t.g.i.c. (thank god for citrus!)

Is there anything crazier looking than a Buddha's hand citron? It's one of those God's-got-a-sense-of-humor fruits... and it is so delicious candied.

We are all eating so much citrus in my house that a few of us have canker sores. But still, when I came home from the farmer's market this week with the best-ever navel oranges, my son said he'd just eat through the pain because they tasted so good.

We have two kinds of lemons in the yard--Meyer and Eureka, so I juice a bunch of them, stir in some simple syrup, add a splash of sparkling water, and we have wintertime lemonade. Maybe we should set up a stand under an umbrella in the front yard?

Insalata's Restaurant in San Anselmo makes an olive oil citrus cake that is so moist and delicious... and so perfect for after a winter dinner or with a cup of tea.

Orange Almond Olive Oil Cake

2 small oranges
1 lemon

1 cup AP flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

4 eggs, room temp

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup sugar

6 oz toasted almonds,finely chopped in a food processor

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F. Oil a 10"x3" round cake pan, line with parchment, and oil again.

In a medium saucepan, cover the whole oranges and lemons with water; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until fruit is tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool. Cut the oranges in half, discard seeds and rough chop the whole orange. Cut the lemon in half, remove and discard pulp and rough chop the lemon skin. Process the fruit in a food processor to a fine pulp.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk, combine eggs and sugar; whip until light and fluffy and will hold a ribbon, about 5 minutes. Fold flour mixture into egg mixture. Mix together fruit, nuts and olive oil and fold into batter until well incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Bake until surface is dark golden brown and springs back when touched, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool in pan. Dust with confectioner;s sugar. Delicious served with a dollop of cardamom whipped cream!