Sunday Seven.

1. So the first blog I ever fell in love with was Sarah Dessen's Blog. Sarah Dessen is the author of 10 New York Times Best Selling young adult novels, and in between raising her wonderful daughter and writing all of her novels, she keeps an up to date blog about her life. Every Friday on her blog, Sarah does the "Friday Five" where she writes about 5 random things that come to mind. I have now stolen this idea, and so I've decided to start my own version, the "Sunday Seven."

2. Let me also apologize for not having written again earlier. Life at school has certainly picked up. Yes, I only have 24 days left (apparently count downs to summer do not end in High School), but the teachers seem to think that means they have 24 days to cram in every possible assignment they can think of. Needless to say my blog has had to take a back seat to my homework and numerous exams and papers. Until that craziness ends, my posts might have to be sporadic.

3. Now let's get to the good stuff. Last weekend I came home for no good reason, just to catch up on some sleep and bake. The week before had been particularly difficult: lots of work and not enough sleep. All I wanted to do was get a good Mom hug and bake some good eats. Naturally, after hugging my mom, I ran straight to our cook book cabinet and grabbed Molly Wizenberg's memoir. I was craving something that just tasted like home. I decided on her recipe for Blueberry-Raspberry Pound Cake and one for her Winning Hearts and Minds Cake, a staple in the Campbell household.

4. Let me say that this recipe for Winning Hearts and Minds Cake (or as I call it, the Almost-flourless Chocolate Cake) is easy, unhealthy, and wonderful. 5 ingredients, maybe an hours preparation and bake time, and days of happiness all in one recipe. When I finished Molly's memoir over the summer, this was the first recipe I tried. She said she had it as her wedding cake, so I figured if it was good enough to serve on the happiest day of her life, it is definitely good enough to serve after dinner on a random Wednesday summer night. It was beyond amazing, falling somewhere between a dense flowerless chocolate cake and a fudge brownie. Needless to say I proceeded to make at least 10 more of these over the summer, much to the happiness of my family and the demise of my waistline. Molly Wisenberg deserves a nobel prize for this recipe as it has definitely helped many people. It certainly cheered up myself and the 8 or so sleep-deprived and overworked people I gave pieces to at school. Thank you Molly, you have done good here.

5. The pound cake is just as wonderful, but definitely requires a bit more effort. Nevertheless, it was totally worth it. I think my sister must have eaten half the cake in one day the first time I made it over the summer, and when I brought it to dinner at school Monday Night, I was left with exactly two pieces people were grabbing them so fast. The greatest thing about this cake, besides the fact that everyone seems to love it which gives me a great self-esteem boost, is that it's great for dessert or for breakfast. Although I should mention that when I tried to toast it in the school toaster, I almost lit it on fire, so I suggest if you plan to rewarm it use caution and a microwave instead. Still, its definitely a recipe I'll keep in my repertoire.

6. This weekend I came home once again. Not just for Easter (Happy Easter by the way!), but also to work at my retail job for a few days. FYI, for those who have never worked in retail, it is incredibly difficult and back-breaking work, so be nice to the men and women who grab you a shirt in a different size and politely ask for your email when you check out - even if you find them overbearing they are trying to be polite and do their jobs without screaming about how much their feet hurt from standing all day. As you can see, I didn't exactly have the greatest weekend at work, lots of very angry shoppers plus I stepped on a nail and now have to get a Tetanus shot tomorrow morning. Not surprisingly, the solution to my fatigue and anger was to bake. I settled on two more Almost-flourless Chocolate Cakes and a batch of Banana Muffins. These award-winning (they took 3rd place in our town's annual grange fair) muffins take no time at all and always get compliments. Which is hilarious to me because they come from a children's alphabet cook book my grandmother gave me when I was little. A book with a recipe for every letter, but B is definitely they Best Banana Bread you'll ever make, the go-to banana bread/muffin recipe in my family.

7. Every Easter my Dad and I make a ham together. Its sort of odd that we do I have to admit, me being the baker and my Dad being the... well when he isn't being a kick-ass lawyer in New York, he does a lot of gardening and bee-keeping, but lets just say he doesn't do a lot in the kitchen. Nevertheless, we seem to be a dynamic duo when it comes to making ham. I'm not even sure why we started, but every year we get a ham, spend at least a half hour sticking cloves into it, glazing it with a brown sugar-mustard-honey-vinager paste, and slow cooking it to perfection. Its wonderful, not just because its delicious and I love ham, but also because its time well-spent with the pops. I look forward to next year to start the process all over again (and to see my Dad leave a trail of licorice bunny droppings behind my chocolate easter rabbit. I love my abnormal family).