If ever you are feeling particularly murderous and audacious, but wanting to bake all at the same time, here is what you do.
- Take a perfectly nice recipe that calls for a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice.
- Substitute blood oranges (because that is what you have on hand) for the regular kind.
- Hand squeeze them with a citrus juicer. (Warning: murderous tendency may either be heightened or diminished by the visceral act of hand-squeezing blood oranges.)
the blood and the orange
4. When you are nearly finished look down at what you are wearing.
If it is a pure white linen shirt …you are really living on the edge, so go for it. If the shirt looks like something from CSI, take it out and shred it and get some stress release. Better still, burn it. As we know, that leaves fewer clues. If you escaped without a drop on your shirt, as soon as you finish baking, go buy a lottery ticket.
the syrup over warm biscuits, don’t they look deceptively good? HA!
I was all set, in fact had already written this post to include the recipe, when horror of horrors, the resulting biscuits/cookies were no good! The taste was okay, but nothing to rave about, but the problem was they upset both my husband and my digestion! Now, I’m normally sensitive, so not so surprising for me. But my husband has an iron gut and can eat just about anything. The biscuits were gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free, a good start, one would think. But it just goes to show, anything can be problematic.
To be honest, I often have problems with refined sugar alternatives. Honey and maple syrup both have free fructose in them in sufficient quantities to upset me if I consume too much. And while I can usually get away with small amounts of citrus fruit, the juice is much more concentrated with fructans as well. I’m just guessing here, but I’ve necessarily become a pretty good detective. In the end, I had all my luck up front with this recipe, as you can see from my pristine white linen shirt. How did that happen???? No need for the lottery tickets, it was obvious my luck had run out when I ate one of the biscuits. They were a bit fussy to make, too, and while I was curious enough to try them, I have simpler recipes that I will share with you some time when I’ve recovered my composure.
Enjoy your day.
white linen shirt, that escaped bloody oranges
ardysez 
You baked wearing a white shirt… you crazy woman you ♡
Similarly I made a TA version of Francesca’s biscotti using what was to hand, and they tasted wonderful but even omitting the dusting sugar, eating more than a single one -and oh they are moreish- spiked my blood sugar.
Excllent post, you’ve started my morning off on the right note 😆
LikeLike
Guilty as charged. But in my defence, baking is not usually done with things that are other than white-ish. If I had been using tomatoes or beets I would have surely(?) changed clothes first. I am going to bake Francesca’s biscotti for a gathering on Sunday. Thanks for reading Dale, I’m glad you had a laugh, that was my intention. Felt like a bit of light relief this time of year might be in order.
LikeLike
xxx Huge Hugs and Merry Christmas wishes Ardys xxx
LikeLike
Thank you David, best wishes to you and your lovely family too.
LikeLike
I was lured in by these lovely images, then realized this was a crime gone bad!! Goodness! I generally wear an apron when cooking and baking – especially when it’s possible I’m dealing with splatters from horrifying dark substances. I too have been disappointed with sweetener alternatives in baking. I’ve thrown out many botched jobs… it’s almost a comfort to know I’m not the only woman to suffer kitchen madness! 🙂
LikeLike
The thing I really hate is that I seldom bake these days and spending the time on something we couldn’t eat was so disappointing. I don’t often have failures but you are in good company because we all have them occasionally, and more so, I think, when we are trying to use some of the newer alternative ingredients. By the way, I do have a perfectly nice apron, I just didn’t think to wear it that day. Thanks Lori.
LikeLike
Bugger, all that effort for nought. Have you pinpointed the offending ingredient? I’m very naughty and cook in whatever I happen to be wearing when the mood strikes, I do create a lot of laundry dilemmas. I own many aprons! Francesca’s recipe is a beauty, I’m about to make a second batch.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, the effort that was lost, especially when I also could have made Francesca’s nice biscotti recipe, was the worst part of the saga.
LikeLike
Ardys, at this late stage in life, after trashing so many of my clothes with oil spattering, I have taken to aprons. Fortunately they aren’t so daggy as in the ‘old days’ and I pick up chefs aprons, usually labelled with some flash winery, at Savers for $2.99. I have many. Would you like one? They make you look very professional.
Shame about the biscuits: we all have failures and flops. Nice to write about them too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have an apron, thank you. I just have to remember to wear it 🙄. xx
LikeLike
At least you weren’t cooking beets! My clothing can tell tales of life in the kitchen. And, yes, I do also have an apron (a good chef style one), but I’m always forgetting to put it one. Hope the stains come out of that white linen shirt!
LikeLike
Thanks Debi. The photo of the clean linen shirt at the bottom is THE shirt just after I finished baking. Not a spot on it. I have no idea how I got so lucky, but as I said, it was downhill from there as the cookies were not worth the trouble! Best wishes of the season.
LikeLiked by 1 person