A Birthday, a Shower, a Cupcake, in vintage

     These last few weeks have been packed with friends and sweets and celebrations. First, a birthday. My Lila girl turned 1! August 13th. Oh, the sweet babe. I love her to bits. My mom, sister, and I threw her a party. Totally did. As in, I made a cake. And got her presents (see red toy above). And may or may not have made her a party hat with the number 1 on it. I love my puppy. It's a fact. And the party was hilarious and such fun. I strapped the hat to her and she pranced into the kitchen trying to shake it off. I laughed. We sang and ate. Such a fun evening. Happy 1st year to my sweetest little canine buddy.

           Next, a shower! My sweet Rachel is due to have baby Noah in the next few weeks and I was privileged to throw a shower for her. Our friend Gretchen hosted it in her stunning home, and we spent a few good hours celebrating, gifting, praying, and eating in her honor. Something I'd been looking forward to for months, it went wonderfully. Can't go wrong with clotheslines of cute onesies, tiny baby gifts, good food, and good people. She's already a great mom. And I cannot wait to meet her little one.

        Lastly, a cupcake. In preparation for the shower, I tested out a few recipes for chocolate cupcakes, along with several frostings, hoping to find the one that might rise to the occasion. My coworkers were showered with them last week while I probed for their opinions: Chocolatey enough? Too salty? Too sweet? Finally, the consensus was resoundingly positive. We've found a winner, folks. Moist, light chocolate cake with a dainty vanilla buttercream frosting. Makes a mouth happy.

      All of these things to say, my little schedule has been fairly bustling. I'm ready for some quiet days. I find you have to fight for those, you know, intentionally make time for yourself, for rest. There's always something demanding one's attention. Just gotta say no sometimes. A hard lesson I have yet to learn. Anyhow, I plan to post a couple recipes soon, but for now am saying no and taking time to finish The Help (so good) and get a good night's rest. Back soon! 

Multigrain Peach Pancakes

     I love mornings. The earlier hours tend to be the most cherished in my days. I love the mercy of a new day, a chance to try again. I love morning light, the way my bedroom looks when the eastern sun makes its appearance, streaming in golden lines through my curtains. I love coffee in the mornings, its best time, I think. I love that birds love the morning, that they sing their strongest melodies as the day begins. I love that the darkness of the night is over, that yesterday's tears or fears or blunders may be left to yesterday. And, of course, I love that with morning comes...breakfast. Now here is where my obsession really begins. I can't get enough of it. I'm a person who could have breakfast for every meal, if even just a bowl of a cereal, and be entirely content, nay, glad. I adore it. This leads us to today's tasty topic of interest: peach pancakes. Be still, my heart. 

    There is nothing like a plate of pancakes in the morning. Now, this is not something I have regularly in my house these days. I suppose I typically assume I'd have to make a large batch that would be ten times more than enough for just me. But, the truth is, I'd really rather wait to make them for others, anyhow. With pancakes, as with all food, half the delight of enjoying them is enjoying them with others. And, so, with mom and Courtney in town last week, I leapt at the opportunity to have a pancake morning with them! Yay! I'd chosen this multigrain batter from Heidi Swanson's newest book, deciding to also add in some fresh peaches and sunflower seeds I had on hand. I thought the sweet bites of warm peach beside the occasional crunch of nut would be perfect. Perfect, indeed. They turned out addictingly good. Topped with maple syrup whipped cream and a sliver of butter…brace yourself. Pancake heaven. 

Multigrain Peach Pancakes

adapted from Heidi Swanson

yields about 12 medium-sized pancakes

ingredients: 

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white-wheat flour

2 tablespoons natural cane sugar

1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

a few shakes of ground cinnamon

2 cups buttermilk

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon honey

1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more for skillet

several ripe peaches

a few handfuls sunflower seeds, roasted, unsalted

1 cup whipping cream, optional

drizzle of maple syrup, optional

directions: 

1. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in large mixing bowl.

2. In medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and honey, add the butter and whisk again.

3. Heat a skillet to medium-hot heat and push a pad of butter around until skillet is well-coated. When skillet is ready, pour the wet ingredients over the dry, stirring minimally, only until just combined. Add thin slices of peaches and a couple handfuls of seeds in with a few stirs.

4. Drop about 1/4c of batter onto heated skillet for each pancake. Let cook until bottoms are golden in color and tops are a bit set (i'm no expert at this part. my pancakes didn't start looking decent until the last few. takes some practice…), then flip with a spatula to cook the other side until cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter. 

5. Serve warm, topped with a pad of butter, a favorite syrup, and maybe some more peach slices. You can also beat 1/2 cup whipping cream and a drizzle of maple syrup in a small mixing bowl (easiest with a handheld mixer, i think) until stiffened. Spoon whipped cream over pancakes, perhaps with some fresh mint leaves on top.

{Some hydrangeas from my yard! I love them.}

Summer Days

  

    I haven't posted in a bit. Days seem to be whirring by and time set aside for fun, creative meals along with them. Between house/dog/child-sitting, work, and, well, life, I suppose, I just haven't spent much time in the kitchen over these last few weeks. My mom and older sister are in town now and I'm lapping up every minute I have with them and my younger sis in the house, sharing food, laughs, play time with puppy (who caught a bunny in the backyard yesterday. i don't wanna talk about it.), sleepy late mornings, and the like. It's so happy.  

    Mom and I stopped by the farmers' market yesterday to browse the selection and hopefully find some produce for our next few meals at home. Last night we made a whole wheat pesto pasta with asparagus and tomatoes from the market. And, as I type this morning we're prepping some batter for whole grain peach pancakes. I'm stoked. For now I'm stepping away from the screen to enjoy these sweet moments with my girls, but I'll be back before too long to share some more food love.