I hear a storm’s a’brewin’ here on the East coast! Sometimes you never know if you’re actually going to get an insane blizzard or storm or if the media is totally overplaying how serious the weather is going to be. This time seems pretty legit, though – the mayor is holding press conferences, the governor is telling people to work from home, and Kramer even had his first day back to grad school cancelled tonight because of how bad the snow is going to be. I suppose we’ll see when it really starts up this afternoon and later tonight. I do love a good snow storm, but not if it’s going to mess with people’s power and heat and all of that. We’ve always been really lucky in that we’ve never lost electricity or anything like that, even during Sandy a few years ago. I’m ready to hunker down and grab some snacks at the bodega after work. My problem is always that I’ve got plenty of food in the house, but nothing that can just be eaten – everything has to be prepared. That helps when the late night snack monster hits and I want to eat everything in site, but there’s nothing really in sight unless I want to bust out a pan and a cutting board. For situations like these, though, where there is the slight chance you’ll lose the ability to turn on your oven or stove, it’s good to have some supplies handy. Thankfully our bodegas never get ransacked for supplies like some grocery stores do before storms, but I hope I’ll find a few good things to pick up after work today. I definitely need some hot chocolate if nothing else.
We went to our friend Tom and Val’s place on Saturday night to play some board games and see their baby, Victoria. It’s always crazy to see the offspring of your two friends grow into an actual human person. I can see her personality developing more and more each time I go over there to see her, and the two of them are so happy and are such great parents that it makes even my cold, black heart feel some a little warm and fuzzy inside. Anyway, I wanted to bring something over that is appropriate for busy first time parents. I figured a quick bread of sorts would be perfect – they can grab a slice as a snack while they’re running around with the baby, or maybe have it as a light pick-me-up dessert after dinner. I don’t think that this is typically Val or Tom’s preference for breakfast, but I would love a slice of this with some black coffee or strong tea. Anyway, I found a basic quick bread recipe on The Kitchn and got to work. A little blood orange zest, a little lemon zest and a slightly sweet syrup poured over the top of the hot bread made for the perfect loaf, in my opinion. You get all of the bright citrus from the oranges and lemons, but there’s the slight bitterness from the blood orange that I love, like you’re eating a bread with a touch of Campari (my favorite). If you’re waiting for a blizzard like I am, grab some seasonal blood oranges, bake this bread, drizzle a little honey and spread a little butter over a fresh-from-the-oven slice and get cozy!
The baker’s muffin from 
Dinner at 
Kramer at 
So cute you could puke.