My grandmother used to have a house dress, house hair, and house shoes.  She made no apologies for boiling her fresh vegetables half way to kingdom come.  She sat with her Bible at every spare moment.

I… well, I have a house sweater.  It’s big and grey with floppy sleeves and giant buttons.  It’s just a house sweater, unless of course I decide that it can handle a quick trip to the store or a quick meet with a friend.  It really should stay in the house, as beat up and unattractive as it is… but sometimes it’s just too warm and cozy to part with.  I don’t even want to talk about introducing the house sweater to someone that you’re dating.  That’s a whole other beast to tackle.

My grandmother would support my house sweater.  She’d nod in quiet understanding.  She’d also love that I have her Bible on my nightstand, and I read and reread all the bits she underlined in red pen.  This salad?  She would not understand.  It’s entirely too fresh and crisp and… unboiled.  I suppose that’s the difference between her Tennessee blood and my California living.

Blood oranges are here and I couldn’t be happier.  Every orange is different.  The red tinting can be subtle or totally bonkers.  Beauty fruit.  I’m so into it!

I combined sweet blood oranges with creamy avocado, salty feta cheese, and crunchy sunflower seeds.

Spinach too.  Fully of flavor and health.  On the real.

This is the sort of salad that you can eat and feel like you’re indulging in a good life.  Not like you’re on a diet.  Not like you’re depriving yourself of peanut butter cups.  This salad is a treat in itself… and totally justify peanut butter cups for dessert.

This salad was inspired by a really lovely book.  Tender by Nigel Slater.  It’s like an encyclopedia for vegetables with gorgeous, simple, indulgent recipes for each vegetable.  I love the photographs and recipe lay outs.  Very laid back and personal, but beautifully intentional.  The man knows has a gorgeous respect for food.

Thanks sister!  Major gift!

This recipe is in paragraph form… that means take it easy and enjoy the process.  Just go with it.  Don’t have feta cheese?  Try goat cheese crumbles.  No sunflower seeds?  Toasted walnuts would be lovely.  No blood oranges?  Grapefruit is the way to go!

I can cook.  I mean… I can really cook.  I can walk around in a pair of heels without looking like a weirdo…. and I know how to apply lip liner if the occasion requires.

I am not, however, a domestic goddess.  Not at all.  Nope.

I’m not one of those ladies who has Christmas ornaments in the basement.  I don’t have a shelving system dedicated to wrapping paper and corresponding ribbons.  I don’t even know what a holiday wreath is.  Stockings by the fire?  Shut it.  Yule logs burning?  What are you even talking about?  Beautifully decorated Christmas tree?  No… I just.. I just… I don’t have that.

It’s cool.  I can’t be everything.  I don’t even want to be everything.  You know what I do want to be…?  I want to be like Nigella Lawson covered in caramel… because then Christmas trees don’t really matter at all.

Oh, and just to be safe… I’ll put a mini Santa hat on my cat and call it a day.

My house smells like Orange Pomanders… I gotta go.  The caramel is boiling.

If you’re a spazzzzz like me… here’s a little lesson on properly securing the ribbon.

It’s not a Christmas bow, but I love it all the same.

This is one of the most satisfying things I’ve made in a long time.

It’s sauce.  It’s just sauce.

I know.

But would you look at it.  Rich, burgundy colored, speckled with coarse black pepper and onion bits!

Shut.  It.  Up.

Where’s the chicken.  Tell me you brought the chicken.

We’re making this sweet barbecue sauce in 10 easy steps.

Step 1:  saute chopped onions.  Do it.

Step 2:  add minced garlic.  Saute that too.

Step 3:  add bourbon.  Yes.

I mean… obviously.

If you don’t want to add bourbon.  Guess what?  You don’t have to.

Step 4:  add orange juice and orange zest.

Step 5:  that was cider vinegar.  Add that too.

Step 6:  molasses.  Sexy.

Step 7: Worcestershire sauce.  Necessary and proper.

Step 8:  brown sugar and white nail polish.

Step 9:  ketchup x 2.

Step 10:  Add salt, pepper, and coriander.  Boil and simmer and simmer and serve.

This barbecue sauce is sweet and deep.  It’s tinted with the flavors of bourbon and orange, spiced with coarse black pepper and coriander, and brightened by cider vinegar.

The cooked onions and garlic remain and little minced bits  in this sauce… if that bugs the heck out of you, you could totally put this sauce in the blender to smooth out.  Be careful blending hot liquids, leave a bit of room in the lid for the mixture to breathe.

Sweet, orange, slightly spicy… what a beautiful barbecue glaze.  I love that we can make this happen!

The chicken?  I used The Pioneer Woman’s recipe for Barbecue Chicken.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had for dinner?

Tonight I had:

Mung beans tossed in butter, salt, and pepper.  Mung beans.  Yea… not ideal.

Frozen corn, made unfrozen in boiling water… tossed with butter, salt, and pepper.

A flour tortilla… while standing over my desk, looking glossy-eyed at my massive to-do list.

A sprig of parsley.  I dunno.  Because it was green and there on the counter.

Water from my water bottle… followed by a hearty slug of bourbon, poured over tiny ice cubes.

… I’m also really bad at re-filling the ice tray.  Future husband, I’m sorry.  I love you.  I hope you hate ice.

And, for dessert, a frozen chocolate cupcake.  I’m about 7 seconds away from going to grab another cupcake from the freezer.  Believe that.

This is what I eat when left to my own devices.  Clearly, I should not be left alone.  I’m not sure how much longer I can survive like this… I’m a complete weirdo.  Someone hold my hand and make me cook you dinner… that’s the only way I eat like a regular person.

These avocados?  See how nicely sliced they are?  This is the sign that I’m cooking for others, and not just standing in my kitchen eating tortillas.

I like fruit in my salad.  I especially like citrus.  I super especially like citrus if it’s sliced all fancylike.

Segmented.  Totally classy, right?

Oranges are easy to segment.  Once the peel is stripped, you just have to slice in between the natural orange segment markers/ skin bits/ pith marks… what the word I’m looking for?

I made dressing too!

The dressing is inspired by my favorite mason jar/ good olive oil/ fresh cracked pepper/ and Tracy’s mom.

Salad dressing.  Shaken.  It’s cathartic.   Cats pay no attention.

But wait!  Are my hands starting to look suspiciously 30 years old?  Don’t answer that.  (Yea… they kinda are) ((Don’t agree with that… thanks)).

This salad is simple, bright, and completely adaptable.  Try grapefruit instead of orange segments.  Peaches?  Yes.  Strawberries?  Ok!

Arugula instead of Romaine?  Do that?  Did you say spinach?  I like the way you think.

It’s salad.  No biggie.  Make it your own… then serve it to others.

I’d also like to distract you with the crazy delicious bread I made to go along with this salad.  It has strawberries on it, and I can’t wait to tell you about it on Wednesday.

Look at this spread!  Wine and bourbon and bread and such.

I’d smile at rum.  Coy… but not really coy.

I’d say hello to vodka.  I’d wave, and smile with teeth.

I’d totally make out with gin… tonic and lime everywhere.

But bourbon.  I’d marry bourbon… as long as bourbon understands that I often stay up until 3 am writing silly blog posts, with a scarf on my head, a shaky leg, and post-it notes everywhere.  But I have a feeling that bourbon understands me.  I’m not too worried.

Little itty bitty kitchen peek.

What is pleasantly cropped out of this picture is my cat in the kitchen sink attacking the dirty kitchen sponge.

Livin’ classy.

I’m fairly certain that we’re approaching the time of year when it’s reasonable to drink uncanny amounts of sweetener in cold, black tea.

It seems only natural to add fresh mint, muddled orange and bourbon.

This cocktail is simple, uncomplicated, refreshing, easy to drink, and a really lovely celebration of mid-spring.

You know it’s going to be summer soon, right?  There are short dresses and summer heels in my future. Oh man.  I need tan lotion and tea.

This is one of my favorite ways to count to five.

It has chocolate.  So.. yea.

Do you get those giant chocolate oranges at Christmas?  It’s a giant bulb of chocolate shaped like an orange, with wedge segments and everything… and it tastes like an orange!  Well, an orange drowned in chocolate.    I love those things… but I’m a weirdo.

I turned one of those chocolate oranges into a scone with butter and buttermilk.  So tender.  Like little pillows of good.

Let’s add sweetened egg whites and cranberry sauce to the list of things my cat eats.

No… it’s not like I scooped a healthy portion of meringue into his bowl.  He prefers much more crafty measures… like jumping on the counter while I’m busy with my camera.

The only reason I know he’s such a crafty monster is because he emerged from the kitchen with a meringue covered, sticky cat face.

And… bath time.

I’ve been on an ice cream making kick lately so I’m about up to my ears in egg whites…. which kinda grosses me out.  Do egg whites gross you out too?… yea.  Slime.

But!  Whipping up whites into meringue turns them from slime to something crisp and marshmallowy.

You can top these pavlova with anything: fresh fruit, jam, chocolate sauce, nutella or whipped cream.  Whatever you have on hand.  I happened to have half a bag of cranberries, half an orange and some random rosemary.  These things are delicious together.  To be sure.

Let’s just close out eyes and pretend we’re sitting under an orange tree. An orange tree heavy with fruit… but with the occasional late blooming blossom. There are honey bees too. Just a few. The friendly kind. The kind of honeybees that remind you that life is full of creatures big and small… and we all have tasks to do.

Let’s just hang out under our orange tree for a while. Right here in the shade, greeted by little spots of sun as the wind spreads the leaves.

It’s nice here.

Sweet. Thanks. I’m glad you’re here.

Simple.  Big.  Bright.  Tangy.  A game changer, taking your day from overcast to bright and shiny with just a sip.

Thank you to Tracy and Sunset Magazine for the inspiration.

Things that are awesome and things that are not awesome; an incomplete list.

Things that are awesome:

Summer dresses that look great with summer ponytails.

Bathing suits + Palm Springs + Rented Summer House + Sun Screen + Giant Sun Glasses + Mojitos x Infinity = Awesome.

Big, fat bumble bees… come on, they’re precious.

Pulling this beautiful Dutch Baby out of the oven on Easter morning,  sprinkling it with orange sugar and feeling like Julia Child… that’s awesome.

Things that are NOT awesome:

Otherwise perfect vintage dresses that are half a size too small.

Bathing suit shopping… exactly no one likes that, and why on earth are my legs so white!?

Bee stings on the butt.  It happens people.  It really happens.

Not pulling this Dutch Baby out of the oven on Easter morning… that’s not awesome at all.

A Dutch Baby is somewhere between a pancake and a pop over.  I whipped up a thin batter, poured it into a hot, butter-covered skillet, and let it bake for 18 minutes.  As soon as it came out of the oven I attacked it with orange sugar and cut it into giant slices.  It’s as delicious as breakfast gets.  So easy, so crispy with sugar, so perfectly spring.

Dutch Baby with Orange Sugar

adapted from Gourmet April 2009

Print this Recipe!

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 3 large eggs at room temperature 30 minutes (run then under warm water if you’re in a hurry)
• 2/3 cup whole milk at room temperature  ( I used 2% and was happy)
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Put skillet on middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.

Stir together sugar and zest in a small bowl.

Beat eggs with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and frothy, then beat in milk, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and continue to beat until smooth, about 1 minute more (batter will be thin).

Add butter to hot skillet and melt, swirling to coat. Add batter and immediately return skillet to oven. Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 18 to 25 minutes.

Serve immediately, topped with orange sugar.

I’m a huge breakfast fanatic.  I usually go for something hearty, healthy and full of surprise goodies.  That’s not to say that I don’t sometimes reach for a donut and some coffee, but this go around I opted for old-fashioned oatmeal with the gorgeous flavors of cranberry, orange and almond.  I threw in a bit of brown sugar for good measure, and surrounded my oatmeal with cold milk.  It was a delightful breakfast- satisfying but not too heavy.  It’s the kind of breakfast that convinces you you’re ready to take on the world.  Brilliant

Thank you Dawn!  It was so sweet of you to send me these darling cards and pens!  I’ll put them to good use!  They’re absolutely beautiful!  Thank You!!