About Tara

Tara Liptak

If you show up at my house on any given Saturday morning, you’ll probably find me pouring over stacks of cookbooks with a mug of hot coffee in hand while I plan out my weekly menu. As the founder of the food blog, Smells Like Home, which I’ve been blogging at since 2007, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen developing new recipes and remaking old favorites for my family. In the process, I’m constantly looking for new ingredients to use that will zhoosh up my recipes and I often turn to fun, niche grocery stores like Trader Joe’s for inspiration. How can you go wrong with sprinkling baked salmon with some Everything But the Bagel Seasoning?

Cooking and baking are my stress relievers and at the heart of it, I’m a home cook and baker. I’m not professionally trained but like so many home cooks, I’ve spent years in the kitchen teaching myself to cook and I love everything about food.

Originally from Long Island, NY, I spent almost 20 years living in Connecticut where I worked as a research project manager at Yale University. I now live with my family in coastal Maine, a place that we’ve dreamed of living for many years. I’m a full-time blogger and food photographer and between photoshoots, you can find me chasing after our 3 1/2 year old.

My partner here at Two Cousins Haul It All is my cousin, Mariah. While she’s a bit younger than I am, we’re super close and over the past few years, she’s been an integral part of my food blog, helping me with everything from recipe development to cooking to food styling. We’ve also spent a lot of time gushing over our favorite products from Trader Joe’s, Lidl, and Aldi and finally decided it was time to turn this shared love into a space on the web for others to join in the fun too.

We so happy that you’re here and we hope we inspire you to try some new things at Trader Joe’s, Lidl, and Aldi!