Better Home Cooking Basics: #51 Choose Citrus Fruit that is Bright , Smooth & Shiny in Texture & Feels Heavy.

The other day I was using a microplane to zest the limes that I was substituting for lemons to make chimichurri sauce. After collecting all the zest I needed, I cut the limes in half to juice them. Two out of the three were juicy & provided lots of juice for my sauce. However, the third one was dry & pulpy with virtually  no juice to offer. That stuck with me & I headed to google to figure out how I could prevent this dehydrated citrus fiasco in the future. What I found seems like it should be common sense but it wasn’t to me (at first) so I’m sharing it with you.

When shopping for citrus here are the three things you want to look for:
Is it bright in color? If it’s a lemon is it bright like the sun? if it’s  lime is it really green?
Is the texture smooth & shiny?  If not throw it back & look for a one that is.
Is it heavy? Bigger is not always better but heavier is. The heavier the piece of citrus fruit the more juice it’s bound to have in side.

Do you have any tips for selecting the best fruits & veggies? Please share in the comments below!

Get more of my better home cooking basics here.

Olive Oil Bundt Cake

We decided last night at Easter dinner that I will make the desserts for all family dinners at my grandma's house (with the addition of the 7 fishes on Christmas Eve where Chris will make his crab stuffed mushrooms & I'll make the honey balls). So desserts are my thing since my grandmother & aunt have the dinner down to feed a few small country instead of pint-sized family members. 

This Easter I made some new desserts which is always a risk but I think they went well.  The first of the two desserts I made was an olive oil cake. I've had olive oil cake at La Columbe & it was delish so I searched the internet for a recipe that spoke to me. I found Gina DePalma's recipe for an almond olive oil cake by way of Lottie + Doof's blog.

I know what you're probably thinking - olive oil cake - that's a little weird. And no this is not an April Fools joke (although, happy april fools!).  But honestly if you like pound cake, almonds & a buttery glaze - there is really nothing you won't love about this cake. It's pretty easy to make. Sure there's a few steps but it's not all that bad. Plus if you're making it for a holiday party that you don't have to cook an entire dinner for your family why not spend that time baking up this cake. I used our bundt pan because it gives the cake in interesting shape but you can definitely use a spring form pan or just a regular cake pan too, it'll still be delish.

An Early Fall Table

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Fall is pretty much here but there are still hints of summer in the air like the tropical-esque weather we had last night in the north east chalk full of warm winds & tons of rain.  Orange always reminds me of fall (think pumpkins & foliage) so I thought if I could dress a table for early fall it would definitely have some orange in it along with some blues & fresh marigold yellows. I thought these were some fun items.

 If I had the time & place to store table linens & dishes I would dress my table every day.  Le sigh... our closet space does not warrant this so I will just window shop for now.

Orange You Glad It's Not A Black Outfit

dress (urban outfitters, a splurge version here, comfy version here), top (anthro), belt (anthro, cute one here), earrings (anthro), shoes (dolce vita, a fun pair I wouldn't say no to  here)

The majority of my life is spent in NYC, working, where black is the easiest go-to when it comes to getting dressed but I like color (obviously).

I've had this trapeze shirt dress for a while now.  I have it in red too. It's super versatile. It has pockets. It's the right amount of structured plus relaxed. It that blue color I obsess over on a daily basis. I love it.

I usually belt it but lately I have been into light layers.  This bright blue & orange are two of my favorite colors so it was only fitting that I pair them together.

Since I live in Hoboken (a whopping 3 miles from the big apple) I have to walk a bit for my commute so comfy & walkable shoes are a must.  These sandals straddle cuteness & comfort perfectly.

What are you wearing to work these days?

Orange-You-Glad-Spring-is-Here-Inspiration

top (anthropologie - on sale early spring 2012); belt (similar here); skirt (urban outifitters - old);
shoes (c/o the chew); clutch (the clutch I wore for my wedding! from hautelook)

 It's finally spring (albeit a little gloomy today)! Last week when the sun finally poked out I couldn't help but want to exude some sunny colors.  I love colors - that's no secret. I wanted to highlight the orange and turquoise here so I kept my skirt and shoes neutral.  Happy spring!

An Eat Me Center Piece

Every week we stock up on a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies.  Most of the time they rot simply because they've been buried under something in the fridge.  I love this jar for it's cute little chalkboard label that you can write something cheeky with each change of season or your mood.  I chose "eat me" - I thought it was a good and direct reminder to do just that.  This jar doubles as a center piece to keep your kitchen bright with the natural orange color of (well) the oranges - the color of the year.

How do you store your fresh fruit?