The best things in life hit us square in the chest– they’re wonderful accidents that we never see coming.

Un flechazo— that’s what’s the Spanish would call it. Cupid’s arrow. A wound and then a revelation. I love that word, flechazo. Strong, gutsy, you feel it. It has to do with being struck by something that’s bigger than yourself and then gently falling into the deep.

I ran into my hubby at age 25 and fell in love (No, I did not expect that to come striding out of the kitchen doors.) I stumbled upon this peach and blueberry teacake recipe 3 days ago and it’s kinda changed my summer life (so good and simple and mood-shifting in this August heat). And, now, with my husband on one arm and a book of recipes tucked under the other, I step out into the mid-summer twilight and into my next career– teaching couples how to cook and communicate in the kitchen and beyond. I didn’t try for this. It just hit me. Un flechazo.

After an especially good private, in-home cooking lesson last night, I realized that none of this was planned. And maybe that’s why I don’t really talk about our dozens of nights and dinners teaching couples how to find their footing in their own kitchens, coaxing them into communicating and experimenting and creating something new.

I love that when we arrive, everyone is quiet and a little tense. We place the cutting boards, they chop, we sautee and a little hum begins. Small talk, warm talk, interesting talk- suddenly we know the important bits. Everyone begins to feel comfortable and the cooking gets much better. By the time dinner is ready, we’ve moved from the first blind date to kids. (Note: the guy might be blushing or avoiding eye-contact at this point.)

I love all this. It’s simple, it’s human and it’s a level beyond just publishing a book. (And for the couples it sure beats take-out from Sammy’s Noodle Shop…) The best things do happen when we’re stirring the cake batter, looking the other way.

PS- Leave a comment or email me if you’d like the recipe for this Peach & Blueberry Teacake. It’s not one of ours (though I wish it were) .