Cherry Vanilla Pound Cake with Rosemary Glaze and Pistachios

This weekend, I said my goodbyes to this season's Pearson peaches. They were seriously gorgeous and juicy this season, all season! I ate them constantly and had to restrain myself from putting them in all my baked goods. My boyfriend and I celebrated Saturday night with a delicious peach crisp topped with vanilla ice cream.

We maaay have eaten the entire thing between the two of us. I can't say for sure.

Except that I can, and we did.

It's ok though. It was totally summer. Totally acceptable.

Luckily, summer is yielding other beautiful fruits. Figs have been bountiful at the farmer's markets, along with watermelon (ps: have you ever had a yellow watermelon? super duper crunchy awesome). And Whole Foods has been bursting at the seams with gorgeous plums and plumcots and pluots and some sort of velvet something plums. They also have sweet cherries. Look how lovely:

This summer has also brought mad heat and crazy downpours. Neither of which I'm a huge fan of. Sweat and frizz. Not attractive.

The heat has definitely put my balcony-housed herbs through the ringer. The downpours, however, have been so good to them, have made them big and vibrant and flourishing! Especially the basil and rosemary. It makes me happy.

Do you ever have those moments where you envision something that you know will prove to be pure genius? Me neither. (I'm a worried baker. Rarely certain.) Mostly, I just surprise myself after the fact.

I knew this combination would happen--sweet cherries, pistachio, rosemary--but I was a tad wary whether it would be as good in reality as it was in my head.

But let me tell you something. It's even better.

Chewy Triple Chocolate Brownies (Weekend Brownies)

I dub these weekend brownies. Or Friday brownies. Same diff. These are not your every day brownies though. They're way too awesome for that. They're a treat. A delight. A special thing. Deserving of their own tiny plate. Of being individually wrapped.

These brownies are soft and chewy and moist. (The only way brownies should be, I say.) They have a thin, crisp, shiny top crust. They're damn near perfect.

Not to mention they're chocolate thrice! Incredible.

Over the past couple of years, it feels like I've been on a never-ending search for these brownies. I've had hard edges, dry crumbs, grainy texture, unpleasantly thick and dense. I've tried adding marshmallows, pretzels, cream cheese, peanut butter, all to no avail. These were trying times indeed.

Mock Mother's Circus Animal Cookies

The other day I subjected my loving boyfriend to my high school cheerleading scrapbook video. I'm not entirely certain what I thought I was going to accomplish by showing it to him, but, that's what I did.

I'm pretty sure he loved it.

He did.

Anyway, I then spent an hour or so looking at old pictures, remarking about how "skinny I was in high school" and how "I still look like a little kid" (I do), and texting a friend from home about the "good old days." Oh nostalgia, how I love and loathe thee.

(I, er, accidentally dropped the cookie that was formerly in the right bottom corner. Yeah. I dropped it.)

Speaking of nostalgia, can we talk about Mother's Circus Animal Cookies? You know, those pink and white frosted, rainbow sprinkled, animal-shaped delights. I went on a mad hunt for them around Atlanta soon after the aforementioned reminiscence. Much to my dismay, I could not find them anywhere. This seemed suspect, so I took my hunt online.

Cardamom Peach Pie Filling

Dear Georgia,

I came to you two years(-ish) ago. You truly are a delight. So lush and green. Such delicious food. Such lovely shops and farmers markets. Perfectly cold in the winter. Perfectly warm in the summer. But just recently, Georgia, you were 106 degrees. Recently, you've reminded me of a moister Texas summer. Sort of like a sauna. I don't like saunas. Please return to normal. I'll love you forever.

Love,
Natasha

PS: Thanks for the peaches. I'll always love you for that.

If you are a cardamom lover, this is hands down the best peach pie filling there is. It tastes like summer. I rolled it up in yeast dough and made some killer breakfast rolls with it. Then I made some individual crisps with it (not the prettiest desserts, but still delicious). Then I finished off the last of the jar by shamefully tilting it back and tapping it into my mouth...