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.  

Super Citrus Smoothie

     adapted from Sunset Magazine

     Print this Recipe!

Here’s what you’ll need for one big smoothie:  

A juicer

A blender

2 Tablespoons Meyer lemon juice

the juice of 1/2 a grapefruit (save the other half for tomorrow’s smoothie?) 

1/2 cup fresh orange or tangerine juice

2 tablespoons honey

heaping 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 frozen banana (they blend better when frozen)

1/2 cup ice cubes

In a blender, combine juices, yogurt, and honey.  Blend for a few seconds.  Add the ice cubes and blend until smooth.  This recipe makes one giant smoothie.  Yumtown. 

Allow me this space to keep it real.

Part of growing up (and oh how I want to wrestle that concept) is figuring out how to comfort myself.  Man alive… that’s a hard one.

We all have our shaky moments, when life flips itself upside down and reminds you that you’re not exactly the boss of everything around you.  In those moments, believe me when I say, I just want to hurl myself on the floor and throw a bona fide tantrum.  The only problem with tantrums, is that people don’t really cares much as they did when I was three,  and it just ruins my mascara.

Then there’s french fries.  French fries are far better than tantrums.

Even better than french fries I’ve found, is a good, loud sing.  When I needed comfort yesterday, when I was feeling a little shaky, I literally stood in my living room and sang whatever songs came to mind.  Loud.  With my eyes closed.  Like I really meant it.  From the inside.  It felt so so good.

And then there’s cake.

This Pink Grapefruit Yogurt Cake is a little bit of sophisticated comfort.  There’s a lovely tang and moist crumb from the  whole-fat yogurt.  The trick to getting the most out of the grapefruit, is to rub the zest into the granulated sugar.  Really get in there, creating a super fragrant grapefruit sugar.

Comfort.  A cake or a song…  what works for you?

Pink Grapefruit Yogurt Cake

makes one 10-inch cake, about 12 servings

The Greyston Bakery Cookbook

Print this recipe!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup plain whole milk yogurt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Juice and zest of 1 pink grapefruit.  This ends up being about 1/2 cup of juice and 1 Tablespoon of zest.

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 Tablespoons powdered sugar

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 10-inch round springform pan and line the pan bottom with a parchment paper round and set aside.  I used a Bundt type springform pan, greased and floured well and skipped the parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt to blend.

On a clean surface, or in a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar and zest.  With the back of a spoon or a flexible bench knife, rub the grapefruit zest into the sugar.  The essential oils will release into the sugar creating a beautifully fragrant sugar.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and grapefruit sugar until the eggs are thick and pale yellow.  Add the yogurt, oil, 1 Tablespoon of grapefruit juice and vanilla extract.  Stir well to combine.  Add the flour mixture and stir to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted near the center.  Place the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes to cool.  Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake  Release and remove the pan sides.  Coo completely on the wire rack.

In a small saucepan, combine the powdered sugar and the remaining grapefruit juice and bring to a boil  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, or until the glaze is slightly thickened.  My glaze didn’t thicken significantly, but still seemed to do a great job on the cake.  Remove from heat.

To finish the cake, invert the cooled cake and remove the pan bottom.  Carefully peel away the parchment paper if you used it.  Reinvert the cake onto a serving plate.  Pierce the cake all over the top with a skewer and pour the warm grapefruit slowly over the cake.  I did this with the help of a pastry brush.

Store at room temperature, wrapped well for 2 days.