Blood Orange and Meyer Lemon Salad with Sherry Vinegar

Winter in California means one thing to me: citrus season. Well, okay, two things: a respite from the blazing heat of the valley, and citrus season.

But really, the two go hand in hand. For so much of my life I associated citrus with hot weather. Sweet and tangy, refreshing lemons, limes and oranges make their way into so many summer beverages and ice pops. But I was shocked my first winter in Los Angeles, when the farmer's market began to overflow with dozens of types of citrus near the end of January and into February. I literally had no idea that there were so many types of tangerines, or oranges, and even grapefruit, in existence.

Meyer Lemon Focaccia

Fruity, floral, and intoxicating, the smell of meyer lemons brings back so many memories of my first winter in California. I had never tasted one before, and they were everywhere - so exotic to me, but so common here.

One of my favorite fruits, meyer lemons are a combination of lemons and mandarin oranges. They're exceptionally fragrant, slightly sweeter than a regular lemons but still tart, thin skinned, and very juicy.

My Favorite 5 Ways to Use Orange Blossom Water

My darling neighbor recently gifted me with a bottle of fragrant Orange Blossom Water. I'd never used it before, though I knew that it should be used in very small quantities to impart a delicate floral aroma to dishes. Luckily I stopped my fiance from chugging it straight from the bottle before I had a chance to explain that it was not, in fact, orange flavored water!

I was sipping some iced tea and thought that the orange blossom water could be a nice addition. I added a few drops, and was wowed at the subtle but delicious difference it's delicate flavor made. It turns out, orange blossom water can be incorporated into a lot of things I'm already used to making!

See my 5 favorite ways to use orange blossom water below.

Vegan Persimmon Cake with Meyer Lemon-Blood Orange Marmalade

It's the beginning of citrus season and the end of persimmon season, and after seeing a recipe for an olive oil cake with marmalade on Serious Eats, I knew I had to veganize it!

Fuyu Persimmon Pie

Nate had one request for our Thanksgiving menu: Persimmon Pie.

Our first encounter with this starchy, sweet fruit was on a walk last Fall. Nate has a penchant for stealing fruit from the neighbors' trees, and when he saw the stout orange persimmons, he couldn't help himself. Neither of us had ever seen or tasted one before, and we were left a little puzzled. It tasted like...sweet potato? Or corn? It had that same sweetness and utter lack of acidity, with a texture like that of a dry apple.

Ginger-Cardamom Cranberry Sauce

I've made homemade cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving pretty much every year since my fourth grade class brought back the recipe from a trip to the cranberry bogs on "Cranberry Day," the harvest festival holiday of the local Wampanoag tribe on Martha's Vineyard, where I grew up. The recipe itself is simple and inauthentic, but delicious.

Passion Fruit Mojitos

Passion fruit is in season right now, and I have been LOVING these passion fruit mojitos. I mentioned them in a post last week, and I ended up making them again this morning (...without the rum!).

These virgin passion fruit mojitos are tart, sweet, and fizzy — the perfect drink for a hot day like today

Cantaloupe Fruit Salad with Mint, Lime, and Honey

 These luscious, juicy cantaloupe spheres would have been impossible for me to make before last night...when I finally acquired a melon baller! I feel like melon ballers have gone out of style, but I told Nate that I would definitely use it if we got it. So, last night I balled and froze half of a cantaloupe to use for cocktail making tonight, and this morning I woke up and balled the second half for this light, refreshing breakfast fruit salad.

Roasted Fig and Mascarpone Tarts

Fig season is at hand! I've been wanting to buy figs for awhile now but the price tag (usually at least $5 for a basket) kept me at bay.

Fruity White Wine Sangria

It's stone fruit season, and peaches, nectarines, and plums are at their peak, along with edible novelties like pluots, apriums, and peacotums (peach/apricot/plum crossbreed!). Last week I brought home 5 lbs of the various fruits (I got overexcited at the farmer's market), and though we almost finished them, come Friday we had a few leftovers (and really couldn't bring ourselves to eat them plain anymore).

So, armed with a chilled bottle of Pino Grigio and my trusty chef's knife, I set out to make some Sangria.

Fruity White Wine Sangria

Thanks to my neighbor for this amazing jar!

1.5 mL bottle of inexpensive Pino Grigio, Chardonnay, or Sauvignon Blanc

1/4 c brandy

1/4 c triple sec

4 various stone fruits, pitted and sliced

1 green apple, cored and sliced

1 lemon, sliced and seeded

1 lime, sliced and seeded

sugar, to taste (I used about 3 Tbsp)

Club soda

Add sliced fruit, sugar, brandy, triple sec and wine to a large jar or pitcher. Stir to combine. Put in refrigerator and chill for 2-3 hours. 

To serve, put some of the fruit in a wine glass. Fill with the sangria, and top with club soda.

You can also leave out the brandy and triple sec for something a little less potent; adjust the amount of sugar accordingly. Alternatively, add more club soda to your glass to dilute the drink.

Refreshing, citrusy, and effervescent, this white wine sangria is the perfect refreshment for a hot summer day. 

Oatmeal with Blueberries and Agave

I've been having oatmeal for breakfast most mornings. It's very filling and packs a ton of soluble fiber. This morning I had it with fresh blueberries and 1 tsp of agave. The blueberries were so pretty I just had to snap a  picture.

A side of mango completed a delicious meal!

Fresh Mango Salsa

This mango salsa recipe is fresh, zesty, and full of seasonal delights. Did you know that mangoes are in season right now? They were 2 for $1 at the grocery store (no appearance made at the farmer's market!) so I had to get some. Most of the time the mangoes at the store are either so unripe they're inedible, or so bruised and soft that eating them is a sloppy impossibility. But not this time of year!

The best part of my mago salsa experience was that when I got home from work that day, my neighbor had decided to leave me a little treat...

A jar of Vinegar Syrup infused with Strawberry and Peach. Like...vinegar vinegar? Oh yes. Its description belies its ambrosia-like taste...Tart, sweet, and with a delicious fruity complexity thanks to the use of two types of fruit, it's so good I could drink it straight. OH WAIT. I LITERALLY DID. Only about a half-teaspoon of it...but still! I can't wait to use some in a summer vinaigrette when I get greens from the market this weekend. It also is a perfect addition to....

Fresh Mango Salsa 

Served over spice-blackened chicken

First, assemble your ingredients.

I chose mango, red onion, lime juice, a jalapeno pepper, an avocado, the aforementioned vinegar syrup, some diced zucchini and summer squash, and some fresh parsley. This recipe is super customizable — you could use peaches or nectarines or even pineapple instead of mango; a serrano or (gasp!) habanero chile for more heat; you can de-seed and remove the jalapeno membrane for less heat; and of course if you don't happen to have strawberry-peach vinegar syrup you can use more lime juice instead. 

You need to cut the mango. Cutting mangoes is kind of a pain because they have a huge flat oval pit right in the middle. So what's a girl to do? 

Lay the mango on its stem end, then cut down either side of the center pit. 

Mango half, center pit, mango half...

Carefully score each edible half of the mango, then invert the peel.

Voila! Now, simply cut the mango chunks from the peel.

Now chop the other ingredients, except for the lime and the avocado.

Remember when I made White Pizza with Zucchini, Summer Squash, and Manchego?

Well, I had some leftover zucchini and summer squash, so I chopped that up and added it in too. You could also use cucumber.

I also added about 3 T chopped fresh parsley; you could use cilantro as well (I just didn't have any).

Toss all of the chopped ingredients together in a medium bowl, then squeeze over the juice of 1 lime. Taste, and add more lime juice and some salt to balance the flavors. Follow your tongue on this. At this point, I also added a half tablespoon of my delicious vinegar syrup. 

Now cover this, and let it sit for about an hour in the fridge. It will get spicier over time, and the flavors will really have a chance to meld.

Right before serving, give it a stir and add 1 large-diced avocado. Did you know that the American Heart Association Dietary Guidelines recommend that 30% of your daily calories come from unsaturated fat? Avocados are a cholesterol free way to help fulfill that requirement (and 1 half avocado only has 160 calories), while also getting a serving of fruit that is chock full of vitamin k, vitamin c, fiber, and potassium. 

Now toss all of the ingredients together so that the avocado gets coated in lime juice — this will prevent it from browning. 

And serve over spice-blacken chicken (or any spicy, grilled food — pork loin or flank steak would be great here!)

Spice Blackened chicken with mango salsa, brown rice pilaf with brocolli, and mixed baby kale

Stay tuned...there is a mighty fine-smelling dish cooking up in my oven right now that I'll probably post about tomorrow!

Full Recipe

Fresh Mango Salsa

1 mango, large dice

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded if desired, small dice

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 zucchini, peeled and diced

1/2 summer squash, peeled and diced

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

juice of 1-2 limes

salt to taste

1 avocado, diced

Add first 6 ingredients to medium bowl; toss with time juice and add salt to taste. 

Cover and let sit in fridge for an hour. Add avocado, toss, and serve over grilled or roasted meat or with chips.