winter citrus fruit salad

February and I haven't always been on the best of terms. Grey short days with lots of rain don't do much to raise the spirits. This February (& throw in January too) has been nothing short of spectacular. Sunny, warm weather, cherry trees in bloom and snowdrops and crocuses in full colour. February, I'm starting to change my mind about you! Sure, there's a little thing called the Winter Olympics going on in our city as well and while this warm weather isn't boding well for the snow sports, it's sure making everyone smile a whole lot more.

Another thing that has been putting a grin on my face is this fruit salad. Normally, I'm not one to dive head first into the fruit salad bowl. I tend to be fruit-picky and shy away from things like pears and melons and other awful things that tend to overcrowd most fruit bowls. But if I'm making a fruit salad at home, it's going to play by my rules. So this salad uses up the best of winter fruits like blood oranges, grapefruits and Honeycrisp apples and it's perfect. Normally, I'd throw in a qualifier like "this winter fruit salad is perfect for me", but I made this for my friend and my husband (who readily admits that he isn't a fan of grapefruit), and it received rave reviews. So there, keep your melons to yourself.

In town for the Olympics, a soon-to-be tourist or a Vancouver native? Check out my top picks on where to grab a tasty & affordable bite over at ReadyMade. Got your own picks? Leave me a comment.

winter citrus fruit salad
2 pink grapefruits
2 blood oranges
1 Honeycrisp apple (or sub in another apple of your choice)
1 lime, juiced and zested
2 heaping T of sugar

With a sharp knife, remove the rind and pith of the grapefruits and oranges and cut them into rounds. Cut into quarters, removing any thick segmenty bits if necessary. Cut the apple into a bite-sized dice and throw them all into a medium sized serving bowl. Add the sugar and lime juice over top and give everything a good stir so that the sugar melts into the salad. Sprinkle with lime zest and serve. This salad also keeps nicely for a few days in the fridge.

completely smitten, cranberry & blood orange loaf

I've been completely taken with blood oranges. They're everywhere in the markets now and it is a lovely way to send off winter. Pink, fragrant and just a little bit tart, I love you blood orange, you make me hopeful!

A few days ago I made a delicious blood orange/lemon/honey-ade. Tart and refreshing, it quenched my desire for a summer drink...powerful stuff, since I had woken up Friday morning with a serious craving for a root beer float. And then, there was the issue of cake. I wanted something sweet but not too decadent and when I stumbled across the The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook's recipe for an orange-cranberry loaf, I knew I had found my weekend cake calling.

While it's not a gooey frosted cake, it is one tasty loaf. It's dense and slices wonderfully. I made the recipe as is, subbing in blood oranges but next time I make this I'll reduce the sugar. It's definitely sweet....and a bit too sweet for my taste buds. It's quick to whip up before guests arrive, the batter is pleasingly pink and pretty, and there's only 2 tablespoons of butter in the entire recipe. Not bad for a lovely little loaf!

blood orange & cranberry loaf
(adapted from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook)
2 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c or 1 c sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
zest from 3 oranges
3/4 c blood orange juice (about 3 oranges)
1 large egg, at room temperature
2T unsalted butter, melted
1 c cranberries, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a loaf tin. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest. In another bowl, combine the orange juice, egg and melted butter together. Add in the flour mixture and stir until just blended. Throw in the cranberries and combine. Pour batter into tin and bake for about 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.