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. 

if i haven't already convinced you, summer is all about the grill. firing up the bbq gets you outside, saves you on dishes and really pumps up the flavor of your food.
and good summer corn is one of my favorite things to grill. after soaking, corn's husk makes the perfect barrier to cook but not burn the corn.
corn's only downside? you don't want to be picking it out of your teeth for the next twenty four. taking the extra step to remove the corn from the cob will save you, and your guests from the unpleasant task of gnawing the kernels off the cob and it gives you the chance to mix in some other great summer ingredients. 

grilled corn salad
serves: 4
prep time: 1 hour
cook time: 30 minutes
total time: 1.5 hours
ingredients: 4 ears sweet corn, husks on. 3 large spring onions. 1 small bunch radish. .5 c cilantro, roughly chopped. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 tbs lemon juice. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 tsp salt. .5 tsp pepper. 

in the sink or large pot of water, soak the corn for 1 hour.
when you are ready to grill, turn on the bbq to a medium high heat. if you have a charcoal grill, make sure to grill the veggies slightly off of the direct heat.
place the corn on the grill and cook, turning every 10 minutes until the husks are pretty well grilled and the corn is cooked through. 30-40 minutes. 

while the corn is grilling, combine radish, onions, olive oil, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper. toss them together well. when the corn is a almost done, grill the onions and radish just until they both have good grill marks. about 4 minutes a side. reserve the vinaigrette the veggies were soaking in. 

when the corn and the veggies are done, allow them to cool enough for you to handle. 

halve the cobs of corn and carefully, slice the kernels off the cob. 

roughly chop the spring onions and radish. in a medium bowl combine the corn, onions, radish and cilantro. drizzle with the remaining marinade, toss and serve cool or at room temp. 

xoxo
a

grilled corn salad
serves: 4
prep time: 1 hour
cook time: 30 minutes
total time: 1.5 hours
ingredients: 4 ears sweet corn, husks on. 3 large spring onions. 1 small bunch radish. .5 c cilantro, roughly chopped. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 tbs lemon juice. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 tsp salt. .5 tsp pepper.
in the sink or large pot of water, soak the corn for 1 hour.
when you are ready to grill, turn on the bbq to a medium high heat. if you have a charcoal grill, make sure to grill the veggies slightly off of the direct heat.
place the corn on the grill and cook, turning every 10 minutes until the husks are pretty well grilled and the corn is cooked through. 30-40 minutes.
while the corn is grilling, combine radish, onions, olive oil, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper. toss them together well. when the corn is a almost done, grill the onions and radish just until they both have good grill marks. about 4 minutes a side. reserve the vinaigrette the veggies were soaking in.
when the corn and the veggies are done, allow them to cool enough for you to handle.
halve the cobs of corn and carefully, slice the kernels off the cob.
roughly chop the spring onions and radish. in a medium bowl combine the corn, onions, radish and cilantro. drizzle with the remaining marinade, toss and serve cool or at room temp.