Blood orange olive oil cake

Do you like baking MORE than cooking savory dishes?
I always stand on the fence about this but I find my cakes and sweet dishes are just so photo worthy at times, its like they beg to be photographed.
The fact is, i cook meals at home three to four nights a week.
Somehow my savory dishes have not made it on to my new blog but that will change soon.
I swear!
Another successful trip to the farmers market in which i let local and fresh ingredients speak to me; this weekend I was attracted to the fragrant organic oranges and the large and beautiful blood oranges.
I bought half a dozen blood oranges not knowing what to do with them, I told my husband we could always juice them into some cheap bubbly for a great mimosa. He didn't object but certainly i could find a more creative use for these beauties and i did.
Thanks to Smitten Kitchen.
I tweaked the recipe to make it more simple (choosing to mix all ingredients gently together vs one at a time)! The result was a phenomenal moist, delicious, beautiful cake.
I love the lack of butter, the only fat being virgin olive oil.
The original recipe suggests a blood orange compote which I omitted for the sake of my waist line.
If you feel naughty, all you need to do is drizzle blood orange pieces with honey and you have your compote.

Butter for baking pan
3 blood oranges
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. 
Grate zest from 2 oranges and place in a bowl with sugar. 

Using your fingers, rub ingredients together until orange zest is evenly distributed in sugar. The smell will be incredible!

Supreme 2 oranges: Cut off bottom and top so fruit is exposed and orange can stand upright on a cutting board. 

Cut away peel and pith, following curve of fruit with sharp knife. 
Cut orange segments out of their connective membranes and let them fall into a bowl. 

Repeat with another orange. Break up segments with your fingers to about 1/4-inch pieces.

Halve remaining orange and squeeze juice into a measuring cup; you’ll will have about 1/4 cup. Add to buttermilk altogether. 

Pour mixture into bowl with sugar and whisk well. 
Whisk in eggs and olive oil.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir dry ingredients into wet ones. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until it is golden and a knife inserted into center comes out clean. 
Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up. 

Serve with whipped cream and honey-blood orange compote (below), if desired.

Honey-Blood Orange Compote: Supreme 3 more blood oranges according to directions above. Drizzle in 1 to 2 teaspoons honey. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir gently.

Simple Cauliflower soup

This easy and simple soup has WOW'ed some of my friends. 

Super easy, the main ingredient doesn't need too much fuzz here. 

I serve this as an appetizer soup or make it super thick for a puree to act as a

bed for grilled meats or hard vegetables. 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 large onion, cubed

1 large head of fresh cauliflower 

sat to taste and some pepper

5 cups of water, divided (or home made chicken stock)

Warm olive oil in a heavy large pot. 

Sweat the onion in the olive oil over low-medium heat without browning.

Add the cauliflower, salt and pepper to taste. Add two cups of water and raise heat, cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. 

Add the last three cups of water and bring to a low simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.

Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth and creamy. 

Reheat soup to thicken a little and serve hot (I drizzle a thin bit of olive oil and fresh pepper on top).