Balsamic Reductions

It’s not New Years. It’s not even Valentines anymore. Where have I been? Well… I have a problem. I am a workaholic. Recently I lost myself in my work, not coming up for air long enough to write. I love my work and I’m passionate about my projects… but I’ve missed this. I’ve missed these pages and being excited to cook something new in the afternoon just to blog about it.

It all started last summer. I felt overwhelmed. I had moved to NYC to start a new life for myself and, after a year and a half, I felt exhausted and not that much closer to my goals than when I arrived. All I could see was the projects I so desperately wanted to see through and no money or resources to pull them off. If I kept up the back-breaking pace I was working I might be able to save enough in another 2 years.

2 years – I could have cried when I figured out that that was how long it would take me. Something had to change. Well – something did change. Last summer I hosted a kickstarter project to get the funding I needed to change my life. I spent every free hour I had of that beautiful summer inside, at my desk, writing support emails. In 28 days I raised my goal of $5,000. It was the start of everything.

People came from all parts of my life to support me. In small ways and in big – but the one reward I thought was too big for anyone to reach was, if you really gave me a huge support pledge, I would make you a cookbook of my recipes. Well people did. Several people did (they were also my very best friends and brother – but these people made me cry when they proved that they believed in me that much).

By August I was in a new state of overwhelmed. People believed in me and really thought that if I was given the resources to change my life I would make it. So my workaholic side continued.

I had promised a cookbook – it just seemed like a clever reward at the time, and I did have this huge backlog of photos I’ve never gotten to use… and I did have my recipes written out already… maybe I could make something that was actually beautiful. 8 months and countless hours later – on top of all my work and other projects – the strange bonus of my kickstarter is this:

I have finished my very first cookbook. Writing a book is something I’ve always wanted to do and never thought I’d finish. It is beautiful, and I am proud of it. I feel like I can do anything now.

I am self-publishing Balsamic Reductions the cookbook, and it is available for sale online beginning in April.

This book and my funded projects took over my life for a while, but now I see how much this blog grounds me – how much each of you reading this balances me. So I have made my New Year’s resolutions (hey – it’s never too late): I will not forget where I’ve come from and make more room in my life away from my desk to cook, eat, and live – and share it with you all here and hope to continue to inspire you to make something everyday turn life-changing for yourself.

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