Where did the summer go? This seems to be the question on everyones mind for the last few weeks...although when I ask that question it sounds a lot more hostile! I've spent the last few weeks totally in denial that Summer was about to come to an end. With this being my last Summer in my home's beautiful backyard (my family is selling the home that I've lived in my whole life this Fall) I've been scared out of my mind about this chapter of my life coming to an end (and now the tears begin). With this and other factors weighing on my mind for the Summer, I'm sad to say that I've pushed away a lot of responsibilities, commitments, and opportunities. It's one thing to focus on the positive, but it's a whole other ball game when you completely neglect anything that might be a little difficult, stressful, or challenging. It's funny that when you think you are pushing away all the negative, in turn you actually push out a whole lot of positive as well. And that's just what I did. When you don't force yourself to truck through those challenging situations you don't gain anything in the end.
My blog was one of the many things that I pushed away this Summer. I felt paralyzed by all of the stress in my life, and felt like keeping up my blog, cooking, writing, and networking would just add to my stress. Now I look back on my Summer, my few recipes that I've posted, the wonderful opportunities that I failed to act on, and my gorgeous herb garden that will begin to die in only a few weeks, and feel such deep regret that I didn't take advantage of it all. I forgot how incredibly happy it makes me to serve a meal that I'm proud of; to share a recipe with friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers; to feel inspired by a new ingredient; to go outside of my boundaries and take a chance; to have someone tell me how great my dish looked or tasted; to get recognition from an unlikely source. Without trucking through the hard work I was never able to gain any of those wonderful and fulfilling benefits. Refusing to let myself slump back into that paralyzed state with this newfound regret, I'm choosing to look at my Summer as a lesson. Nothing of any value can come about without hard work. Those people that seem to get handed everything? Forget about them! That's not reality and that's not how you're going to feel fulfilled at the end of the day. Do what you love, and don't let anything (I mean ANYTHING) get in the way of that.
So I guess you're wondering what the hell this has to do with grilled peaches? The truth is, I've actually written this very entry about five times in the past two weeks, each time finding myself going off topic and getting lost on a tangent about personal issues that don't have a damn thing to do with peaches! So instead of fighting all those feelings that were dying to be put into words and published for everyone to see, I decided to just give in and get it all out so I can move on...and talk about peaches!
After feeling down and out and overwhelmed, it can be difficult to throw yourself back into the game. When you find yourself in this position, the best advice I can give you is to start simple. My Grilled Peaches with Burrata and Prosciutto recipe reflects this idea. This simple yet elegant dish was the perfect recipe for me to create to get myself feeling motivated again. With it's minimal ingredients, incredibly easy and quick assembly, and the stunning final result, my Grilled Peaches with Burrata and Prosciutto was neither intimidating nor overwhelming. It reminded me how simple it can be to gain all of those amazing and fulfilling benefits that comes from applying yourself. I felt so proud to serve this gorgeous dish to my family and taste how wonderful it turned out, and now I am so excited to be sharing it with you all! I promise you, this recipe will bring you as much joy as it did for me with the wonderful contrast of textures, with the silky, creamy burrata cheese and juicy Ontario peaches, and flavours, from the sweet peaches and salty prosciutto. It's amazing what a mere four ingredients can create! With food this simple and tasty, you really can't help but smile once again!
Tip: Pick up your burrata cheese in Kensington market (if you live in Toronto), they sell it around half the cost of other cheese retailers. And if burrata is still out of your budget, substitute with buffalo mozzarella or even ricotta cheese.
Ingredients:
3 peaches, cut in half with pits removed
1 ball of burrata cheese
4-6 prosciutto slices
about 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Place peaches, cut side down, on an oiled grill or grill pan set to medium-high heat. Allow peaches to grill for about 6-8 minutes or until peach is warm to the touch and grill marks are visible.
2. While peaches are grilling, slice burrata into six slices. Set aside.
3. Once peaches are grilled, lay them out on a serving tray and top each peach halve with a slice of burrata. Tear the prosciutto slices and place them around the dish. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
Listening To:
1 comment:
Ohhh man - you couldn't have said it any better. Totally been there - feeling paralyzed from being overwhelmed. But I agree that nothing comes without hard work, and sometimes the motivation has to be the enjoyment you know that will eventually come of it, even if it doesn't come right away - and that's a great lesson to learn (and to *remember*, actually - I've been guilty of having to re-teach myself a few times instead of learning that the first time!)
We all need more "carpe diem" in our lives. Let's seize this shit and run with it!!! Yeaaah!
It was lovely to meet you at LCBO Go Local today (I'm the fellow Libra redhead - wish I got to talk with you more!)
That recipe looks scrumptious by the way :) Have a fabulous evening, Danielle! -Stacey
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