from: The Birthday Cake Book
Ingredients
For the Cake
2-3 T soft unsalted butter and 2-3 T all-purpose flour for the pan
2 1/4 C sifted cake flour
1 T plus 1/8 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
16 T (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to the consistency of mayonnaise
1 1/2 C plus 1/2 C granulated sugar
5 extra-large eggs, warmed in their shells
3 fl. oz plus 1 C sipping-quality bourbon
2 C (7 oz) toasted pecan halves
mint sprigs and leaves for decoration
For the Sauce
1/4 C fresh orange juice
1 T fresh lemon juice
4 C peeled and coarsely chopped fresh peaches (6-8) or thawed drained premium-quality frozen peach slices
Directions
This cake is best if made 1-2 days before you plan to serve. To make the cake, set your oven to 350. Brush both bottom and sides of a bundt or tube pan with butter and coat with flour. Knock off the excess. Sift the four, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on med speed until creamy. Continue beating while sprinkling in 1 1/2 C sugar a tablespoon at a time then beat until very light. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until blended after reach, then beat until very light and creamy. Add the flour in three parts (sprinkling i over the bowl), alternating with 3 oz bourbon in two parts – beat on the lowest speed possible and just until each addition disappears. Sprinkle over the pecans and fold the batter with a large flexible rubber spatula to finish blending thoroughly. Smooth into the pan, slightly pushing the batter up against the sides and the tube.
Bake in the middle of the oven until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake, 55 to 60 min. Heat 1/2 C of the bourbon and 1/4 cup of the sugar together stirring until the sugar dissolves. Pierce the top of the cake with a fork then pour the syrup evenly over the cake. Cool 15 minutes in the pan on a rack then turn out onto the rack, rumpled side up, to cool completely. When cool, heat the rest of the bourbon and sugar as before. Set the cake smooth side up, pierce as before and pour over the syrup. Wrap air-tight and set in a cool place to mellow for up to 2 days before serving.
To make the sauce, in a food processor or mixing bowl, blend the orange and lemon juices and then add the preserves and briefly blend. Turn into a bowl, add the peaches and stir gently until each slice has been moistened. Chill, tightly covered, at least 1 hour. This is at its best for about 4 hours.
To assemble the cake, just before serving, unwrap the cake and set it, smooth side up, on a platter. Plant a banner of greeting and arrange the (peach colored) candles, tucking a mint leaf or two beside each candle. Garland the bottom with branches of mint. Serve each piece of cake on a plate, encircled with peach sauce.
from: TheKitchn
Ingredients
1.5 ounces goat cheese
1.5 ounces whole-milk ricotta
(or 3 ounces of either goat cheese or ricotta)
2 cloves garlic, peeled with root end trimmed off
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
10-12 ounces of spinach, washed and spun dry
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Add the cheeses, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice to the bowl of a food processor and mix until combined. Add the spinach and run the food processor until the mixture has formed a thick paste. If the spinach won't fit all at once, add it in batches. Taste for seasonings, adding salt, pepper, and lemon juice as needed.
from: TheKitchn
Ingredients
1 pound campanelle pasta (or your pasta shape of choice!)
1/2 cup pasta water
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
10 ounces of baby bella mushrooms, quartered
1 cup hulled English peas or sugar snap peas (or frozen peas)
1/2 cup spinach pesto (more as needed)
grated Parmesan for sprinkling on top
Directions
Bring a large amount of water to a rapid boil, add a palm-full of salt, and cook the pasta to al dente. Before draining the pasta, scoop out about a half cup of the pasta cooking water and set aside. Drain the pasta and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and saute the mushrooms until they have released all their moisture and are golden brown–about five minutes. Add the hulled peas and toss until warmed through–about 30 seconds.
Add the pasta to the skillet and pour the pesto on top. Toss to combine everything. If the sauce is looking a little “loose” or you'd like it a bit creamier, add a splash (just a splash!) of the pasta water. Stir and add more pasta water if desired.
We had a fab weekend. So so so busy. And it was so hot out. Our babysitter has requested Fridays off for a while and so Matt and I are splitting our time with her on Fridays, which is awesome. So Friday my mom and I took her to 
So that's the skirt I made this weekend. Well not just me … I had help. Thank goodness. My friend (and babysitting charge of the past and current babysitter), Steph helped with her expertise and sewing machine. And the whole thing was Holly's idea. It turned out so well and sort of got me back into the creative mode and I'm really glad she got us going. 
Any guesses as to what this used to be? 
While doing dishes last night, I moved my hand jerkily and my wedding band flew off (it kinda needs to be sized). Anyhoo, I thought it landed in the corner where our cabinets form an L shape. But searching on my hands and knees (which was quite painful thanks to Bootcamp) yielded no results. I called in the knight in shining armor (Matt) and enlisted his help in the search. We looked ALL OVER. Moved the fridge, ec. etc. I was really pretty convinced it hadn't gone far. I hadn't heard rolling or anything. But it wasn't there! 
Tabby turned 16 months old on July 4th. I will reiterate what every other mom on the planet says, “I can't believe how fast it's gone by!” And I can't. Wasn't she just the size of a loaf of bread what? yesterday? 
