Having the citrus in our shares this past weekend was like a breath of fresh air. Peeling a grapefruit this morning with that sweet citrus smell made me think of sunshine and warmth. So needed right now. This has been a hard winter for most if not all of us! Don’t worry Springdell friends, Spring will be here and until then we have citrus to brighten our days and bring us hope.
I worked with my oranges first with an orange bread that came out pretty well. I actually made mine into two mini loaves, one with walnuts and one without. This bread really does have a beautiful citrus flavor coming through and I added some sour cream to keep it moist.
This is a quick bread, I love to make quick breads. As you can see it is simple ingredients but it has big flavor. Start by creaming together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the flour in small batches, alternating flour and orange juice. Then I added in a bit of sour cream. Now, the key to this bread is the fresh citrus, not just the fresh squeezed juice but also the zest. I used the juice and zest of two oranges for a great punch in flavor. Then you’ve got it, spread into greased loaf pans and bake it off. As you can see the loaf on the right I added chopped walnuts.
You should let it cool but really, who can wait to dig into something that sells that delicious?
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- Zest from 2 oranges
- Juice from 2 oranges
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In a bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt
- Using the mixer cream together the butter and sugar
- Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well incorporated
- Add the orange zest and juice, mix well
- Mix the flour in until just incorporated, do not over mix at this point
- Spread mixture into a greased loaf pan
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour, or until done
As mentioned earlier in the title of this post, citrus gives me hope for spring. So, I kept going with the theme and made a quick citrus salad to serve with my fish tonight as well. Fish is one of the foods that all members of my family enjoy, which is really nice because it’s so good for you. The one catch to that (pardon the pun) is that the boys only eat white fish. I do hope they grow into other fish soon!
This was a simple salt and pepper to the fish because I really wanted the citrus salad to be the star here. I simply cut orange and grapefruit segments and tossed them with the zest of a whole lime but the juice from only half a lime.
So simple and beautiful. It really added the brightness to the dish and was beautiful with the salmon.
So, I leave you tonight with a full belly and a ton of citrus inspired hopes that this snow will leave us soon, or at least be all melted by the time the boys are out of school in June. Until then, I will curl up and eat my fruit. Enjoy!
Today I picked up my #8 Winter CSA Share. I also got some beautiful, large and round, Grapefruits and Oranges. I am so happy and I literally did the Golden Sunshine Dance in the parking lot! (I also asked Jamie if she needed help planting our Seedlings in our 85 degree Greenhouses? Why is she laughing at me?) I was just thinking of going On-line and looking for an Orange Bread (or Muffin) Recipe. Sarah you just read my mind! Guess what Recipe I will be using Tomorrow? A Recipe that makes two Loafs, guess what I will be sharing with my Crochet Circle Ladies this week? I will do my part to spread the Yummy Spring Sunshine to everyone I see this week. Thank you.
So happy you had citrus and you are going to try the bread! Don’t forget to put a bit of sour cream in the batter for moistness, and the citrus butter really puts it over the top!
Last Monday, I made a batch (two lovely Loafs) of this Orange Sunshine (made me wish I was visiting my family in the warmer South) Bread. It turned out so delicious and I did share it with my Crochet Ladies. It got rave reviews and I will be making more. I did add some Sour Cream, just a couple spoons full since the Recipe doesn’t say how much (but next time I would go with at least a half cup). This Recipe made me realize that I need to find, I looked every where, my hand Orange Juicer (you know the old-fashioned kind with the Orange top and the glass bottom). Thank goodness my Blender has a Juicer button and that has been coming in handy.
I totally remember the orange top and the glass bottom! I am quite a fan of the hand juicer, no need for new technology on a classic.