- 5 days ago
Hosted by Alex Hill, a renowned cookbook author and social media food expert, this session is all about making lunch work for your lifestyle. Discover easy meal prep strategies, nutritious grab-and-go options, and time-saving hacks to keep you fueled and focused throughout the day.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00It's your boy Wild Wayne coming at you. We got a big day ahead. It's right here at the wine and
00:07food stage. It's day number two. We got some exciting guests. We got some amazing cooks and
00:14chefs. We got some stars coming through for here today. We're going to start it off with flavor
00:20meat legacy. And each one of those bites today is going to tell a story. So we got some amazing
00:26folks coming through and you will get a little taste of the black culinary experience today.
00:31All right. From kitchens to vineyards, soul food to fine dining and everything in between.
00:36You will get a little taste of that here today. Now we'll have some bold flavors. We'll have
00:40some powerful stories that you'll get today and some unforgettable moments. They're going
00:45to do some hurricane tasting. They're going to do some chefing up here. And I can't wait
00:51to get started today. Big shout out to DJ Popper. That's my DJ back there. I see Denicia
00:56here. That's a good problem over there. But we'll do our thing today. We'll have some
01:03award-winning chefs, some visionary winemakers, and some culture-shaping food creatives that
01:08will tell a tale about how we feed our souls, feed our history, and feed our communities.
01:14All right. So before we get started, I want to give a quick shout out to the Essence Food
01:19and Y Festival sponsors. And they are here today. We'll be kicking off the session right
01:27about now. And this is going to transform your lunchtime routine. All right. Because, you
01:33know, between meetings and manifesting, we don't always have time to pause and nourish ourselves
01:39the way that we should. So today's guest, today here, I want you to welcome to the stage author
01:45and food expert, Alex Hill. There she is. She about to get busy over here. We have a lot
01:58of things happening. Okay. We have a lot of things happening. All right. I need y'all to keep
02:05that energy going, because along with the amazing Alex Hill, we also have Essence Senior Editor,
02:11Victoria Uwu Marogi. Give it up. Give it up one more time. We've got the females in charge. Y'all
02:19give it up for both our guests right here. Can I get a microphone on? Is my microphone on? Can you
02:25guys hear me? Hello, everybody. How we doing? How we doing? I'm good. Thank you. So who out here
02:32finds themselves spending a little bit more than they would like to on lunch when they go to work,
02:37everybody? Yeah. Me too. Me too. From time to time. So Alex here, who knows her way around the
02:43kitchen, she's going to help us figure out how to make some powerful lunches that are quick. Because
02:47you know, we're all busy. We've got places to go. We've got things to do. But we want to eat well.
02:51We want to eat hearty. So Alex, tell us. Hi. Hey, girl. Hey, girl. First and foremost, what are we
02:56making? Let everybody know what we're throwing down today. Okay. So we have, can you guys hear me? Oh, I can hear
03:01myself. So we have two dishes that are very easy, very flavor forward. So the first dish we're going to
03:07start with is curry chicken salad. Okay. So first, I have a rotisserie chicken. This is my favorite
03:13thing to do in the kitchen because no one has time to grill chicken during the summer. Like everyone just
03:19wants to make their food and go. So I like to always use rotisserie chicken for my chicken salad. Do you want
03:25to help me? Yes, I do. Okay. So I always use chicken breast with my chicken salad because I'm not really a dark meat
03:34girl. Okay. I know some of my friends are. But I love chicken breast for chicken salad. So. And you know, you can get
03:42these rotisserie chickens at like Costco's, BJ's type of places. And the best thing, you get them at
03:48any local grocery store. Five dollars. It's already moist. It's seasoned. Like you don't have to worry
03:53about it. Nice. So. Some of them are bigger than others. So. Is this, what, is it, how is this one? Is
04:01this like a smaller one? This is a smaller one, but we're working with it. We're working with it. Nice. It still
04:06looks good. It still looks juicy. Still looks selectable. So I'm going to cut some chicken breasts.
04:12Okay. Nice. Nice. And you can keep the skin on or skin off. I think the skin adds more flavor. Yeah.
04:19Okay. So I'm going to add some chicken breasts. Since this is a small one, we're going to use the whole
04:23chicken because it's a smaller chicken. Okay. And also it adds more flavor to the dish because it's
04:30already seasoned. It's already doing its thing. So. Nice. Okay. So we're going to.
04:35By your expertise, what is the sweet spot of time when it comes to when you should eat your lunch?
04:39Like what are you doing? Because I know you're busy. You got a lot going on. So I try and eat at
04:4312, one o'clock. So I do my coffee in the morning and then around 12 o'clock, that's when I'm really
04:50hungry. And then by that time for dinner, you can digest, do your hot girl walk and then everything
04:56is digested. Nice. Nice. So you're a coffee for breakfast. You keep it real simple. I'm a coffee for
05:01breakfast. I'm a coffee for breakfast. I'm a coffee for breakfast. She has to have her energy. She has to be
05:05ready. And you know, coffee is a meal. It's like an appetite suppressant. I know, but we should
05:08really be having breakfast. So don't listen to me. Okay. So then we're going to add two
05:12good fats. So I like to add mayo. Nice. Because mayo just adds like the creaminess to the chicken
05:18salad. And then the other seafood ingredient that a lot of people don't like is Greek yogurt.
05:24I love Greek yogurt. Okay. Greek yogurt in your chicken salad adds like a lot of tang. And
05:28then also it's good for your gut. Especially for women want all the gut work. So I add a little
05:35Greek yogurt. And then I obviously my Instagram name is just add hot sauce. So I like to add hot curry
05:44powder. And the main ingredient in curry powder is what? Can anyone tell me? That is also good for
05:52your gut. No. Turmeric. Turmeric. Shout out to the lady in the pink jumpsuit. Exactly. So turmeric
06:00is really good for your gut and really good for your digestive system. So curry adds like a really
06:04good earthy flavorness. Nice. And then also it adds some spice. Love that. Love that. So it's flavor
06:10and it's also really good for you. All right. So then I'm going to add some walnuts. And can you tell
06:14me what walnuts do? This is also very nutritious. No. So it's antioxidants and omega-3s. And omega-3s.
06:29Yeah. It's a game changer. So it gives you some crunch and some texture and also nutrition. I love that.
06:35And then we are going to add, I like to, some people add raisins to potato, not potato salad. Oh my god.
06:40To chicken salad. To chicken salad. I'm thinking about potato salad. I like to add an apple because
06:46it really balances out the chicken salad with like the curry. And it's like you get that pop of like
06:51tart and sweetness. But what kind of apples are you into? So this is a honey crisp. Okay. Are you,
06:57are you a, I'm like a golden delicious. Oh, I don't like the texture of golden delicious. You do? Oh my god,
07:03they're so good. I like candy almost. No, no, no, no, no. I want a firm apple. Got you. You know?
07:09Understood. Understood. Or a Granny Smith apple. That's really good. That's really tart.
07:13With the thin skin. The thin skin. And I like to leave the skin on because the skin also has a lot
07:17of nutrition. Okay. That's good to know. So we're going to roughly chop this. Awesome. Awesome.
07:22You can leave out the apple. You can leave out the fruit in your chicken salad. But I like fruit in my
07:27chicken salad. It looks good. It looks good. Okay. So that adds texture and flavor. And then we're going to
07:32add some celery. Celery is non-negotiable with my chicken salad. What does celery bring to your dish,
07:38would you say? Texture. Because celery is full of water. So it doesn't really add just anything. It
07:43just adds texture really. So I'm going to add. And you cut, you don't cut them real tiny. I like big
07:51chops. Can you guys see? Can you guys see? Yeah. Oh my god, you can see? Oh wow. Oh my god. I love that. Wow. Hi.
08:00Okay. She's like, hey camera girl. Okay, I'm going to roughly chop some celery. Okay. Love it, love it.
08:08And so like, would you say you have the chicken here, the rotisserie. What are some other types of
08:12things that people should keep in their home to make like quick meals? Always canned tuna.
08:18Always canned tuna. Always canned beans and anchovies. Can anyone tell me why anchovies?
08:26Caesar dressing, yes. A lot of protein. Anchovies is a lot of flavor, protein, and you can make so
08:36many things with it. So like what? Yeah, please tell me. I think people would think about it with
08:40like pizza and things like that. Caesar salad. You can put it in pasta to add like umami to any pasta.
08:47That's like a secret ingredient for pasta sauce. Very nice. It's anchovies. Love that. And then also any
08:54beans. Any beans. Always have beans in your pantry. Yeah, beans are great. What do you like to add them
08:59to? Well, we're going to add a black eyed pea salad next. So that's why I always have black eyed peas in
09:05my pantry. So salads are clutch for you, you feel? Salads, because you got to keep it snatched during the
09:10summer. It's a salad summer. It's not a high girl summer. It's a salad summer. It's a salad summer. Snatched for the
09:16summer. Okay, so then we're going to add some salt because salt brings out what? Yeah, flavor. Salt
09:23brings out flavor. I love the crew down here. The call and response is just epic. I love it. Clearly
09:28there with me. Okay, so we're just going to add a little salt and then a little pepper. We're adding a
09:36little salt and pepper. Salt and pepper because even though not a lot of salt, but we got to add salt
09:42because you know when you're at a restaurant and you're like, oh my god, this dish tastes flat,
09:46that's because it doesn't have salt. Yeah. So salt always adds flavor. And now we're stirring it up. I
09:51think you can see. It already looks good, y'all. Yeah, I'm just going to go find some more chicken.
10:00Do we have another rotisserie chicken in the back? No? I can help you peel. I can help you peel. Okay,
10:18let's peel some more chicken. And anyone who's here with me, what do we not do with the bones?
10:25We don't throw them away, right? Why? We don't throw them away. Why? Oh, bone bronze. You make chicken
10:34socks. Okay. So if you just, let's say you keep like all the, you got to make bigger, bigger chunks,
10:39bigger chunks. I have one hand. Oh, true. You have one hand. Bigger chunks. So if you keep the carcass,
10:44the carcass has a lot of flavor and a lot of fat. So if you keep like, let's say you make a chicken salad
10:49like two weeks and you have like the celery, add celery, add onions, add carrots, along with a chicken
10:58carcass with water and you have homemade chicken broth. Nice. So it's like, you know, we got to watch
11:04our sodium and all that stuff. Right. So that's what I always like to do with homemade chicken stock. I do
11:10love a good chicken stock. I make a lot of rices and stuff. Yeah. Are you Caribbean? Oh, Nigerian.
11:17Jolak rice? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, here's the chicken. Oh my God. I was like, yeah. It was hiding under the
11:27thigh. It was like, okay. I don't want to look crazy. I'm like, can you guys see it? Okay. And there's
11:34some right here too. Okay. We got to get all the chicken. And so you like salads. You like the
11:40chicken salad. We're going to do the black eyed peas salad. What other things do you like to
11:43incorporate into your lunches that are fast? I am, well, I told you about my tuna fish. I love a
11:49smoked tuna dip. Okay. I love to make a hot girl salad. What does a hot girl salad encompass? So that's
11:56a lot of butter lettuce. Okay. Salmon for omega threes. Okay. I love salmon. And then all like the
12:03toppings, like red onions. Like I like to add apples to my salad, all of it. Okay. So
12:09did we, okay. We have more chicken. We, I was freaking out for a second. I was like,
12:12this chicken is not. Everybody give it up for the chicken. Showing up. Oh my God.
12:16It was hiding. It was playing games, but it's here. Okay. And then we're going to add red onion
12:20because like, I just love onion. I do too. And red onions add color and also texture. Yeah.
12:26And then it just makes it look pretty. Can anyone tell me, look, we're at a cooking
12:31school. Can anyone tell me when you're cutting an onion, which side do you keep of the onion?
12:37Do you keep the root or you keep where the farmers pull? Where the farmers pull?
12:44This is where the farmers pull and this is the root. Oh, the root.
12:49The root. Do you know why? No. Okay. She got to tell me.
12:53Okay. So onions grow in layers. So if you keep the root on, it keeps the onion intact
13:00for when you're cutting the onion. So you know, onions go all over the place. Yeah.
13:04Always keep the root on. So it stays in place. And then also another fun fact.
13:09Why do you cry when you're cutting onions?
13:13I know y'all know down there.
13:20No. Okay. So the reason why you cut, you cry when you're cutting onions is because your knife is not sharp.
13:27So when you're cutting the onion and your knife is not sharp, you know how like when you struggle with
13:32like an onion, you're like, Oh my God. So it's because your knife is not sharp. So you need,
13:36because when you're cutting the knife and it's dull, or you're cutting the onion and it's dull,
13:41that means you're releasing an ingredient in the onion that makes you cry. So the less you bruise it,
13:49the less it gets bruised. So you don't cry. So you need a sharp knife when you're cutting onions.
13:56I'm just learning everything today. What? And I know my knives are dull, child. I know my knives
14:01are dull at home. Yeah. So the more dull your knife is, the more you're going to bruise that
14:06ingredient that makes you cry. How often are you sharpening your knives? So I, I probably sharpen my
14:12knives every month, but if you don't cook as often. Girl, I cook every week. Oh, you tell me you don't
14:19cook as often. I got kids. I gotta cook at least once a week. At least every couple of months.
14:24But also if you go to the farmer's market, they'll sharpen your knives for like a really low fee or
14:29anything like that. Or like William and Sonoma. So if you don't have a sharpener, you can also go to
14:34the farmer's market. Farmer's market, any like specialty store. Okay. So this is nice and chunky. I want to add
14:42more curry powder because... You can never go wrong with a good curry powder. No. Okay.
14:49It looks very good. Nice and chunky. And I always say the longer it sits, the better it gets. So this
14:55will hold up in the fridge for like a week. And then I like to serve it with, because remember like
15:00hot girl walks and we're trying to stay snatched. So I, I like to serve it on butter lettuce.
15:05Or you can do like a sandwich, wheat toast, or wrap, anything like that. Love that. Yeah. Do you want to
15:11taste it? Yes, girl. If it's not good, just like... I'm still going to go, mm, mm, mm. Yeah. I'll be like,
15:17oh my, wait, let me taste it first. Let me taste it first. No, it looks delicious. Let me taste it first.
15:24Okay. I like it. I know it tastes good. I can tell. I need more curry.
15:32It looks very good. And what are some of your other favorite lunch dishes? And what kind of like,
15:37if you're using, say, you said salmon, what are some recommendations of dishes people can make
15:41with that, for instance, who are feeling like, I just keep making the same chicken dish every week
15:45that, you know, that I end up eating for lunch? What are some other options people can try? So I always say
15:49when you have a stocked pantry, your ideas are limitless in the kitchen, because there's the more,
15:55the more stocked your pantry is, you have options to do. So if you always have, let's say anchovies,
16:01breadcrumbs, spaghetti noodles, you can, oh, you can make a dish really quick with that. And always,
16:06always buy fresh herbs from your grocery store. Always have fresh herbs every week,
16:12because that makes a ton of a difference in the kitchen. Yeah.
16:15All right. I'm always looking for ideas. Okay. Taste this. Taste this. Okay. Okay. Do I have a fork?
16:22This fork? I didn't use it. I didn't use it. Here, let me use my finger. Okay. Let me get you a good piece.
16:30Let me get apple. I'm excited, y'all. It looks good. Okay. That's, I didn't eat off that. You
16:43can eat off it. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't eat off it. I used my hands. Okay. Yeah.
16:50It's already good. It's already good. See? I hope she's not lying. No, good. Yeah. So that's our
16:58first nutritious dish on the go. I do love that crunch of the celery. See? It adds nice texture.
17:05And the chef yesterday in the morning was saying that when you chew something a lot,
17:09it helps make you feel more full. That's true. And also if you eat slow,
17:15it breaks down the metabolism even better. Yeah. Very good. Yeah. Very true. I love that.
17:19Thank you. Come on, girl. Okay. Okay. Okay. So next you're going to make.
17:25I'm going to make that. That's really good. These are half of my friends.
17:32I love the support. So then we're going to make a black eyed
17:35pea salad. And this is one of my most popular recipes. Okay. Who likes black eyed peas out there?
17:40Everyone should like black eyed peas. All right. It wasn't enough people. Y'all don't like black
17:46eyed peas. They're delicious. Come on. And this is also called cowboy caviar in the south. Is it
17:50cowboy caviar? Yeah. Okay. So we are going to, these are just drained and rinsed black eyed peas.
17:58I do make homemade black eyed peas, but no one has time for that during the week. So we're using canned
18:04and we just rinse them with water because the canned black eyed peas tend to have like
18:08preservatives and film in it. So we just rinse them. We love canned black eyed peas, right?
18:15Okay. So then we're going to chop up some aromatics. And I like to use green and red peppers. You can use
18:22yellow. You can use any kind. They're filled with water, so it doesn't, you know. What do you love
18:28particularly about the red and the green? It's just colorful. It's colorful. It's pretty like...
18:34Okay. So you guys want to know how to cut? Well, I already did it, but...
18:42So I always go, you can still see. So I always go around the pepper and cut along the membrane because
18:49this is all bitter. So you don't want this part. So this is just really bitter. Interesting. I didn't
18:55know that. Yeah. I take the whole thing. Yeah. You don't want this part because this is,
18:59if you taste it, it's just bitter. So it just does, it doesn't add any flavor to your dish or anything
19:03like that. We are learning up in here. Come on, food educator. And then I just like to cut along.
19:11Is there a special way we should be cutting? Okay. Oh my God. I'm so glad you asked.
19:15Okay. So this is your best friend in the kitchen. This is a chef's knife. So everyone should have a
19:21chef's knife in your kitchen. So when you're, so show me how you hold a knife. I'm not going to judge
19:27you. I have a feeling you will. It's okay. But I do tend to hold it, you know, like...
19:31No. No. Okay. I have to feel the shade coming. It's all right. She just wanted to embarrass me
19:41real quick. Go ahead. No, it's for learning purposes. For learning purposes. So when you're
19:46holding your chef's knife, you have to hold it at the base. At the base. So imagine if you're holding
19:52a knife and you don't have like, you don't have a lot of control when you're holding it like this.
19:55You're just like, and I've seen a lot of people just go like that and it drives me crazy.
19:59So you're holding it at the base. And then if you have this finger,
20:05that is a no-no. I'm going to slap your hand if you have that.
20:09So you always have to have the base and tuck. So then, and if you're going like that,
20:15you don't have control of the knife. Because you want your knife, this is not being used,
20:19only this part is being used. So you're going like this. So it's just gliding.
20:24Ah, it's a whole motion, y'all. Yeah.
20:26Yeah. Because if you're just using the top, that means you're not using all of the knife.
20:30You just want to use the middle. Got you.
20:33So the front is just kind of like a support. The front is beautiful gowns.
20:39Yeah. Yeah. That's the front of the knife is just beautiful gowns.
20:42Got you. You want to use the middle of the knife and you always want to tuck
20:46and have it right at the base. Hey. Yeah. You are really teaching me today.
20:51You know? I love that. I try. And I've seen you make at home like a 30-minute lo mein.
20:57Yes. Which I can, I've been struggling trying to make the simplest things in under 30 minutes.
21:01What are some of your other quick and flavorful one-pot, one-pan type of meals to make too?
21:06So I'm half Puerto Rican. So I always make arroz con pollo. That is one of my favorite dishes to make.
21:15And I make a dish called ricas de pollo. And that is, and I use rotisserie chicken.
21:20That's a really good 30-minute meal that you can make, cover it with like rice or anything like that.
21:26And then you're done in the kitchen. Nice. Nice. What about pan meals? People like that.
21:30They like to throw a few things on a pan, put it in the oven, forget about it. No, I'm not a sheet pan, girl.
21:34Really? Okay. What is your feeling? What's your beef? I just don't, I don't like sheet, like I like it.
21:42But I don't want to make like my chicken and my vegetables together. I think it's just a me thing.
21:46Okay. It's a me thing. Okay. Yeah. But I do love a 14-minute salmon.
21:52I do love a, I love a, in a pan, yeah? In a pan. Yes. You know who taught me that?
21:57Ooh. The, the show forever. Really? On Netflix. The chef, the dad. It just came out. Yes.
22:04But it was a really good tip. I was like, let me try that. And it's actually really good. Okay.
22:08You cook it on high for 14 minutes and it adds like a really nice medium salmon. It's really good.
22:14Nice. Everyone should try it. Everyone should try it. She'll be learning too. We learn from her,
22:17she learns from some very interesting places. So we're going to add our peppers.
22:27Okay. And then we're going to cut more red onion because I like red onion.
22:33Everybody loves red onion, right? Or we like white onions, which do we have a preference?
22:38Red onion. Red. Red onion. Red onion. I love the energy. Red onion.
22:43Red onion. Yellow onions and white onions are more for cooking. Yeah. Yeah.
22:47And you can eat a red onion raw. Do you, you like to eat red onions raw? Yeah.
22:55Yeah. In the salad. Oh, okay. Yeah. Oh no. Not like.
23:00I, I meant like in an apple way. I was like, girl, what? No, no, no, no. Like in my salad,
23:05in my salad. Touche, touche. I knew that. You know? I was like, wait, girl. So that's
23:09exactly where I was going. Of course. Okay. And then we're going to cut up some red onions.
23:14Can I help you with anything? Do you want, I want to see you cut this onion.
23:21The way I caught you. I knew it. That's why I'm like, can I do something else? Okay.
23:30Let me make it clean for you. Yeah. Overhead, overhead view.
23:34Okay. Do you want a bigger, a bigger, like, uh, I can do this. Okay. Okay. So guys.
23:47Yep. I feel like you're nervous. That's making me nervous. Yep. And then like glide, glide. Yep. Yep.
23:59I'm not going to kill myself. This is better. This is better. Are we getting there? Are we
24:04getting there? Slightly. This is perfect onion. What? Y'all got a lot of commentary.
24:13I think it looks great. What do we think? What do we think? That was better. That was better.
24:18That was better. You can't win up here. No, no. Listen, I just want you to be safe in the kitchen.
24:23I'm going to get that motion though. Yeah. I'm going to shoot. I'm going to go home and sharpen my
24:27knives. Sharpen your knives. This is actually a very good knife. I would like, this is a very good
24:31knife. That's a very good knife. It's a beautiful knife. Okay. So then we are going to pour our black
24:37eyed peas in here. You guys can see. Yeah. Not this time. No. Cameraman switch. Okay. Okay. And then we're
24:46going to make our own dressing because why do we make our own dressing?
24:49I love your friends. I know. They know it all. It's healthier. Okay. And there's no preservatives
24:57in your homemade dressing. You know what's going in your food. So I always like to make my dressing
25:03at home because it's healthier. Okay. And especially in our community, I can go on a whole thing, but it's
25:10like, we have high blood pressure. We have heart disease. So I always try and know what's going in my
25:15food. So it just makes me feel better. Nice. Because dressing in this store just has a lot
25:21of preservatives and a lot, a lot of sodium. Yeah. What are kind of the worst ones that you've seen?
25:27Well, I don't know if anyone's sponsoring. I don't want to say. Oh, no. They're not watching.
25:32Yeah. So this is my go-to one that I always make at home.
25:36So champagne vinegar is the best vinegar ever. It's light. It's not super pungent. It just adds
25:45like a nice tang. Nice. So I always like to, do you like garlic? Yes, I do. Okay. So always,
25:52this is your best friend in the kitchen too. So I always like to grate. You grate your onion. Okay.
25:57I grate my garlic. I mean garlic. Yes, I'm sorry. Because garlic is super punchy and very strong. So I
26:04always like to grate it so it's not that harsh of a bite. Yeah. Like a minced one. Yeah. So for every
26:11dressing, can my friends answer this? It's one part what, two parts what?
26:20Yes. Do you have like teaching classes, cooking classes for your friends? I do. I love that. Come on,
26:26friends. And I've known her since we were 14. So that's why she knows a lot. She's been in the kitchen
26:31with you in the trenches. Yeah. Yeah. And she's a mom of two. Okay. Yeah, she know. So we're going
26:37to add a little champagne vinegar. And I always like to like eyeball it. And you can get the champagne
26:42vinegar everywhere? Anywhere. Any grocery store. But we like great ones. So there's a great brand
26:50called Brightland. They have a really great champagne vinegar. Okay, nice. And then so two parts oil. So you
26:57want two parts tartness, two parts oil, one part tartness. Got you. And then a little salt.
27:10Some pepper. A little pepper. And I'm not shading anyone. However, however. The shade is coming. Go ahead. The shade is coming.
27:19Why don't we use ground pepper? Yes. So you always want to use. But I understand this is we're here now. But you always want to use ground pepper or black pepper in the grinder
27:34because it's fresh. Okay, got it. So when you're using like ground pepper, it's been in that container
27:40for a very long time. This is true. And also if you smell, I'm not going to have you smell it, but if you smell ground pepper, you'll sneeze.
27:49So that's like, you know when you sneeze when you smell pepper? Yeah. That's because it's ground.
27:54And it's not fresh. Another thing. So it's like sawdust at that point. But if you smell fresh pepper,
27:59you don't sneeze. And it's just a better pepper taste when you're grinding like the actual pepper.
28:05We're learning so much. This is crazy. I love it. And then I like to add a little sweetness.
28:10Just a little maple syrup. Okay. A little maple syrup. Can't go wrong with maple syrup. A little maple syrup.
28:15And then you're just going to whisk everything together. And what kind of flavor would you say
28:19this gives to your salad? This just adds a nice tartness to the dish. It brightens everything up.
28:25And it just rounds everything out. It smells good already, y'all. Yes. And then we're going to add some parsley.
28:31I love parsley. I love parsley. I don't want to cut it, but I love it.
28:36You don't want to cut it? Okay. Can you tell me why we always cut dry herbs? I want everyone to learn today.
28:46Why do we always cut dry? Does anyone know? I know y'all know. Friend from 14.
28:51Friend from 14. She's even looking like, I don't know. Okay. So the reason why you always want to cut
28:58your herbs that are dry is because when you cut wet herbs, one, they stain your cutting board.
29:03Ah, that's true. And two, the chlorophyll from the herbs get in your cutting board.
29:11So you always, always want to cut dry herbs. That is so true.
29:16Personally, it's stain in my boards. Always cut your herbs dry. I love that.
29:21And it keeps the flavor because then the flavor is all in your cutting board.
29:26Looks good. Looks good. Okay. It's coming together beautifully. Fun question for you.
29:30Yeah. If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would they be and what are y'all eating?
29:36Beyonce. Okay. And what you make up for Beyonce?
29:40Oh my god, I don't know. She got hot sauce in her bag, so keep that in mind.
29:45Beyonce. I'll probably do a Puerto Rican dish. Okay. Okay, dead or alive. I, um,
29:55okay, alive Beyonce. I don't know. Damn, I don't know. That's a good question.
30:01Think about it. Yeah, I don't know. As you cut your parsley, you can think about it.
30:04Okay, as I cut my parsley. But we know Beyonce, she wants to have.
30:06Beyonce, for sure. Beyonce, for sure. Nice.
30:09Okay, so this is just my herb dressing. And I always like to taste it. So you can be like,
30:16mmm, that's good. I like a little more maple.
30:19A little bit more syrup on it. A little more maple.
30:21But it's coming together beautifully. I like a little sweetness.
30:24That looks good. And then we're also going to add a juice of a lemon.
30:29What's, uh, what's some kind of like trick or tool about a lemon that you want to tell us?
30:32I know you know something. What is it? I do know.
30:34Cut it to the left. Okay, so we're going to add the zest of the lemon.
30:38So what is more flavorful? The zest or the juice?
30:41The zest. The zest.
30:42You didn't know that. The zest. The zest is more flavorful.
30:45And you only want to get the white part of the lemon because that's the more flavor.
30:51And then if you get to the white part, that's all bitter.
30:54So you really want to just have the lemon, the yellow part.
30:58So it's going to brighten everything up. And then also going to juice it.
31:03So if you have like a hard lemon, you can stick it in the microwave for like 30 seconds.
31:08And it releases the juices. Really?
31:10Yeah. Cut in half like that?
31:11Yeah. No, keep it whole. Keep it whole.
31:13Keep it whole. It ain't going to explode or nothing?
31:15No, no. It won't explode.
31:17Yeah, that's a good one. So you just stick the whole lemon
31:19in the microwave, 30 seconds, and it loosens up the juices.
31:23And then you kind of just like roll it out a little bit.
31:25I love that.
31:26Yeah. So then we're going to add our vinaigrette.
31:30Mm-mm-mm. I'm excited to eat that one too, y'all.
31:36We're friends, so I'm just going to use your fork.
31:41Well, I am the only one really eating this, so it's all right, y'all.
31:43Yeah, it's fine.
31:44So yeah, and then this is our cowboy caviar.
31:49Can we see it?
31:50Or black-eyed peas salad. Can you see it? Can you see it?
31:54And what I love about black-eyed peas are they're high in...
31:58Friends.
32:02Fiber. They're high in fiber.
32:03Yes.
32:04And to keep you snatched, you got to make a smooth move.
32:07So, you know, we always want fiber to go to the bathroom.
32:10Yes, yes.
32:10And then also it's very high in protein.
32:12Nice.
32:13So if you don't want to have meat for that day, have black-eyed peas.
32:16If you don't like black-eyed peas, chickpeas or anything like that.
32:19But yeah, it's very high in fiber and also in protein.
32:21Nice.
32:22Do you want to taste it?
32:23You know I do.
32:24Okay.
32:24That's why I'm here.
32:25Let me get you a good piece.
32:27Let me get you an onion.
32:29Okay.
32:29There you go.
32:29All right, y'all.
32:34I love that.
32:35Yeah.
32:36That dressing is bomb.
32:37It's homemade dressing.
32:40I can't wait to eat this in the back, y'all.
32:41When I be finished, I'll be back there like...
32:42Yeah.
32:43And then this will keep like...
32:45Like black-eyed peas soak up everything.
32:48So this will keep in the fridge for the whole week.
32:51That's a perfect meal to throw in like a little glass container.
32:54Yeah.
32:54Take to the office with a little chicken salad too.
32:57Wait, let me grab this.
32:58So you have both of these.
33:01Yes.
33:03Yeah.
33:03You got it?
33:05Can you see?
33:05Can you see?
33:06Can you see?
33:06Nice.
33:07Are there any other last tips you want to give people about how to eat healthy for lunch
33:10when you're on the go and you're busy?
33:12I think my tip is just don't forget about yourself.
33:16Always think about yourself first.
33:18It's self-care when you're cooking for yourself.
33:20I always say if you cook for someone or yourself, it's a way to say, I love you.
33:24So always remember when you're cooking, it's a way to say, I love you.
33:27And always think about yourself.
33:29So it's like go the extra mile to make something good.
33:31And I feel loved.
33:33And I know how to cook, y'all.
33:34Now I know how to cook.
33:36Everybody give it up for Alex Hill.
33:39She educated us.
33:40She's fed me, not y'all.
33:42Yes.
33:42She fed me.
33:43And now I know so much and I feel so blessed.
33:45Thank you so much, Alex.
33:46Thank you for having me.
33:47And everybody knows now that they can make, take the work.
33:50Yes.
33:50Give it up for Alex Hill, everybody.
33:55Thank you, thank you, thank you.
33:56Thank you, guys.
34:05Thank you, guys.
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