Oranges are so uplifting, don’t ya think? Just holding one in your palm invites you to the aroma of citrus and it’s impeccable round orange body, which is filled with juicy gold! I can count on more than five hands (and I only have two) the amount of times I’ve peeled a perfectly round and juicy orange, split it right down the middle and shared it with someone I care about. Oranges can be meant for sharing, why else would there be segments to pull apart? One for you…one for me… Although, I will admit that if I am eating a beyond juicy orange I may not want to share. ruh roh.
It gets better…oranges are good for you! Not only do they taste like Earth’s candy but they provide nutritional benefits, such as Vitamin C and fiber. The average orange is about 60 calories. Dang! These statistics are good!
Some nutritional perks from oranges –
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1. lowers high blood pressure and cholesterol
2. One orange provides over 116% of the daily value for Vitamin C and over 12% of the daily value for fiber
3. strong antioxidant effects
4. protects respiratory health
You can find more info at The World’s Healthiest Foods website.
To celebrate my new blog and the yummy oranges I had in my fridge, I decided to make an Orange Buttermilk Loaf and I added chocolate chips. I was inspired by chocolate covered orange rind I saw in a specialty store. Orange AND chocolate? Damn straight!
Side note, please excuse the pics. I am working on getting a new camera! yay!
I adapted this recipe from member okieqt from The Tasty Kitchen, the original recipe is called “Sunrise Tangerine Bread.” I didn’t have tangerines, so I used oranges. I also made other modifications and added chocolate chips. MmmMm!
Orange Buttermilk Loaf
Servings 8
1/2 cup butter (room temp)
3/4 cup sugar (and 2 Tbs to use in glaze)
2 eggs (room temp)
1 1/4 cup flour – I used white whole wheat flour because I like the nutritional value added
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk – the original recipe suggested regular milk
1 orange: you’ll need 1 Tbs grated orange zest and 3 Tbs fresh squeezed juice – the original recipe used 1 tangerine
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a loaf pan.
Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs separately and beat until fluffy. Add orange zest and 1 Tbs of fresh squeezed orange juice.
In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt with a whisk or fork. Blend the dry mixture into the creamed mixture and alternate with the buttermilk. I used a wooden spoon to mix this rather than a stand or hand mixer because I did not want to over-mix the batter.
Toss the chocolate chips in flour and gently fold into the batter.
Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes.
Remove from oven. Mix 2 Tbs of fresh squeezed orange juice with 2 Tbs of sugar and microwave until sugar is dissolved. Pour the glaze over the loaf. The glaze makes the loaf so moist!
Let the loaf cool. Remove from pan and place on wire rack.
Enjoy!
Haute Box 