Cooking Shrimp Pasta While High |

Watch the full 24-min session above, or scroll for the recipe, pro tips, and photos.

First Impressions

I’m Chef Tarik Sparks, bringing cannabis cooking and food photography together, Yes, I look high. My wife’s putting my daughter to sleep, I just dropped a little sativa tincture (later than I should have), and instead of gaming, I’m in the kitchen making shrimp pasta. That’s how Cook Highly goes—real food, real cannabis, real life.

The Cannabis Element

Took a sativa tincture (Alaska strain) → focus + energy.

Reminder: you can make your own tincture at home (decarb + high-proof alcohol/oil).

Cooking high sharpens the senses: garlic smells stronger, salt hits more accurately, bacon sizzles become cues.

👉 Free guide here if you want to start infusing properly: How to Dose Edibles That Actually Work.

Flavor Build

Shrimp + veggies defrosted in the microwave.

Cast-iron pan: onions, garlic, bacon in first.

Pasta water salted heavy (“fisherman’s balls” salty—chef school rule).

Sauce: tomato base, wine deglaze, bay leaf, thyme, red pepper flakes, black pepper.

Adjusted balance: leaned sweet from onion, pulled back with spice + herbs.

⚡ Chef note: Season until it feels like a hug. That’s when you know it’s right.

🍤 Quick Shrimp & Bacon Pasta (30 min)

Ingredients

½ lb shrimp, peeled & deveined

6 oz pasta (penne, farfalle, or mix)

3 strips bacon, chopped

½ onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 can tomato sauce (14 oz)

1 bay leaf

Red pepper flakes, thyme, black pepper

Salt (for pasta water)

Grated cheese (for topping)

Method

Salt water + cook pasta until al dente. Reserve some water. Cook bacon → add onion + garlic. Toss in shrimp, cook until pink. Add tomato sauce + bay leaf, season, deglaze with wine/pasta water. Toss pasta into sauce, adjust seasoning. Finish with cheese.

Pro Tips

✔ Save veggie scraps → stock.

✔ Use “the claw” when cutting (chef school rule).

✔ Sauce too sweet? Fix it with spice + herbs.

✔ Sauce too loose? Use starchy pasta water to thicken.

Real-Life Note

My wife fell asleep before eating, so I turned it into a shoot instead.

Camera: Sony A7III

Lens: Sigma 24–70mm f/2.8

Settings: ISO 800, f/4.5, 1/125 shutter

Style: Top-down natural light.

Top-down bowls always hit. Scraping bacon bits off the pan gave both flavor and texture in photos.

Final Takeaway

High cooking tips like these keep me present in the kitchen. Cooking high isn’t about chaos—it’s about intention. Cannabis slows you down just enough to notice what’s happening in the pan, the aroma in the air, and the balance of flavor.

👇 Resources & Links 👇

🎁 FREE Edible Dosing Guide → https://payhip.com/b/O9gZK Learn how to decarb, dose, and infuse your food like a pro.

🧑🏾‍🍳 Work with Chef Sparks → https://www.thehiddencreation.com/#contact Offering infused dinners, food photography, and private coaching.

📸 Instagram → https://instagram.com/thehiddencreation Behind-the-scenes, infused meals, and daily chef content.

📘 Cannabis Cooking Book → https://payhip.com/TheHiddenCreation Step-by-step cannabis-infused recipes, infusion tips, and more.

✂️ Opus Clip – Edit Videos Faster → https://www.opus.pro/?via=thehiddencreation AI-powered video clipping tool. Create social-ready shorts in minutes.d recipes, infusion tips, and more.