Tender buttery Peach Coffee Cake is filled with sweet bites of peach and topped with an irresistible brown sugar crumb topping – what is not to love??

Peach Coffee Cake

I am at a loss to describe just how awesome this coffee cake actually is. I’ve made it three times now and each time it has disappeared lightning fast both with friends and with family.

I simply can’t get enough of the fresh sweet peaches when they’re at their best in the summertime. I look forward to making homemade peach jam and friends look forward to receiving it too.

For something a little unexpected, this Peach Habanero Jam is the ultimate balance of sweet and spicy and it’s an awesome addition to your next cheeseboard.

This peach-filled coffee cake recipe is inspired by and adapted from my often made and very much beloved Blueberry Coffee Cake.

The peaches add a good bit of moisture to this recipe, so err on the side of extra time while baking this coffee cake. Be sure to test with a toothpick for doneness, it should come out clean or with moist crumbs 

Peach Coffee Cake Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8″ square pan with butter. Beat the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy, about 6-7 minutes. Add the eggs and the vanilla, mixing just until combined.
2. Combine the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Place the peaches in a small bowl and sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of the dry ingredients, plus the cinnamon. Stir gently to coat the peaches.
3. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the sour cream, mix again, and then add the remaining dry ingredients. Mix just u

Easy Herbed Peasant Bread Recipe

With this easy herbed peasant bread recipe, fresh homemade bread has never been easier! It is golden and crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. It is also super versatile and done in a just a few hours.

A few of my friends make peasant bread every Sunday, and when you’ve got three friends who don’t know each other but are all doing the same thing, it’s high time to try it.

We baked it last Sunday for the first time and we are totally sold. It is so simple (you make it all in ONE bowl) and so fluffy, and I love that I can start it after church and it’s ready to bake for dinner. It also scores major bonus points for being a no-knead bread dough! You’re going to love it!

Ingredients Needed for Peasant Bread

The ingredients for peasant bread are simple and likely things that you will have on hand already. We love adding the fresh herbs for extra flavor. You can experiment with your favorite combination of herbs or leave out the herbs altogether. Here is what you will need:

• Flour – just regular all purpose flour works great, or you can use bread flour
• Kosher Salt – adds flavor
• Warm Water – the ideal temperature of water for activating yeast is 105-115 degrees F
• Sugar – feeds the yeast so it can properly activate
• Instant Yeast – I’ve found that instant yeast works best rather than active dry yeast
• Rosemary – fresh is preferred, minced fine
• Thyme – fresh is best, but if you want to use dried, just add a couple of pinches
• Parsley – fresh, and finely chopped
• Butter – used for greasing the bowls that the bread will bake in, and when the bread is fresh out of the oven, brush the top with melted butter (or olive oil)
• Flaked Sea Salt – we love sprinkling a little salt on top for extra flavor

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

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Feeling lost and uninspired with your career? Ask yourself the following questions…

We spend a large portion of our days, weeks, and lives at work, to the point where, often, the time we spend on developing our careers and businesses outweighs time with friends and families.

This isn’t necessarily negative; hopefully our work supports us to live with meaning. But, sometimes, we may not feel aligned to our role, or valued by our employer, or feel positively challenged by our job. Perhaps, our values no longer match with the organisation we work for, or the lack of career progression may be holding us back.

As with all areas of life, things can change. Our ambition might outgrow the current role we have at work.

Maybe we are returning from maternity leave with a renewed sense of identity, perhaps we have a new manager who doesn’t support our career ambitions, or we realise that a 50-hour working week isn’t for us anymore. It’s common to have these thoughts, and to feel out of sync with our working life for some time before we review and act towards change. Job security and financial stability can outweigh the possible risks that come with a career move, and we can start to feel ‘stuck’ instead of curious.

But the pandemic has created a shift in workplace culture, and the changes towards flexible working have provided new opportunities, reduced commuting, and minimised office politics for many. As a life and career coach, many of the clients I work with share thoughts on wanting to make a positive impact through their work, wanting to feel more fulfilled, and to have more of a balance between work and home.

As with all big life decisions, it is important to move through the fear that we first notice, and into a place of open-minded possibility. So, ask yourself these five questions that can help you to reconnect with your career path and purpose.

1. Is your work ‘meaningful’ right now?

Having a sense of purpose in our work keeps us motivated and allows us to feel connected to something bigger than ourselves. What do you love most about your role right now? Assess how your company’s values align with your own personal ones. Make a note of when you can influence positive change in your projects. Recall the colleagues that inspire you, who share your vision for a supportive work environment.

2. Is your current role making you feel valued?

Knowing that we are making a difference, and that our time and contributions matter, is how we feel fulfilled. Reflect on recent feedback, and note the contributions you have been thanked for. Assess where and how you enable your team and organisation to achieve objectives – does this make you feel proud? Being appreciated helps our motivation. Who is championing you and sees your potential?

3. What new skills are you learning through work?

Our capacity for learning is endless, and each opportunity for growth taps into our potential. Access to learning and development keeps us engaged and motivated, whether this is through formal learning, observing, or saying ‘yes’ to new experiences. Does your curre

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I’m in Arizona this week visiting family and avoiding that swell summer sunshine as much as possible. It sure does make me miss my beloved Ohio. 

Anyone else enjoying the last days of summer while also getting excited about fall? I’m really enjoying the cooler mornings lately. (And yes, I know, I’m weather obsessed. That’s unlikely to change anytime soon.)

ON THE BLOG this week: This potato salad made with roasted potatoes is a whole new world of potato salad awesomeness and you need to try it asap. A tangy creamy dressing coats every bite of this salad along with hard-boiled eggs, olives, and pickles.

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream is an old-fashioned favorite when made simply with strawberries, sugar, and cream (or milk). Just a few ingredients adds up to a summer ice cream treat that everyone loves.

Cheese and refried beans meld together to create flavorful enchilada layers in these Cheesy Chicken and Refried Bean Enchiladas. We typically serve them warm with plenty of tortilla chips on the side for scooping the enchiladas.

Chocolate Quinoa Cake has the texture of a traditional cake, yet no special flours are required. This is pure, sweet Chocolate Cake made without any flour at all. This cake has blown my mind. Just writing about it here makes me grin as I think about how perfectly moist, rich, and chocolatey it is.

Grab a spoon, you are going to want to eat this Whipped Cream Frosting straight from the bowl, or go ahead and dive in with fresh strawberries.

What I’m CRAVING: This Spaghetti Pizza caught my eye this week and now we have to try it. I’m thinking it will be a big hit with my boys.

My FAVORITE THING this week is this super lightweight scarf. While I almost never actually wear a scarf, this one travels with me nearly everywhere I go. It’s a travel blanket on road trips, it’s a shawl if a movie theater is cold, and it does double duty as a pillow or a blanket on chilly flights. It folds or rolls to an almost unbelievably small size, making it perfect for tucking into a carry-on.

I bought what I have called for years “the perfect scarf” on a work trip about 8 years ago. Unfortunately, the brand discontinued the scarves and I’ve never found another one like it. (And I have tried a whole lot of different scarves that were listed as “travel scarves.”) But this scarf? I’m ecstatic over it. I love it every bit as much as my “perfect” one and I now have backup and a perfect scarf to share wit

Scientists have found that merely viewing images of beautiful landscapes or cuddly animals can induce a sense of tranquillity in these troubled times. Welcome to Project Soothe… and here’s how you can take part

Perhaps it’s daybreak, as the sun rises over a rolling, verdant landscape. It could be the afternoon, as a cat cuddles a soft, white toy and sleeps peacefully in bed. Or maybe it’s evening, and the sun sets over a mountain, green trees framing a pinky-purple ocean.

These tranquil scenes are among the most soothing photographs taken by ordinary people, designed to relax and calm. Today, scientists at Project Soothe, a research website of super-soothing images like these, say that “landscapes, water features, trees and flowers, animals, and skies” all induce a sense of ease and calm.

Project Soothe is a global citizen-science project based at the University of Reading. “Our goal is to collect soothing images by you and me, to help people self-soothe,” says Professor Stella Chan, who founded the project in 2015.

Professor Chan was working with patients with brain injuries when she discovered that imagery can calm and quieten patients. She says she found that not everyone could “imagine” their own picture in their mind’s eye. So, she decided to gather photographic images for the patients to view and self-calm.

It works, too. I spent an hour looking at photos of my two cats and a roaring fireplace: things I love dearly and like to spend time with after a day at work. I felt happy and warm inside after viewing them. The pastel pink colour of one cat’s ears stood out as particularly cute to me, and it immediately made me feel very happy and calm.

A recent study shows I’m not alone, and we all have a shared understanding of what soothe means to us – feeling calm, relaxed, and at ease. One man taking part in the study said: “Feeling soothed is in the moment, present-focused, relaxed.” A woman added: “It’s a state of aloneness or detachment from my surroundings where I feel calm, warm, safe, and secure.”

Some people find mindfulness meditation is a source of soothing for them, too. One woman said: “I listened to a short mindfulness audio tape, which helped me to focus on my breath. It helped me to focus through visualisation, and I got a sense of strength and calm after listening to the audio tape.”

Another participant said: “I was in bed, relaxed and with music on and I was soothed when knowing that all my work and tasks were done. I was both happy and optimistic.”

Human stories like these, along with others, show us that we agree on what’s soothing: solitude, affiliation, mindfulness, connection with nature, and physical sensations.

Now these findings from researchers are helping mental health practitioners and clinicians support individuals to develop self-soothing strategies. And the sense of soothing extends to young people, too.

Project Soothe is working with young people with Read more