Little Oranges

Try this experiment: don’t think about oranges. Do not think about oranges at all. Now, what are you thinking about ? Oranges.

I think that looking for foods that don’t contain wheat can be like that. You just can’t stop thinking about what you can’t have instead of focusing your thoughts on all of the delicious foods you can have.

Last month while in Santa Barbara, I was offered some of those little California Clementine oranges. Never one to pass up food, I took them but wondered to myself if they were any good. I’ve noticed the small boxes of these little oranges in the grocery store every winter and wanted to try them, but I didn’t want to buy a whole box of them just in case they tasted like the citrus fruit of my childhood. They did kind of look like the seed-filled tangerines my mom bought at the store back in the day that I avoided eating. I hate dealing with seeds in my food.

During my teens we lived in an area of southern California that had once been orange orchards. As the population grew in the San Fernando Valley, the orchards were divided for development, but many of the orange trees were left growing. Our half-acre lot still had seventeen orange trees. We tried cultivating them, but never really got the hang of it. Our oranges were always kind of sour. And they had seeds. To stretch our family’s grocery budget, we didn’t buy much citrus fruit (except those tangerines), so if we wanted to eat oranges or drink orange juice, we headed to the back yard. Needless to say, our sour seedy oranges didn’t endear me to the fruit.

I was so surprised to find that those little oranges in Santa Barbara were very sweet, delicious, and they were seedless! I’ve been obsessed with little oranges ever since. So this first recipe for my blog was based on oranges.

Orange, Turkey, and Hazelnut Salad

1 cup romaine lettuce
2 oz. sliced turkey
1 California Clementine orange, or ½ navel orange
1 tablespoon chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Marmalade Dressing 1 teaspoon orange marmalade
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
pinch of salt and black pepper

Place lettuce, turkey, orange and hazelnuts on plate. Combine dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Serves one.

Printable Recipe