I know, I know, I've kept this one feature away from you guys for far too long. 

In any case, I have jumped into the SMF code trying to make sense of it all and I have what seems to be a workable Recent posts feature.
As per test, you can use this new feature in the PGD-Dark theme. Let me know what you think of it, and if there's any problems.
If it works okay, I'll add it to the light version as well.