A Happy Miscommunication

Owning our own business has led to a new level of closeness and partnership between Brian and me.  We spend days discussing how to grow the business, better meet the needs of our students, improve the website, etc.  It has led me to be probably the happiest and most content I have ever been in my professional life.

It also has led me to be home much less so Brian has become the primary canine caregiver, and food preparation has become a more evenly split affair (OK, fine Brian is doing most of the dinner prep these days).  I do try to hold up my end of things, making sauces ahead of time, marinating meat the day before, etc.

Last week, we had pork chops sitting in the fridge, waiting for one of us to come up with a flavor plan.  I went ahead during some free time one morning and made a balsamic glaze for the chops, thinking we could just drizzle it over simply grilled chops.  However, Brian had beaten me to the preparation punch and already had the chops marinating in a Latin-inspired mixture of citrus juices, cumin and oregano.  In my mind the marinade and the glaze tasted awful together. 

Balsamic glaze requires a nice amount of balsamic vinegar, which is not an inexpensive proposition.  In this case, I had reduced almost three-fourths of a cup down to one-third of a cup.  It was a lot of good vinegar, and I did not want it to go to waste.

Luckily, a by-product of this entirely-too-hot-for-my-taste summer is the most bountiful local peach season we have encountered.  Every day, the grocery store has baskets overflowing with Hudson Valley peaches.  These peaches have been ripe, juicy, wonderfully sweet orbs.  Brian loves peaches nearly as much as he loves tomatoes so at a minimum he has been eating two per day. 

I enjoy the peaches, but after days on end of plain, ripe peaches, I wanted a little pizazz.  Not much, just something to make them extra special.   And that is where the balsamic glaze enters the picture.  It gives the super-sweet peaches a touch of tartness that makes them sing.  Somehow those sweet peaches taste a little daring, a little dangerous with that glaze and it makes them oh so fun!

You just need to drizzle a little glaze over freshly sliced peaches.  It doesn't take much.  Balsamic vinegar has a sweetness to it that makes it a good candidate for dressing fruit (remember this for strawberry season next spring).   So give it a try...take your fruit over to the wild side!


PEACHES WITH BALSAMIC GLAZE

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (I used Colavita brand)

Fresh, ripe peaches

In a small saucepan, bring the balsamic vinegar to a boil.  Boil until it is reduced by half, this will take five to ten minutes, depending on the size of the pan.  Keep a close eye on it as the sugar content in the vinegar makes it a candidate for burning if it is over reduced.  Remove from the heat and cool.

Slice peaches into wedges.  Using a small spoon, lightly drizzle the peaches with the glaze.  Start with just a few drops on the peach, taste it, and adjust to taste.

If your peaches are slightly under-ripe (meaning they don't slightly yield to light pressure when touched), then stick them in a brown paper bag, folded close, overnight. 

Away Too Long

It would be great if I could tell you I was kidnapped by aliens, in a coma, or fell off the face of the earth.  I find all of those acceptable excuses for why I left this space in April with every intention of returning in just a few days, and then a few more days, and then next week, and then...well, then turned into four months.  My weekly "to do" list, which I keep in a notebook shows that every week I intended to update my blog.  It's just something wonderful, that truly required my full attention, happily, gratefully got in the way.

I started my own business.

Whew.  There I said it.  I am not sure why it feels like a confession, but it sure does.  I had never set out to own my own business.  I am happy to work with and for others.  I had never dreamed about legal filings, payment ledgers, labor laws and yet they have become my mainstays recently.

What I did say, when it became abundantly clear to me that a life in the restaurant business for which I had trained would require sacrifices in my marriage I was unwilling to make, is that I wanted to teach more yoga.  It turns out the universe is quite an abundant place.  As soon as I said it, and meant it, an amazing opportunity to run my own yoga studio presented itself.  And so that is what I am doing here.

My blogging absence  is evidence of how I have thrown myself into this wonderful task.  Not only am I able to teach more yoga, but I also get to work with other yoga teachers who help me become a better teacher and student every day.  I encounter yoga students of all stripes, bringing their energy and focus to their mats, and I am privy to their endeavors.  I am so very lucky.  I feel so very blessed.

Truly, I should not be saying I started my own business.  Brian and I started a business.  I could not have done it without him, without the support of family and friends, and without the one yoga student of mine who hatched the idea and believed in my ability to bring it to fruition.   The whole experience has been pretty darn wonderful and I cannot wait to meet more new students, witness the progress of current students, and see where this leads. 

I know, though, that a life of one volition, lacks balance.  Not only have I  been absent from this space, but I have been absent from my own kitchen, my own recipe testing, my own culinary passions.  I have felt this absence and slowly I am trying to ingratiate myself.  However, at this time, I don't have much to offer.  My breakfast staple has been toast with apricot preserves and two slices of Manchego cheese.  It's delicious, but I doubt you need a recipe to replicate it.  A photograph shows you all you need to know:

I hope to return, and be more of a presence, in the near future.  For now, though, it's back to the yoga studio, as both student and teacher.