Have you heard?
Probably not.
I haven’t just fallen off the face of the earth. Just face first into this quick skillet nectarine blackberry crisp.
Besides for this nectarine blackberry crisp other exciting things are happening over here at SRW but my lips are sealed.
I’m not going to tell you this site is getting a major facelift of maybe a better word is complete reconstruction. Or that I have a new program set to release next week. Or even that I have a life-changing, realistic and totally creative project headed to the printer in October perfect for the new year.
Nope, my lips are sealed. But you’re totally going to want to stay-tuned because just when you thought life couldn’t get any better, it is going to and it’s going to happen in a flash.
Three, four, five, and six new things are coming your way and it all starts in September. Except for that course which only my online newsletter subscribing posse will get first so don’t wait to sign up.
Speaking of a beautiful life, have I told you about mine in all of it’s perfection? No tears, no fights, no whining, no sleepless nights, no stress…beautiful.
Actually, this doesn’t even happen in my dreams. Just in my angry thoughts about how perfect social media makes others lives look. Can we just start a new social media that is all about real life. I mean if that were the case this house could probably post something about every hour of every day, all throughout the night.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade this life for the world and all of its craziness. I’m blessed regardless but as you know my kind and sweet friends I’m an open book. Who likes you to know real life with a working mom, three girls, a husband working for corporate America, a puppy who eats everything and all done living in po-dunk Iowa amongst rows of corn and gravel roads.
Yes, I too get my hopes up and am still learning that expectations only lead to disappointment and that I must just get rid of them all together when you live with three girls under the age of five.
Wait, what?
Yes, I’ve now become the mom I used to judge, pre-kids I might add. The one who lets her one year old walk around the State Fair without shoes, or the mom who forgets sunscreen on a 90 degree day and lets her two year old pick food up off the sidewalk and eat it without any words from me. I’m also the mom who lets her child get covered in temporary tattoos and all of their glorious chemicals, who doesn’t fight the battle of taking them off until they wear just enough she looks like she is covered in dirt.
I’m also the mom who doesn’t bother to wash their hands before eating at one of the fine State Fair food establishments right after petting all of the animals against my mom’s dismay.
Wait, maybe I should back up. Obviously, we went to the Iowa State Fair yesterday. One of the largest and greatest in all the country. I have to tell you I’ve been going every year for as long as I can remember. It really is a fun place, with great culture and a time for my kids to learn about agriculture. For us it’s never been about the rides more about the food and the experience of learning something new.
With that, I had planned to do an entire post about healthy food found at the State Fair. It totally is doable and there really are some great options. But reality struck when you take three little girls to the State Fair, it ends up being 90 degrees and your littlest spikes a temp. Things… life just never goes as planned.
We still managed to have a good time, I think. I remember at one point as I’m pushing this massive double jogging stroller through the masses of people (think Disney World craziness) one man looks at me with a smile and says, “you’re looking pretty tired already mom.” It was 11:00 AM.
And that pretty much sums up our State Fair experience. A lot more work than I realized. I guess having an entire year in between makes you forget how little you see, how slow you walk and the sheer amount of time in the car it took to get there verses the amount of time we got to spend at the fair.
Such is life. Memories were still made, we can check it off the list and I was able to teach some other young girls and future-moms a lesson who were pre-judging me that someday they would soon understand why some things in life, like letting your toddler eat food off the ground she dropped, watching your one year old roll around on the ground and walk barefoot just aren’t worth the battle.
With all of that I didn’t take one picture. Nope not one.
Because of the temp and the 90 degree day we ended up heading home much early than anticipated. This also meant that we didn’t get to eat much, so to redeem ourselves I whipped up this quick and easy crisp to finish off the beautiful mess of life that happened yesterday.
Think sweet juicy nectarines with plump fresh blackberries baked with a crumbly sweet crisp on top. I’d say it is pretty much a toss-up on what is my favorite part. The cooked spiced fruit or that crumbly crisp. Together it equals perfection and much better than any perfectly frosted cake in my book.
Plus you can get a little romantic by baking it in these skillets perfect for two. I mean it is the closest thing to romantic the hubs and I have done in a while, is that embarrassing? I told him as we first broke into our skillet crisps together that this was like our date-night as we unashamedly blocked out the noise and fighting our other two were having in fighting over who got what bite from their crisp.
Sometimes in life it is the little things, the quick and easy road to delicious food maybe even served up in these little cute skillets that makes it so sweet.
Easy, delicious and definitely worth the time. A new family favorite and and the perfect ending to the most imperfect of days.
P.S. One thing that isn’t changing the crazy wild journey of my life that you get to live with me. I would know what I would do without this outlet to show real life happens even amongst the perfection of social media. Thanks sweet friends.
x0x0
Oh and don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter to get the first look at the new program…. squeal!
- 3 nectarines
- 1 pint blackberries
- 2 Tbsp coconut sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1½ Tbsp arrowroot powder (tapioca works well too)
- Crisp
- ⅔ cup soaked oats (oatmeal)
- 1 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts and/or almonds)
- 2 Tbsp flax meal
- 3 Tbsp chia seeds
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- ¼ cup raw local honey
- 5 Tbsp melted coconut oil (butter)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Slice nectarines and place in a bowl.
- Add blackberries, coconut sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and arrowroot powder. Mix well.
- Place in the bottom of a two small skillets or a small baking pan.
- In a separate bowl mix together oats, nuts, flax meal, chia seeds and coconut flour.
- Stir in local honey and coconut oil or butter.
- Crumble together and spoon on top of fruit mixture.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until top is golden and fruit is cooked through.
