast spreads are really tricky.

00:37:02.420 --> 00:37:07.100
You've got to have a really formulated recipe for gluten free yeast spreads.

00:37:07.100 --> 00:37:09.120
But those are some of the swaps I use.

00:37:09.120 --> 00:37:15.260
If you're trying to be low fat, that applesauce for the fat swap sometimes works.

00:37:15.260 --> 00:37:23.060
But I just think portion control or just cutting things into smaller pieces is going

00:37:23.060 --> 00:37:25.740
to help with that low fat during the holidays.

00:37:25.740 --> 00:37:30.780
I think it's really hard to make something super delicious with lots of different substitutes.

00:37:30.780 --> 00:37:32.740
Yeah, I think that's so true.

00:37:32.740 --> 00:37:37.620
I was talking about that with somebody recently and we're saying how sometimes you're just

00:37:37.620 --> 00:37:38.620
not even satisfied.

00:37:38.620 --> 00:37:43.380
If you're taking all that fat out, why not just eat less of it instead of completely

00:37:43.380 --> 00:37:44.380
removing it?

00:37:44.380 --> 00:37:46.780
Because you might not be satiated.

00:37:46.780 --> 00:37:51.140
You might find you're hungry again sooner, you know, so sometimes it doesn't always

00:37:51.140 --> 00:37:52.140
out the best.

00:37:52.140 --> 00:37:53.140
That's so true.

00:37:53.140 --> 00:37:54.140
Yeah.

00:37:54.140 --> 00:37:55.140
I've had those conversations with friends too.

00:37:55.140 --> 00:37:56.580
It's just, how do we do this?

00:37:56.580 --> 00:37:57.580
How do we manage it?

00:37:57.580 --> 00:37:58.580
Exactly.

00:37:58.580 --> 00:38:03.580
Well, what are some things that you would like to tell people about where they can find

00:38:03.580 --> 00:38:04.580
you?

00:38:04.580 --> 00:38:05.580
And I know we've talked about a little bit.

00:38:05.580 --> 00:38:10.460
Are you Tara Teaspoon all on those sites or do you have different app names?

00:38:10.460 --> 00:38:11.460
Yes.

00:38:11.460 --> 00:38:17.940
So you can find me on pretty much every social handle under Tara Teaspoon and then my website

00:38:17.940 --> 00:38:19.960
tarateaspoon.com.

00:38:19.960 --> 00:38:24.420
So it's that nice little alliteration Tara Teaspoon that you can remember wherever you

00:38:24.420 --> 00:38:26.020
want to search for me.

00:38:26.020 --> 00:38:30.260
And then my cookbooks are available anywhere online and at a few bookstores.

00:38:30.260 --> 00:38:33.900
So Delicious Gatherings and Live Life Deliciously.

00:38:33.900 --> 00:38:38.620
Those I have to say, those recipes are not on my website.

00:38:38.620 --> 00:38:43.120
So the books are the only place where you can find now with both books.

00:38:43.120 --> 00:38:48.780
It's almost, let's see, almost 250 recipes that are unique to those books.

00:38:48.780 --> 00:38:50.380
I love them.

00:38:50.380 --> 00:38:54.060
I hope everyone will grab a book and try it out.

00:38:54.060 --> 00:38:59.300
But yeah, I'm around and I would love if people commented on social media and said hello and

00:38:59.300 --> 00:39:02.660
that they heard me here with you, that would be so fun.

00:39:02.660 --> 00:39:03.660
Oh, absolutely.

00:39:03.660 --> 00:39:04.860
That's so much fun.

00:39:04.860 --> 00:39:07.620
Well, is there anything else you'd like to leave us with?

00:39:07.620 --> 00:39:13.460
Any tips or anything else you'd like to advice or anything that you've given us so much so

00:39:13.460 --> 00:39:14.460
far?

00:39:14.460 --> 00:39:17.980
I know I've rambled on, I've rambled on.

00:39:17.980 --> 00:39:23.540
You know, I just think I always, my premise is to help people enjoy their time in the

00:39:23.540 --> 00:39:24.780
kitchen.

00:39:24.780 --> 00:39:33.180
So there's anything that I create or make or tips that I give, it's so that people might

00:39:33.180 --> 00:39:35.420
enjoy cooking as much as I do.

00:39:35.420 --> 00:39:36.760
It's not for everyone.

00:39:36.760 --> 00:39:40.720
For some people, it really is a day-to-day chore and task.

00:39:40.720 --> 00:39:46.440
And I just, for everything I do, every recipe I create, it's just one way that I am hoping

00:39:46.440 --> 00:39:50.440
people can find some sort of joy in food.

00:39:50.440 --> 00:39:54.280
So if you're not seeing that or you want more of it, let me know.

00:39:54.280 --> 00:39:58.800
Comment on social media, send me an email because I want to talk about food.

00:39:58.800 --> 00:40:00.520
I want to enjoy food.

00:40:00.520 --> 00:40:03.640
I love gathering people around a meal.

00:40:03.640 --> 00:40:09.760
I think that is such a fabulous way to connect with people, with family, with children.

00:40:09.760 --> 00:40:11.760
And so that's what I'm perpetuating.

00:40:11.760 --> 00:40:12.760
Absolutely.

00:40:12.760 --> 00:40:13.760
I 100% agree.

00:40:13.760 --> 00:40:14.760
That's wonderful.

00:40:14.760 --> 00:40:16.720
Well, thank you so much for being here.

00:40:16.720 --> 00:40:21.120
This has been a wonderful chat and I loved learning of all that you've done and all of

00:40:21.120 --> 00:40:22.120
your tips.

00:40:22.120 --> 00:40:23.120
So thank you.

00:40:23.120 --> 00:40:24.120
Thank you for having me.

00:40:24.120 --> 00:40:25.120
What a joy to talk to you.

00:40:25.120 --> 00:40:26.120
You have a good day.

00:40:26.120 --> 00:40:27.120
You too.

00:40:27.120 --> 00:40:28.120
Bye bye.

00:40:28.120 --> 00:40:28.120


00:40:33.640 --> 00:40:34.640
Bye bye.

00:40:34.640 --> 00:40:34.640
Copyright 2023 Julie A Hoag Julie Hoag Writer. All rights reserved.