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Traditionalists might scoff at this version of trifle, adapted from Southern Living (April 2003), but this was one of my family's favorites. Irish-born chef Cathal Armstrong doesn't have a problem with his childhood dessert getting an exotic makeover, saying this combination is now one of his favorite ways to make it at home. "Usually I do tropical fruits, things not necessarily available when we were kids," he says. "I like pineapple, mango. Strawberry is always going to be high on the list." Note that custard must be chilled for 1 hour before assembling trifle.

This recipe, adapted from a Tyler Florence Food 911 episode, is the perfect Fourth of July trifle. Similar to the traditional version, it gains a refreshing modern edge from the addition of limoncello and lemon curd. As with any trifle, it can be made and chilled in advance — but it loses its appeal once broken into, with leftovers often turning into a watery mess the next day.

Makes 6 servings

6 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

4 medium-size lemons, zested and juiced

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in chunks

This wonderful recipe, adapted from Bon Appetit (December 2005), would work just as well in summer as in winter. Mixing the white chocolate with cream mellows its intense sweetness, and the light hit of almond extract really adds to the balance of flavors. And with no custard to make, it's one of the easier trifles to whip up.

Makes 16 servings

3 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream

12 ounces high-quality white chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

With a vote of 52 to 47, today, Republicans in the Senate succesfully blocked a Democratic-backed bill that called for equal pay for women.

But, as the AP reports, passing the bill was not the only intent of Democrats. The bill was obviously intended to draw attention to schism that have developed between the two parties on women's issues.

The AP reports:

Four years ago, Evelyn Stevens was working as a Wall Street investment banker and just starting to race bicycles. But she rose through the cycling ranks quickly, and next month she will represent the United States at the Olympic Games in London.

On a recent muggy morning in busy Central Park, Stevens easily weaves her bicycle through many obstacles.

"There's the horse carriages, there's the bike buggies, there's the Rollerbladers," she says, "the people on their bikes training, the five gajillion joggers, the hot dog stands, the dogs — there's a lot going in."

If there was any doubt about the importance of Tuesday's gubernatorial recall election in Wisconsin to organized labor, look no further than here:

That's Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, which bills itself as North America's second largest labor union, helping Latino activists on Milwaukee's south side get out the vote Tuesday for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. He's the Democrat seeking to oust Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

I want to continue our little expedition into the world of quantum weirdness by turning to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

The Uncertainty Principle basically states there's an intrinsic limit on the accuracy of simultaneous measurements of certain pairs of variables. If, for example, you want a perfect measurement of an electron's position and its velocity at the same time, you can't get them.

Depression can be treated effectively over the phone, and a test of the approach showed that patients are more likely to maintain treatment telephonically.

Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine offered 18 weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy, a kind of talk therapy, to more than 300 patients with major depression. Half received treatment in person and half over the phone.