Food for the Winter Blues

CITRUSY OLIVE OIL CAKE

It's time for the winter doldrums again. Blah January- my least favorite month, February's generally not much better.. I'm counting the days until April as I do every year. In the meantime I'm trying to stay positive -and I think the right foods can help. For me, it's about finding a balance between the comforting carbs I crave and trying to eat more healthfully. This Citrusy Olive Oil Cake is actually a lot healthier than it tastes. The combination of blood orange, tangerine, and Meyer lemon juices and zest gives the cake a lovely perfume and taste. Plus, no butter, no oil- it's practically health food.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Zest 2 blood oranges, one tangerine, and one Meyer lemon and stir the zest into 1 cup of sugar in a medium-large bowl. After that, juice one of the blood oranges, the tangerine, and lemon in another bowl. Stir 1/2 cup of plain 2% greek yogurt into the juice and then whisk that into the sugar. Then add 3 beaten eggs, one tablespoon vanilla, and 2/3 cup of olive oil. In a separate bowl stir together 1+3/4 cup whole wheat white flour, 1+1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Combine the wet and dry ingredients in a buttered cake pan and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Let cool and enjoy.

 

CARROT GINGER SOUP
This soup makes me so happy- it's actually healthy but that doesn't stop it from being totally delicious. The key to really developing the flavors is to roast the carrots and Ginger just until the ginger caramelizes, it adds a sweet and spicy dimension to the soup that makes it irresistible. I could eat a bowl of this bright orange soup every day, it's that good.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Clean 1lb carrots, then chop 3 tablespoons of fresh ginger, and one tablespoon fresh rosemary. Combine the ginger and rosemary in a small bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup of honey, salt and pepper, then toss with the carrots on a baking tray. Roast just till the ginger is caramelized, about 25 minutes. Remove the tray from oven and let cool. Once cool, puree the carrots in a food processor and then put them in a soup pot over medium heat. Immediately stir in 6 cups vegetable broth and 1/2 cup of milk. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.