honey vanilla syrup

i was recently invited by a sweet friend, who also happens to be the best neighbor in the world, to go on a drive up to Shaver Lake for a little adventure. we both have girls the same age, so we strapped them into the back seat and headed for the hills! we were a little under prepared for chilly weather. while still at home we thought it would be a good idea to bring swim suits, just in case it was warm enough to put our feet in the lake. boy, were we wrong! there was patches of (dirty) snow still on the sides of the road!! little a and i are still working on being flexible and patient... so i had to deal with her bad attitude when we couldn't get wet. i confess i struggled keeping my own heart in control as a response to her temper tantrum.... but i managed. 

the day was saved when we decided to head to a little cafe and order some crepes (not paleo). Steph (my neighbor) ordered a spinach, cheese, and green onion crepe with poppy seed dressing and i had the lemon crepe. AMAZING! definitely going to try to recreate it. but the thing that stuck in my head was the Honey Vanilla Latte i ordered. i never thought honey would taste good with coffee (reformed-four-tablesoons-of-granulated-sugar-in-my-coffee-girl), but it was suttly sweet and just right!

dang. so good. 

here is my attempt at homemade coffee syrup, honey vanilla flavor. the great news is that it's paleo! 

{HONEY VANILLA SYRUP}

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup water

1 vanilla bean, scraped

put all ingredients in a small sauce pan (including the vanilla bean pod!!) and bring to a simmer. let simmer until well combined. 

viola! 

easy breezy lemon squeezy. 

love, 

tara

Spring Break

oh happy day

this year, for my birthday (in November) i would like a Churro party. everyone make sure my husband knows.

totally off topic.

so, it's officially Spring Break! my babies are home from school, no one is rushing us out the door in the morning (me), no homework, the sun is out and shining, and Easter is quickly approaching... which means we get to get ready for fun crafts!

but what i'm really trying to say is, as much as all that is true and fun, it means more work for mom, right? (RIGHT?!) the kids have expectations of being entertained day and night, they think we have endless amounts of money to go on fun excursions to Boomer's and John's Incredible Pizza. Easter is coming, which means i have to come up with crafts.... and that means my house gets messy and my OCD flairs up. on top of it all, i still have to cook and clean. and i don't get to sleep in because i don't have teenagers yet.

someone invite me over for a margarita.

#kiddingnotkidding
#yesijusthashtagedonmyblog

here's to a fun, family-filled, spring break! i really am excited about it.

love,
tara

grain free blackberry cream cheese coffee cake

wow. long title. 

guys. i made food. then i took pictures. now i will share. 

while recently scouring pinterest, i stumbled upon a recipe for Blackberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake, and thought to myself, "please oh please can i turn this paleo!??!". shortly after i was in search of a good paleo coffee cake recipe that i could change to fit me needs. 

here is what i came up with:

i didn't have sour cream so i used cream cheese. we are a dairy-eating paleo family... so i guess we're primal? we cut dairy out, put it back in, didn't see a difference. it works for us. and instead of bananas i used date puree. i also used butter. because butter makes it better. but it was Kerrigold (imported from Ireland from grass fed cows) so i feel good about that. 

{GRAIN-FREE BLACKBERRY CREAM CHEESE COFFEE CAKE}

12 pitted medjool dates

2 tbsp water

5 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 c organic vegetable shortening

1/2 c coconut flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 c blackberries, washed and quartered

CRUMBLE TOPPING

1/2 c almond flour

1/3 c coconut palm sugar

1/2 tsp lemon zest

4 tbsp. butter, melted

1/2 sliced almonds

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. to make the date paste, place the dates in a microwave safe dish with water. microwave for 30 second intervals, mashing between, until in a paste like consistency, no longer than 2 minutes. please paste in food processor. 
3. add all wet ingredients to food processor. pulse until combined. 
4. add dry ingredients. pulse til combined. 
5. add batter to baking pan. evenly distribute blackberries on top. 
6. mix all crumble topping ingredients together and evenly distribute on top of blackberries. 
7. bake for 45 minutes. let cool completely before busting into this bad boy.

enjoy!

xoxo,

tara

hello stranger

Source: sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net via Tara on Pinterest

well hello stranger. 

did you think i forgot about you? well, i didn't. life has been throwing me for a loop these last several months and blogging has fallen to the bottom of my priority list, much like having a cup of coffee alone. that never happens. but would be lovely. 

i have big dreams for this little blog, but not much time to make these dreams come to fruition. so for now i'll just pop in an say hello, and i love you, and i miss you. 

hopefully i'll be back soon with a recipe or update on finished projects or something! i hope you all are doing well!

love,

tara

pumpkin cranberry grain-free granola

welp. Target has the costumes out, and Michael's smells like cinnamon heaven. that must mean autumn is either here or approaching quickly. although, you wouldn't know it based on the weather here in Fresno. it is STILL IN THE 100's. frick. 

i keep seeing all these people decorating for fall or enjoying warm cups of Pumkin Spice Latte... but i just can't into it when i'm still searching for summer outfit inspiration in Pinterest. i would really love to start pairing my cut off jeans with a scarf and booties, but i would probably die from heat stroke. 

ok, i'm done complaining. here is my attempt to join the rest of the world in their everything-fall-pumpkin-craze. 

i adapted the recipe from Urban Poser's recipe for Banana Walnut grain-free granola. i'm not a huge fan of banana flavored stuff and thought it would go well with the season to make a pumpkin version. 

i'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, especially since i burned my last TWO batches of grain-free granola that i got out of the Eat Like a Dinosaur cookbook. it sounds like a good recipe, but i cannot not burn it! ugh. 

SERIOUS CLOSEUP!

{PUMPKIN CRANBERRY GRAIN-FREE GRANOLA}

1 c raw walnut pieces

1 c raw pecan pieces

1/2 c raw almond slices

1/2 c raw pumpkin seeds

1 c raw almonds

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 c dried cranberries

3/4 c canned pumpkin puree

1/4 c honey

1/4 c coconut oil

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp vanilla extract

preheat oven to 250 degrees. 

in a large bowl combine walnuts, pecans, and pumpkin seeds. mix thoroughly. add raw whole almonds and 1 1/2 cups of the nut mixture to a food processor and pulse til it resembles a large crumb. add back to remaining nut mixture. add sliced almonds. add spices and cranberries. stir to combine.

wipe food processor out and add pumpkin puree, honey, coconut oil, water, and vanilla extract. pulse to combine, making sure to scrape down sides. add to nut mixture. stir well to combine. 

pour onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and spread out evenly. bake between 1-2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes to ensure no burning. let cool and store at room temperature in an air tight container. 

enjoy!

xoxo,

tara

P.S. i'm super obsessed with Urban Poser's recipes right now! they are so good, i have tried so many and they are so flavorful and addictive. if you're looking for more fall inspired recipes here are a couple i have tried from her collections, although she has many more:

Almond Flour Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf - made this two days in a row, SO GOOD!

Rasperries & Cream Breakfast Cake - i have made this, li-tra-lee, a dozen times. for a fall twist i added chopped apples covered in cinnamon and coconut palm sugar and it turned out amazing.

Apple, Butternut Squash, Bacon Hash - RIDICULOUS. that's all.

***UPDATE: my post originally said to stir the granola every 5 minutes, but that was a typo! thanks for bringing that to my attention Bekah!!!***

make it paleo: apple cinnamon muffins

hi guys. i'm going to share a little secret with you. i have a "ripe-fruit-phobia". i'm sure that's not the clinical name for it... but it's what i've got. i CANNOT stand fruit that is past it's prime. that's right, bananas with more than 5 freckles, become banana bread... i check each and every grape before eating to make sure it's not squishy (must.have.crunchy.grapes.)... and if my apples are less than crunchy and juicy when biting into them... well it just won't do. 

i know i know. i'm a fruit snob.

but i also hate wasting food. do you ever have fruit that needs to be eaten, and quickly, before it starts turning funky? i tend to find we don't eat our apples as quickly as i'd like to before they go from crunchy to sort of soft. so i came up with this yummy breakfast (or in my case, anytime) muffin. 

{PALEO APPLE CINNAMON MUFFIN}

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

4 eggs

1/3 cup canned coconut milk 

1/2 cup apple sauce

Apple Cinnamon Topping

1 tablespoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons apple sauce

2 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 apple, peeled and chopped

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients with a hand mixer. Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients with a hand mixer until well combined. Add batter until prepared muffin cups about 3/4 full.

In a separate bowl, combine apple cinnamon topping ingredients until apples are coated. Scoop mixture over top of muffins and using a toothpick swirl the topping into the muffin batter. Bake muffins for 20 – 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Makes about 10 to 12 muffins.

Enjoy!

love, tara

monday inspiration: beautiful baubles

happy monday everyone! i am currently smelling my dinner for Life Group tonight that has been in the slow cooker for 16 hours whilst eating a chocolate cupcake. weird combo. 

anyway, i wanted to share with you my recent obsession in modern rings, organically shaped with natural stones. its kind of all the rage right now, but i have been loving this style for several years and wonder if it's something i want to commit to. 

my current wedding set is a simple thick white gold band and a solitaire princess cut diamond. classic but i haven't been loving it since i had kids, almost 6 years ago! the diamond sits too high on the band and the sharp edges constantly scratch my kids or snag my clothes. 

it's a beautiful diamond, but doesn't really have any sentimental value other than the fact that it's the ring we got married with. (i ordered it through a friend of my boss's at the time who was a diamond importer and he shipped it fedex. the first time my husband saw it i was already wearing it!) 

have i told you this story already? i feel like i have. maybe it's cause its on my mind so much lately. 

No.1} dangarang. maybe if i just get a new setting and turn the diamond on it's side so its just a little "different"?? 

No. 2} so lovely and simple. (similar) 

No.3} this would be a good right hand, index finger ring. certain rings just need certain fingers. 

No. 4} THIS ring makes my heart stop. (no original site found for link)

No. 5} charming and natural. (no original site found for link)

No. 6} organically shaped and stunning. although it looks like it could slice you open if angled right.... hmmm.

No. 7} the perfect signet ring.

No. 8} again, heart stopping. 

so, based on this little gathering of things that are equally slaying me and calming me with utter serenity, i feel like at least a new setting would suffice. 

what's your opinion? 

the original classic or a modern twist?

love, tara