Catching Up With Christi At Tee's Kitchen

Today I'm talking with Christi at Tee’s Kitchen. https://www.homesteadliving.com/subscribe/ref/41/ https://homesteadliving.com/the-old-fashioned-on-purpose-planner/ref/41/ www.patreon.com/atinyhomestead If you'd like to support me in growing this podcast, like, share, subscribe or leave a comment. Or just buy me a coffee  https://buymeacoffee.com/lewismaryes 00:00 listening to a tiny homestead. The podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers and crafters. I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Christi at Tee's Kitchen in...  Oh no, I forget. Where are you Christi?  I am in South Louisiana. So I live just south of Lafayette. Yeah. was thinking for some reason, Missouri popped in. like, no, she's not that close to me. I know she's not.  If you were, would come see you.  I know, right? 00:29 Yeah, Christi's been a guest on the podcast twice already and I absolutely love her voice and her accent. She is just the sweetest sounding woman I've ever heard. So welcome, Christi. How are you? Thank you so much. I'm doing great. How are you? I'm good. How's the weather in Louisiana? The weather is hot. It's getting hot. it's like the heat index is like 85, I believe. 00:57 This week we're getting a lot of rain, but it doesn't really cool everything off. It just kind of steams things, if you know what I mean. I do. Minnesota has been very, very hot for, well, it's now June 2nd or 3rd. June 3rd. Something like that. Close enough. But the last two weeks of May were kind of a little warmer than we would like it to be. It's supposed to be 84 for the high today. Oh, really? But we don't have the humidity. 01:27 Building yet. Thank God right right. It's the humidity that makes everything so  So gross yeah, so gross. Yeah, I don't even know so gross  Yeah, when you step outside and it feels like you're walking through a mist it's not a great feeling  No,  it's not Now if you're in Maine at the ocean and you get up in the morning with your warm cup of coffee and step outside And the air feels like mist  it's because it's mist coming off the ocean 01:54 And that's a beautiful feeling, but that's a great thing. Sticky grossness is not okay.  Um, it is sunny here. My panties are blooming like crazy. My whole driveway, the edge of the side of my driveway looks just beautiful right now with all the pinks and corals  and burgundies and whites. It's my favorite time of year. How gorgeous. Oh, I'm going to have to go check out some pictures on that.  It is beautiful. I've posted a few. 02:22 I will post I'm going to have to check that out. Oh, I bet it's so pretty. We have our summer garden going and like I'm friends with some people, you know, through TikTok and all that. And they'll message me and say, I cannot believe you already have cucumbers and tomatoes. And yeah, we've been in full swing for a while. So that's always nice. Those summer gardens, know? Yes. Yes. And you get them so much. You get produce so much earlier than we do up here in the North. Yeah. 02:49 So when did you plant your tomatoes and cucumbers for this year, this season? Well, I say we. I am more like the supervisor. Yeah, me too. I'm a brown duck. So my husband planted, gosh, it pretty early March, I believe. We usually plant around Mardi Gras, but we planted a little later this year because for some reason it stayed cooler. 03:16 a little bit longer. So I think it was March, maybe late March that he planted. Um, and yeah, that's his thing. I just reap the benefits from it. Yeah. My husband is the gardener too. And I never take credit for actually anything that's the gardening.  I take credit for cooking the things that he brings in from the garden.  Exactly.  And we are,  yeah, we're about two months behind you. My husband started planting, I think, 03:44 the first weekend in May.  And our tomato plants are looking real sad. They've got the early blight. It's the first time this has ever happened to us.  Oh.  So he's trying to figure out what to do to  cure them. And  he hasn't quite figured it out yet. And I'm afraid that by the time he does figure out how to save them, there won't be anything safe or saving. I don't know yet. 04:08 Oh, my no, my husband went and picked  a few tomatoes from the garden and he picked them early because they had holes in some of them.  So we just put them on the window sill. That's all you can do. And it's better than, you know, them just sitting there and  rotting, you know. Yes.  Yes. And we're used to the blight that comes at the end of the season. That's fine. Yeah. But we've never had early blight before. And the saddest part is that there's over 100 tomato plants in the garden that are sick with this. Yeah. 04:38 So we don't know how that's going to go. Luckily he still had some plants in the greenhouse, so he planted those and he made sure that the bottom leaves were off of them, so not touching the ground. that's nice. So maybe we'll have some to eat. I hope so. Yeah, this gardening thing is a crapshoot. It is literally gambling. It is. Last year I feel like his garden didn't do as well and then this year it seems to be doing great, but 05:07 Here it only lasts for a little while and then the bugs just completely take over, you know? Yeah. Gardening is like, it's so good for your soul, but when things don't go right, it's painful. Yeah. All that hard work and I really feel bad.  I feel for him, you know, because he puts so much work into it. 05:31 But he did downsize a little bit.  Normally we do a much bigger garden and this year he was like, I'm only gonna plant.  I'm  not gonna do so much this year.  And it's working out good so far. Good, I am very happy for you and I'm very envious that you get to pick tomatoes and cucumbers right now. I  would  love some tomatoes mixed with garlic, some mozzarella cheese, and some basil, and some olive oil, and some... 06:00 balsamic vinegar or toasted bread.  That would be lovely. I actually had that this morning, like right before we  came on. I fixed avocado toast and then I sliced some of those tomatoes on top and did, um like I put some garlic butter seasoning and what else did I put? Oh, I did a little salt and pepper and then I love hot honey. I'm into hot honey. And then I also put a little drizzle of balsamic glaze and man, it was so good. 06:28 Yeah, I have to acquire some things to make the thing I just explained and I can't think of name of that this morning either. Bruschetta.  I'm getting to the point where I haven't had it in probably four or five months and I'm like, know, bruschetta sounds really good.  I posted a...  We always have an abundance of basil, so I make basil oil, which is, you know, most people comment and they say, that's pesto. It's really not because it doesn't have... 06:58 pine nuts and it doesn't have the Parmesan cheese, but I make a basil oil and we just, I'll make homemade bread and we dip that in there, but I'll also make,  I use it for my caprese salad. So I'll do the fresh uh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and then that basil oil. then if I, sometimes I put balsamic vinegar and sometimes I don't, but I just did a video on it and made myself hungry again for it. 07:24 When you make the basil oil, it olive oil and basil leaves or how do do it? Yeah, it's olive oil, basil leaves, you put a little bit of  garlic, a small amount of water. It's pretty simple, you know.  Do you crush the basil leaves so the oils come out? Yeah, I blend it all up. Okay. That sounds fabulous. We might have to do that. We have some really nice basil growing this year, so we're going to have enough to do some fun things with it. 07:53 Yeah, always uh one year I gave it as like a gift and I made  homemade bread and I with a  little jar of the basil oil and  I gave it to some teacher friends and  they still request it, you know. Yeah, that's the danger of sharing your creations with people because  you think you're making it for them once and then they come back and they're like, do have any more of that? oh That's when you turn into a business. Yeah. 08:20 Well, fun fact, I used to do that. used to run a little small bakery out of my home. Oh, okay. Yeah, but it just, got to be too much, you know, because we have a camp in Pecan Island and so people would request cakes and things on the weekends and I wanted to go to the camp. So we just cut that out, but maybe one day I'll get back into it again. You just reminded me, I was supposed to do this a week ago. I need to renew my 08:50 cottage food registration because I live in Minnesota and uh I wanted to make granola for the farmers markets this year and I can't sell it without that registration.  Oh,  I need to get that done. I need to go look that up today because I forgot all about it completely because the world is a crazy place right now and it's really easy to get distracted. It's true.  Man, I love a good farmers market.  Yeah, the first one is this Saturday. 09:20 And I don't go because I am really shy and I really hate sitting in the sun.  I do not love being hot. So my husband actually loves being social. He loves  selling stuff. So he'll be going on Saturdays to downtown Lesor, city of  six, seven thousand people maybe. Well, that works out that you can get him to do it. Yeah. He loves it. It just fills his cup so much and he's made such good friends. 09:48 With the vendors that are there. It's so fun for him.  Oh nice,  but we should have some  Lettices for sale we'll have of lip balms and some candles and some  cold processed lye soap that we make  and  Maybe some peony blooms that that's all  for sale. So  I just I just love a good farmers market. That sounds fun 10:18 I love a good farmer's market where they have food, but they also have things.  There's a guy at our farmer's market that makes jewelry  and he makes the most unusual things. And looking at them, I would be like, what would I wear that with? um And I don't ever buy any of it because I don't really go out, so I'm not going to buy jewelry. 10:45 But it's just so interesting to see the creativity that people have and how they express it.  I know. I love that. I love helping  small businesses or just local, just people that make things with their hands. I'm so intrigued by that. And I always  say, I'm a sucker. I have to go with tons of money because I  fall in love with everything and I fall in love with their story and I just want to buy their stuff and I want to share it and help them.  Yeah. uh 11:14 There's a lady that sells  baked goods and she makes these little silver dollar sized lemon cookies. ah And my husband brought them home to me last summer once and there were six little silver dollar cookies in a baggie. And I said, honey. And he said, what? And I said, can I just eat these? Can I just have these? Like, do you want one before they're gone? Because I love lemon, they're going to be gone. Right. Act now. 11:42 And he said, well, yeah, you can have them. He said, I know you love lemon. That's why I got them for you. And I ate three right then and they were so good with a glass of cold milk. And I had to force myself to wait till the next day to eat the other three, because I really wanted to eat the other three right away. know I have zero self-control with sweets. I'm sorry. 12:08 No, anything lemon I'm just done for. I love sweet lemon. um So refreshing in the summer too.  I was going to say they have a Formers Market here that's really popular and  it's in Delcum. It's right on the water. So um the shrimpers will come  and you can buy shrimp right off the boat.  It's the coolest thing. I love it. So  they call it the Delcum Seafood and Formers Market. 12:36 So it's mostly like people just go with their ice chest and go meet the boats and they'll just load up on fresh shrimp or whatever, like crabs and just it's amazing. They have great, great things over there.  because I am terrible at geography,  your  ocean as it were,  is um the Gulf of Mexico ocean? Yes.  Yes. So is that Atlantic? Is that part of Atlantic or part of Pacific? Do you know? 13:06 I don't know.  I don't know either.  I mean, I don't know. It's the Gulf of Mexico.  I don't  really know. I guess it would be Atlantic.  Now I feel really dumb.  I don't because there's just so much to know in the world. You can't know everything. um The reason I ask is because you guys, do they have like the little bitty shrimps up to the big prawns or is there a specific kind of shrimp that you get? They have different sizes.  I mean, they'll catch 13:36 They'll catch,  you know, it just depends on what size you want. But, um, yeah, I mean,  there's all sizes.  Must be nice. I know, I know. I've worn loxanam. I don't get good seafood in Minnesota anywhere.  And we, um, my favorite is soft shell crabs.  Um, and so sometimes if you get lucky, they'll sell those.  Oh man, it's just, it's awesome. I love, I love,  and I enjoy peeling shrimp. 14:05 Like some people just, it's like therapeutic for me. So I love just getting fresh shrimp off the boat and  coming home and peeling it and vacuum sealing it and putting it in the freezer, you know? You go into the zone of creativity.  Yes. Yes. You don't think about anything else.  That's the best part of  food prep and of actually cooking.  And we talked about that last time. um So  one of the things that's great about seafood 14:32 And  people who live in the Midwest will not know this.  It's so easy. It's so easy to cook it because mostly you boil seafood. Yeah. And then you just peel the shell off and eat the meat. And it's so good just like that.  But there are so many things you can do with it too. And I just laugh because I used to hate seafood. I grew up in Maine. I hated seafood. I hated fish. 15:02 The only fish I would eat, my dad used to go fishing and he would bring home these great big bass. Yeah. And he would cut the head off and he would scale it and  obviously take the egg out of the inside,  gut the fish. I don't know what they call it, clean the fish. Yeah. And then he would put um stove top stuffing  in like a Dutch oven pan. He put it around the edge. 15:29 And then he put the fish right in the middle of the stuffing and he put salt and pepper on it and he'd bake it for however long it took to be done. And that was the  only fish I would eat. m just sitting here talking about it, my mouth is literally watering.  And we went home when my youngest was probably  10 and... 15:55 youngest wanted to catch a bass because this was a big deal. He Grampy was going bass fishing. Yeah. And I said to my son, said, if you catch a bass, I said, talk Grampy and he'll let you bring it home and he'll cook it. And the reason I said, talk Grampy into keeping it is because my dad started doing the catch and release on bass when I was probably 25 and well moved out of my, parents' house. And my dad doesn't like to keep bass anymore. So, um, they get home and 16:25 I said, do you have any luck? And Cameron says, I caught a five pound bass, mom. And looked at my dad and I said, is it in the cooler? And he said, sweetheart, it is. He said, and we're having big bass tonight. I almost cried. Like I had tears in my eyes because he does not do that anymore. So it was special just for me. And this is the thing about food that's so interesting because 16:55 I'm sitting here thinking about this tearing up and food brings back so much to your feelings. I know it does. It does. And it's why I love talking to people like you who have the same experience.  I know it's  and that's you know kind of why I started like the Tea's Kitchen thing. It's because you know my dad had passed away and my mom was sick with  dementia and which she passed away last year but oh 17:25 I have both of them are gone and my mom was an amazing cook. My grandmothers were amazing cooks. And it's like  that sort of, when I make things like that, it sort of brings part of them back, you know? And it, um it like stirs up memories in you. And sometimes when  I share certain recipes, I'll get people that'll say, um man, you know, this, haven't had this in years. This reminds me of my grandma. 17:50 One of the nicest messages I ever got was from this lady and she said my husband and I used to cook together It was our thing and she's like we would watch your videos and we would make your recipes and we would you watch them together and then we would cook together and she said you know, he recently passed away and so it's when I watch your videos like it makes me think of him and it's keeping his memory alive and I just want to thank you and I Mean that just touched my heart. It's like something so 18:19 that you think so simple as food can just really,  really do something special for people, you know? Yeah. Well, I feel like food is like music. You know, when you hear a song that you listen to with someone that you really cared about, it brings them back. If you make food that you shared with someone you love or they taught you to make it, it brings them back. Yep. So music and food are tied together. Right. Right. 18:50 You know, and food is, it involves all five-year senses. So, you know, that's why it's, so strong. Like those food memories are so strong.  Um,  so, you know, it makes sense.  Yeah.  And I'm going to say it for the billionth time. I swear, if you don't know how to cook, you really need to learn how to cook for many, many, many reasons beyond being able to feed yourself. Yeah. There is so much. 19:18 satisfaction in learning to make something from actual ingredients, not just sticking it, you taking the ingredients out of a box and putting it in the microwave. Yeah. Yeah. It just, I don't know. That's how  I always say that. That's how I show my love. I cook for people, you know? Yeah. And I'm not saying don't make something from a can if you're not feeling good and you need, if you need Campbell's soup and a can of ginger ale to not feel sick. 19:48 go for it. Yeah. But if you make homemade chicken soup when you feel good and you have some in the freezer, that's probably going to make you feel way better than Campbell's soup from the start.  absolutely.  I know my husband had a bad cold a couple of weeks ago and  I was like, what do you want? Chicken noodle soup. I'm like, okay. So I made  homemade chicken noodle soup and he's like, man, it's just,  I mean, it's like the cure all, you know? um 20:15 Someone's sick, someone passes away,  that's the thing you think to cook. oh My mother-in-law recently wrote, she was like,  I'm so hungry for eggplant dressing. And so  I made that for her and sent it over. um That's just how I show my love. Yes, and I think anyone who loves to cook probably does the same thing. I've done it all my life since I learned to cook in my mid-20s. Yeah. It's not for everybody. Some people say, 20:43 I really hate cooking and understand that because there's things that I hate doing too, you know, so, but I just, can't relate to it because I just love it so much. Yeah. I was a late bloomer cooker. I, I just didn't, I didn't really cook until I hit 25, 26. Yeah. And then I was just like, I don't know. I kind of want to learn how to do some of this stuff. Mostly because I went, you know, when I would go to restaurants, I would try something new and I really liked it. 21:12 But I knew that I wasn't going be able to afford to go to that restaurant all the time to get the thing I liked. And I was like, if they can make it, I can make it. That's probably what started it. Right. I know. And it's just, you know, you have to be nowadays, you have to be self-sufficient. You have to figure out how to take care of yourself, you know? Yeah. Especially with the cost of food. Oh my god. That too. 21:40 You know, was telling my, we went on a little small vacation and I told my husband, I'm like,  and I'm not saying that like to brag or anything, but I just feel for some reason now that I'm, we cook so much at our house. And I mean, my husband and,  and the boys are, they hunt and they fish. So we have our own meat and all this, we grow our own garden.  And so now when we go  eat at a restaurant, I'm like, it's good, but I don't enjoy it as much as I do whenever I'm at home. I just prefer eating at home. 22:10 I don't know why.  The first time I made something, the first time I made something that I had had at a restaurant and I did it right and I added the things I wanted to do to it and had it.  When I had that again at a restaurant, my first thought and I felt so snobby was I can, I've made this better. I can make this better than they do.  Yeah. 22:35 I thought, man, how arrogant is that? And then I thought if it's not true, if it's true, it's probably not arrogant. know.  And I do. feel bad saying that, I'm just, I don't know.  They just can't get that home cooking right.  Nothing beats home cooking. And  I don't know if it's just because things are different.  I'm to the point now where we have deer meat and so  I don't really eat beef. And so now when we eat ground beef, I'm like, 23:05 I feel like they're adding stuff to this because this doesn't  taste the same. don't know. just, it's just, I guess we've become accustomed to just eating at home and I just enjoy it so much more, you know? Yeah. And you're not wrong. Ground beef does taste different in the last year or two.  I don't. watery. Do you find that? I just don't like it. don't like how it tastes anymore. No, we went to the store and bought that. I don't know why. I think we didn't have time to defrost the deer. 23:33 The deer ground beef that our deer ground meat that we had in the freezer  and I was like, it's really watery. I don't know Yeah, I'm adding filler to it or something. I don't know what they're doing. But I do know that if we have beef from  like If we were gonna buy a half or a quarter beef from a local farmer Mm-hmm, know butchered  that ground beef is fine.  Oh, yeah 24:00 But the ground beef we buy at the store, I'm just like, God, how can you still eat this honey?  know.  When we were younger, my dad and my grandfather raised cattle. so we always just kind of growing up,  we would slaughter our own calf, you know, and  I grew up eating that until, you know, my dad was a deer hunter and my husband's a deer hunter. And now we have, we use that in place of the beef, you know, but I don't know, I guess we've just got, we're spoiled. 24:29 Yes, you're fortunate. You're  fortunate.  So we were going to talk about uh cold foods for summer eating and you said you had a couple new ideas. So let's get those in. What were your new ideas for cold foods?  Well, I guess just, okay, so we were talking about, I know last time we talked about beating the heat and things just get, it gets so hot. And so to heat up your oven and your stove when it's really hot here is just unbearable.  But um I don't know if 24:58 You have one like this, but I feel like for us,  I have this little electric griddle that we just plug in.  Do you have one like that?  I don't right now, but my mom had one when I was growing up. I know what you're talking about. And I feel like it just, it saves me so much. And I went thrifting the other day and cause my son, m oldest son just got a job and he travels a lot and he stays in hotels and stuff. And I bought one for him. 25:24 And he's like, mom, it's so nice. I can just plug it in and grill burgers or whatever he wants, you know? But um I feel like that helps to not heat up the oven and stuff. also use my air fryer a lot. um But I was going to say, like, we do a lot of, I love like a cold pasta salad.  Me too. Yeah. And I mean, you can even get like a rotisserie chicken from 25:47 from the store and  use that instead of heating up any. I mean, you can just make it completely that way and not have to heat up the stove or anything.  But yeah, pasta salads and um quick sheet pan meals. I know you have to heat up the oven, but you're only heating up the oven, you know? And it's quick. So we do a lot of sheet pan meals and um use a lot of the fresh vegetables and make salads. And I don't know, that just helps. um We also do this too. 26:16 I don't know if you ever make this. call it spa water, but I think some people don't know what that means.  like, you know, if you go to a fancy spa to get a massage, they always have this fancy water or they have it in hotels.  The cucumber water. Yes. So we just slice up cucumbers  and mint from the garden if I have it, but you could leave that out. I do cucumbers, mint  and  lemon, like slices of lemon.  And I just put it in a pitcher, fill it up with water and we drink that throughout the summer and we all love it. 26:46 And for some reason, I feel like it's a little more hydrating than just water, you know?  It's also really good if you just, if you have just a little bit left in the pitcher, not enough to get a glass,  pour it over your hands and splash it on your face. That's all good for your skin. Yeah, that's one. know  we, uh, the guys are,  we have a fishing tournament that we do every year. It's this weekend. 27:09 It's fishing for memories and it's like to raise money for  Alzheimer's. And so the guys participate in it every year and they usually end up placing or whatever.  And so um I have a, we'll do ice chests and we'll put  Florida water in it  and those cooling towels and they'll bring it with them on the boat. And it just, it's so refreshing, but the lemon would be, the lemon and the cucumber would be a really good idea for them to do. Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. um 27:37 Did you know you can do watermelon water? Watermelon? No, but I'm sure it's delicious. Yeah. All you gotta do is take some chunked up watermelon and put it in a food processor or a ninja or whatever thing you have and you spin it. And it makes like a chunky liquid. And that sounds disgusting, but just bear with me. If you want to put it through a strainer, you can, but you don't have to. 28:07 You do half water, half that, half the smushed up watermelon, and  it's so good cold.  Yum. That's kind of how I make a watermelon martini.  I mean, that's not exactly hydrating, but you um Well, if you just hold the booze, it'll be very hydrating.  No, the guys sometimes they'll do that too. oh We make like watermelon balls. 28:34 and put it in a Ziploc bag and they stick that in their ice chest and it's hydrating when they're out on the water like that, you know? Yeah, watermelon is the unsung hero  of the melon group because it's so good for you  and you can eat a whole one if you want. You'll probably be sorry the next day. Yeah. But you can eat as much watermelon as you want and you won't gain a pound. Wow. Yeah. Because it's sweet, but it's not it's not processed sugar. It's actually really good for you. 29:04 Yeah, yeah.  So.  Yeah.  Yeah, I was so excited when I when I when you said you were going talk to me today, because I was like, yeah, we can talk about summer food. And then I went back and listened to the last episode and I was like,  we already talked about summer food last summer.  Damn it. It's OK. It's OK.  I just I get so caught up in what I'm thinking that I have to go back and listen if it's a guest I've had before. 29:31 I'm like, I don't want to do the same episode twice because nobody's gonna listen to it again. Yeah. Well, I mean, there's different things you can come up with, you know, there's always something new to talk about.  I tell you what I've been loving is  my husband bought me a cooling pillow for Mother's Day. uh Oh, wow.  He knows me so well. You know, I'm in my late 40s, so I get hot.  I have a  cooling blanket on my bed and I use that every night and it's just amazing. um 30:00 And so, yeah, that's what he bought me from, or one of the gifts that he bought me from Mother's Day was a cooling pillow. I'm like, this is genius. I love it. So does it, I don't know anything about these. Does it have a thing inside of it that keeps it cool? Is that how it works? um I'm assuming that's how it works. ah On this one, I don't know if they're all the same, but on this one, that one side of the pillow is cool. You can flip it to the other side and both sides are like really soft, but 30:28 oh Yeah, the cooling side when you touch it, it feels really cool.  I May have to look into that because I am NOT in my mid 40s. I'm in my mid 50s  So I am I am over the hump as it were  But I do sometimes I wake up in the middle of night and I'm like god, it's so hot Mm-hmm. I hate this. So yeah, I'll have to look into that because that might help It's it's definitely worth it. And then now everybody wants the pillow. So 30:57 We may have to order more. you have any idea of what price point they are?  Oh gosh, I don't even know. I have no clue  where he bought it or anything. I can maybe find out and I'll send it to you. Okay. worth it. And then this cooling blanket is worth it too. Now this,  it was a brand last year that reached out to me and said, hey, we want to send this to you  to try. And I was like, yes, absolutely. And it's  amazing. 31:25 It's kind of thin and I mean over here, we, just can't have thick blankets. I love, I admire all the ladies that have the beautifully made beds with all the pillows and all the blankets. We can't do that here. No, you'll be a puddle in the morning. Yeah, no, we're not doing that. Yeah. Isn't it exciting when a brand reaches out to you? had that happen last week and I'm waiting on some, some deodorant samples from a company called Pretty Frank is the name of the company. 31:54 Oh,  it's nice. I'm kind of picky about who, you know,  it just depends on what the terms are because some things I'm like,  if it's I'm not a beauty influencer and I'll get that all the time and I'm just like, this just doesn't fit with my audience. Nobody.  No, I mean, that's not my people, you know,  but are like sometimes they'll offer to send it and then it's like,  oh, and you also  have to give us all the rights to the video and you have to do all these crazy things. I'm like, 32:22 ah No, thanks. That's not worth it for a  $20 product, you know? Yeah, no. about what it is, but if it's something really cool and it fits the brand, you know, fits what I'm all about, I'm like, oh yeah, I want to try that. Yeah, they emailed me and I thought it was, I'm going to  tell the truth here, I thought I was getting scammed because no one ever has emailed me out of the blue. 32:48 It is. It's you have to be careful, you know? Yep. So I went and locked him up and I rolled back and I was like, um. 32:57 Yeah.  And the person said, can we schedule a phone call? And I was like, okay, yes, a phone call would be great because then I can get a feel.  Right. And they were telling me all about this deodorant and it is all natural. They have, um, they have a baking soda recipe and a no baking soda recipe because some people have, they have a skin reaction to baking soda. Yeah.  And telling me all about this product. And I was like, 33:25 Yeah, I would love to try this and yes, I would love to promote this. This is fantastic. Yeah. So, but I don't want to promote it, promote it. I want to say this is great until I try it. Right. But I the concept. That's usually what I'll tell them too. Like I'm happy, you know, they'll say, we'd love to send this for you to try. And if you feel like it's a good fit, you know, you can share and tag us or whatever. And I'm like, absolutely. But if they, you know, 33:51 and I haven't even tried it, I just feel weird about sharing something with someone if I don't truly love it, you know? um And I tell that to people that, you know, like my little community, I'm like, if I share it, it's because I've tried it and I really like it. I'm not gonna share something that I don't like, you know? And if it's like local, even better. I love supporting like our little local community and all the Cajun products and stuff like that. That's like my thing, you know? Yeah. 34:20 And the thing is in social media or digital marketing or whatever the heck they're calling it now, I swear what you and I do has had at least eight different names in the last five years.  The things that you start with are your voice and your integrity. Yeah.  And if you lose your integrity, you won't be  using your voice anymore because people won't listen. Exactly. Exactly. I know I have to be authentic to myself, you know. 34:48 Yes, I did. don't know if you watched, I think since the last time we talked, I started this  Let's Rode series. Have you seen it on my  page? I don't know because I see you and I watch stuff, but I'm not necessarily like paying attention closely. So what is it? Well, I haven't shared it in it's been a while, but like that's something that I started. And man, has speaking of like authenticity and stuff. It just has brought me so much joy and it's so I think that's what connects. 35:18 People is like whenever you share something that you really love or you're really passionate about and people can sense that, know? oh But like my following has grown so much since I started that. And what it was is just oh like when my grandmother, so my grandmother would always say, let's go Rode. And so it's like the Cajun French word for like just  going around town, riding around, going all over, you know? And she would say that, oh, let's go Rode. And so  I was on my stories one day and I said, 35:47 I don't know if y'all have this, but this might sound cheesy, but I have a bucket list on my phone and it's all places like in Louisiana that I want to go to.  And if I find a place, I'll just put it on my phone. And I said, I want to start, I'd love to start a series where I just go to these places and people just flocked to it and they were like, yes, yes,  I love that idea. And so I came up with the name. I was like, how about we call it let's road eight. And so I started this series and that's what I'll do. I'll like, 36:15 go to places on my Louisiana bucket list. So it's usually like I'll visit a town and I'll go to their coffee shop or their if they have a local thrift shop or antique store. um Like I'll try their a restaurant or if they have something that's like a museum or um I'll go to visit  if they have a grotto or something or a cool chapel. I'll go and I'll visit these places  and 36:42 People have just loved it so much. Now, I mean, I'm a teacher. So once school is in, I don't have as much free time to do it.  But usually in the summer, you know, like this summer, I'll ramp it up again and start doing it. But that has just been such a cool thing. Like it's evolved so much and so many people and so many businesses have said, oh, wow, you brought so many people to our shop. And I don't know, it's just been so cool to do. It's something that has brought me so much joy. And it's, think the 37:11 I've gained more followers just because it's who I am and it's a part of my culture and it just, think people enjoy that, you know? Yeah, it sounds like fun. And there's so little that is just pure fun once you get past 40. Yeah. Like kid feeling fun. Right. And that's the thing, I'll go to these places, most of the time I go by myself. I'll take the drive and most places are like an hour away and I'll just go visit and I just... 37:40 I'll enjoy going to these places just by myself. Sometimes I'll bring my son, sometimes I'll bring my family. It just depends, you know, but,  and I've, there's so many places in your own backyard that you don't even know about. And  I'll get those messages from people that'll just say, I don't even realize we had this here. You know, you don't have to travel out of state. You can just go on these little day trips, you know? Yeah.  I meant to ask you last time and the time before that, and I didn't. 38:10 You have kids. How many kids do you have? have two boys. So I have a 19 year old and an 11 year old.  So the 19 year old is uh off to college or off on his own now. He's off on his own. Yep. He went to, well, I mean, he still technically lives here, but he's never here cause he travels, but he went to electrical school and he works for this great company where he's doing like em industrial. So they go work on solar plants and stuff and he loves it. So. 38:40 He'll be gone for  a few weeks and then he comes home a few days and he's back again.  Okay. And your youngest, um is he what, fourth grade, fifth grade? He is going to fifth grade.  Yeah. Does he help with cooking? Does he like cooking with you?  He does. He loves to cook. Yep. And sometimes he'll say, oh you know, let's do a video together. don't know, lately, yesterday I said... 39:05 Why don't we do this video and he was like, no something can oh, I hope that doesn't Don't let it end if you can if you can gently nudge him keep it going Number one because it's so good for you guys to build those memories. But number two Boys men also need to know how to cook for themselves So if he keeps doing it with you, he is showing other males that it is totally cool to cook. Yeah 39:35 And it's great too because my husband is a great cook and he cooks a lot.  he shows our boys and like my 19 year old, he'll call sometimes and say, hey, I'm making  whatever. know, mom, how do I do this? And I just kinda, or he'll send me a picture and say, is this look good? I'm like, yep.  Coming over, when's it ready?  Now, I mean, most of the time he's in a hotel room or  Airbnb. So it just depends on where he is and what he can cook. 40:03 Yeah, he'll go to his girlfriend's house and he'll message me and be like, look what I made. And he's a great cook and he's only 19, but that's just from watching us and being around us, you know? Yeah, exactly.  All right. Well, I try to keep these to half an hour and we're good. 10 minutes over,  Christy. uh I adore you. Please keep doing what you're doing. is mutual. The feeling is mutual. Thank you so much. And people can find you at T's Kitchen on Facebook. 40:31 Yep. I'm a Tease Kitchen on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.  You need to get on YouTube. I do. Well, I actually am on YouTube, but I haven't posted there in over a year just because  I don't understand it. I need to do some research on  the ins and outs of YouTube. I don't understand it as much as the other ones.  Okay. Well,  maybe one of your sons can  help you. Maybe. 40:57 Yeah, because my youngest says that, Mom, you need to be on YouTube.  Well, yes, and he's not wrong. Again, you have the most beautiful speaking voice and you have a beautiful face  and you have a great attitude and you're talented.  Share it. Share it all over the place. Thank you. That means so much to me.  All right, Christy, thank you so much. As always, people can find me at a tinyhomesteadpodcast.com. ah 41:23 I hope at some point we actually get to meet in person, Kristy. I think that would be so much fun. Me too. That would be awesome.  All right. You have a great rest of your day. Thank you. Same to you.