ummm.... hello september?! 

where did 2016 go? in my mind i just got married last week so it could only be mid january right? RIGHT?

wrong.

this year is just one holiday season away from being over. and while there is a lot to look forward to, i have a very special anniversary coming up this month. 

september 21st marks one year since i left my corporate job that left me stressed, unhealthy and downright unhappy. but i shed that former skin and embarked on a new journey to create the life that i dreamed of living. 

the last year has been spent hustling and planning and learning and practicing. and while my wallet is a little tighter than my previous life, there are WAY more ups than downs. 

but most importantly, there is a lot of really delicious food. 

last week, after a cancelled swim lesson, i found myself at an empty produce store in the middle of the day. and when you are the only lady in a produce store, you get some extra attention. the man working there introduced me to these stunners...

welcome to my life "elephant heart" plums. 

and i knew the perfect thing to do with these beauties. 

plum tart + hazelnut crust
serves: 8
prep time: 20
bake time: 40 minutes
chill time : 1 hour
total time: 2 hours
ingredients: crust. 1.5 c hazelnut meal (if you can not find hazelnut meal, no problem. purchase a pack of skinned hazelnuts and blend them yourself in a food processor until they are fine). 4 tbs of butter, melted. 1 tbs honey. 2 tbs sugar. .25 tsp salt. .25 tsp baking soda. 

filling. .75 c sugar. .75 c milk. 6 oz greek yogurt (i used blueberry but you could use your favorite fruit flavor or no flavor at all). 2 eggs. 2 tsp cornstarch. 1 tsp vanilla extract. 1.5 cups sliced plums (your favorite kind or whatever you can get your hands on).

start by preheating your oven to 325 f. in a medium bowl, whisk together your dry crust ingredients. drizzle in the honey and pour the butter over the top. mix until just combined. 

butter an 8 inch springform pan and turn the crust dough out onto the pan. use your fingers to press the dough around to cover the bottom of the pan and start to press it up the sides. when the tart crust is nice and even, bake it till set and light golden brown. about 20 minutes.
when your crust is finished, up the oven temperature to 375 f.
whisk together all remaining ingredients except the plums. you have a choice here. you can either add in the plums to the wet ingredients after they are combined, or you can wait to make a design with them once you have poured your wet filling into crust. bakers choice. 

when you have poured your filling into the crust and set your plums, bake the tart just until set. about 20-25 minutes.

allow the tart to cool and then refrigerate it for at least an hour. this well ensure easy and pretty slices. serve cold or at room temp. 

xo, a

plum tart + hazelnut crust
serves: 8
prep time: 20
bake time: 40 minutes
chill time : 1 hour
total time: 2 hours
ingredients: crust. 1.5 c hazelnut meal (if you can not find hazelnut meal, no problem. purchase a pack of skinned hazelnuts and blend them yourself in a food processor until they are fine). 4 tbs of butter, melted. 1 tbs honey. 2 tbs sugar. .25 tsp salt. .25 tsp baking soda.
filling. .75 c sugar. .75 c milk. 6 oz greek yogurt (i used blueberry but you could use your favorite fruit flavor or no flavor at all). 2 eggs. 2 tsp cornstarch. 1 tsp vanilla extract. 1.5 cups sliced plums (your favorite kind or whatever you can get your hands on).
start by preheating your oven to 325 f. in a medium bowl, whisk together your dry crust ingredients. drizzle in the honey and pour the butter over the top. mix until just combined.
butter an 8 inch springform pan and turn the crust dough out onto the pan. use your fingers to press the dough around to cover the bottom of the pan and start to press it up the sides. when the tart crust is nice and even, bake it till set and light golden brown. about 20 minutes.
when your crust is finished, up the oven temperature to 375 f.
whisk together all remaining ingredients except the plums. you have a choice here. you can either add in the plums to the wet ingredients after they are combined, or you can wait to make a design with them once you have poured your wet filling into crust. bakers choice.
when you have poured your filling into the crust and set your plums, bake the tart just until set. about 20-25 minutes.
allow the tart to cool and then refrigerate it for at least an hour. this well ensure easy and pretty slices. serve cold or at room temp. 

oh my. where do i even begin?

i guess i'll start by welcoming august, twenty sixteen. we are only two days in, but the air is very thick with excitement, change and gd humidity. 

then i'll have to move along to all the reasons this month is awesome. 

yesterday, i sent off my first invoices for images sold. yup. i sold some of my photos. no, that does not make me a sell out. that makes me a paid photographer b*tches! it only took me six years of practice to figure out what the hell i was doing. 

tomorrow, the winner of my first instagram contest with hoffman home & lifestyle will be announced. it has been wonderful to work with the family owned business i have idolized for years! the have been making fabric for almost a century and i'm thrilled they are expanding into home decor. you can still enter to win a stunning napkin + placemat set & gourmet goodies from me by following @newfoodtuesdayz & @hoffmanhome.life and tagging two friends in the comments section of any of our giveaway posts. come on. you know you want to. wink. 

and now, the real reason that this month is so magical... 

thursday morning, wes & i will hop on a plane to > toronto. where we will meet up with my brother albert & his gf kate. from there, we will purchase a bunch of booze in duty free and hop another flight to > rio, where my youngest brother joshua is already preparing to compete in his first OLYMPICS. yup. after twenty years of training, he has accomplished every athletes dream. no matter the medal outcome, he is an olympian. i'm awed by his drive and dedication. he has given his body, his time and his soul to the sport he loves and it shows. he is a true inspiration. 

so in honor of him, i'm going to spend my time in rio soaking up all the inspiration possible. from the food, to the culture & especially the olympic drive & emotion. 

i also plan on doing quite a bit of relaxing and enjoying time with family, since i've never actually taken an eighteen day vacation and family time is hard to come by. well, i guess i did have a three month unemployment vacation, but that wasn't exactly the same. that time was full of wedding planning and was not surrounded by sugarloaf or christ the redeemer. 

in honor of rio's tropical climate, where ironically it is winter but is till going to be eighty degrees fahrenheit while we are there, i whipped up some tasty mango + coconut pops. 

these pops are easy to make, adorable to serve and provide the perfect hot day snack for yourself or your kiddos. 

mango + coconut pops
serves: 6 pops
prep time: 10 minutes
freeze time: 5 hours
total time: 5 hours 10 minutes
ingredients: 1 large ripe mango, flesh scooped out + 2 tbs small chopped fresh mango reserved. 1 c pineapple juice. .5 c canned coconut milk. .5 c coconut water. 1 tbs powdered sugar. 2 tbs shredded coconut. 1 popsicle mold. 

in the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine mango & pineapple juice. blend till pureed.
add in the chunks of of mango and stir just till combined. set the mango mixture aside. 

in a medium sized bowl, combine the powdered sugar, coconut milk, coconut water and coconut chunks. whisk the mixture together well and set it with the bowl of mango puree. 

fill your molds, alternating a little bit of mango puree followed by a little bit of coconut mix until your mold is full. 

if you have molds that don't have fixed toppers, place your pops in the freezer for about 2 hours so the mixture is just slightly frozen. then pop in the sticks so they stay straight up. if you have fixed tops, pop them on and freeze the pops for 5 hours or until firm.

follow the mold instructions to remove your pops (usually running the molds under warm water for about 15 seconds) and serve. 

if you aren't eating all your pops you can reserve them in a plastic bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. 

xoxo
a

mango + coconut pops
serves: 6 pops
prep time: 10 minutes
freeze time: 5 hours
total time: 5 hours 10 minutes
ingredients: 1 large ripe mango, flesh scooped out + 2 tbs small chopped fresh mango reserved. 1 c pineapple juice. .5 c canned coconut milk. .5 c coconut water. 1 tbs powdered sugar. 2 tbs shredded coconut. 1 popsicle mold.
in the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine mango & pineapple juice. blend till pureed.
add in the chunks of of mango and stir just till combined. set the mango mixture aside.
in a medium sized bowl, combine the powdered sugar, coconut milk, coconut water and coconut chunks. whisk the mixture together well and set it with the bowl of mango puree.
fill your molds, alternating a little bit of mango puree followed by a little bit of coconut mix until your mold is full.
if you have molds that don't have fixed toppers, place your pops in the freezer for about 2 hours so the mixture is just slightly frozen. then pop in the sticks so they stay straight up. if you have fixed tops, pop them on and freeze the pops for 5 hours or until firm.
follow the mold instructions to remove your pops (usually running the molds under warm water for about 15 seconds) and serve.
if you aren't eating all your pops you can reserve them in a plastic bag in the freezer for up to 2 months.