Confront,    Tackle,    Deal With,    Face Head On,    Say It Out Loud.
These are not words or phrases that I do well with.  In fact, I don't know of anybody who 'does well' with it.  Ever heard that Jon Mayer song 'Say '?  Yeah, I know it's cheesy but it's been speaking to me lately.



When I was in University I began to realize how many of my decisions and how much of my life was predicated on fear.  The thought that I had chosen or not chosen to do things not based on what was truly inside of me but on being afraid made me crazy.  I vowed to myself to spend my life moving away from that.  It's hard.  We live in big houses with locks on our doors because we are afraid.  We walk our kids across the street and give them cell phones because we are afraid.  We're not honest with our friends because we are afraid.  Sometimes we go shopping because we are afraid.  We watch the news and get more afraid.  Sometimes we even get sick because we are afraid.  In our world (North America) fear is part of every waking moment of our day and some parts of our sleeping too.
I'm afraid of being hurt, being rejected, being alone, being dead, being broke, being dead (I know that I said that already) and maybe of hurting some more.  It's pretty basic right?  But what if those things aren't really the point anymore?  What if being afraid of all that stuff isn't relevant.  What if it isn't even real?  I know I'm going to be dead someday.  Duh... we're all going down that road.  But I truly believe and have confidence that I'll only be alone if I want to be.  There will always be people around who love me and who I love in return... if I'm not afraid to find them.  Those people will always help through a rejection.  Being broke, wow... like I haven't been there before.  Somehow, it all turns out.  Remember that.  Maybe what I need to start being afraid of is what I'll maybe regret later.  All the opportunities that I missed... because I was afraid.  Let me tell you, the opportunities that I already regret have nothing to do with money or jobs... just people.
Self-reflection is a hell of a thing and it's the one thing that homo sapiens 'can do' and probably don't do enough of.  In my own recent reflections I've decided that I choose to live out loud more, to 'say what I need to say' more (that sounds so dumb) and to love as honestly as I can.
To change course here rather quickly, you're going to see a few peach recipes coming up in the next while.  I think that peach season is awesome but it's something I haven't indulged in much beyond the 'peaches in a bowl with some sugar'.  If you want to do something different with a few peaches then PLEASE try this.  I ate quite a bit of it right out of the ice cream maker and that is not something I EVER do.  It's good.  It's almost like a fresh peach but with ice cream blobbed on top which is even better.  I'm going to can some peaches and I'm going to make some peach cakes and all that but this ice cream is really really really good. You need some too.


Peach Ice Cream adapted from epicurious

1 cup + 1tbsp sugar
2 lbs (whatever) peaches, chopped (I used about 6 peaches)
1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 lg egg yolks, slightly whisked together
1 tbsp vanilla

Combine the chopped peaches and 1/4 cup + 1tbsp sugar together in a bowl.  Cover and chill for about 8 hrs.

Combine the rest of the sugar, corn starch and salt in a heavy bottomed saucepan.  Heat a little over medium heat.  Add in the milk and the cream.  Heat until the mixture is just about to start simmering.
Add a little of the heated milk/cream to the egg yolks and stir.  Add a little more and stir.  Then pour the whole thing back into the saucepan of milk/cream.  Heat until the mixture reaches 170 degrees F or until the mixture doesn't run when you do a wooden spoon test (run your finger over the back of a wooden spoon after dipping it in the cream mixture - it shouldn't run).
Pour the mixture through a sieve and into a bowl.  Add in the vanilla.  Place cling film right on top of the mixture so that it doesn't form a crust at the top.  Refrigerate for at least 6 hours (I usually do it overnight).

Once every things cool and ready to go,  put the custard in an ice cream maker.  Run it until everything is pretty much ready to go.  At the end add the peach mixture.  Continue to churn for about 5 more minutes.
Transfer everything to containers and freeze until hardened.
Soften a bit before serving.