Am I the only one experiencing crankiness because of the time change??? Losing an hour of sleep is not the greatest when you're a person who needs 9hrs of sleep daily... I'm neither a morning person or a night owl. I love the days I can wake up early and get my day started before everyone else, but I also love the nights I can stay up while everyone else is snoozing away. One of the things I'm trying to focus on right now is time management. I have a tendency to give myself unrealistic expectations, set goals that are impossible to reach, and in turn feel overwhelmed and do nothing at all. I have always been bad at managing my time. When I was in college, I was working an almost full time job, taking 20+ units, volunteering, studying, and trying to have a life outside all of that. It's no wonder I developed debilitating anxiety. That isn't the only reason, but it is a big one, so I'm going to start holding myself accountable for things that need to be done and work on setting up a schedule. Even though waking up early isn't my favorite thing to do, I will do my best to wake up earlier everyday. I'll also be posting here every Monday! #mindfulmondays will be in the works! In these blog posts I'll be sharing recipes of course, but I'll also be reflecting on the week prior and set my intentions for the week. And since today is Monday, there is no better time to start!

Last week was pretty hectic for me. I was adjusting to not having to take care of Hodor, and I had to catch up with all the work I had. There were SO MANY things that I needed to tackle, but it all felt impossible until I wrote them down and realized what can I actually do, and what I can really accomplish for the day. It was hard to say the least, I ended up overworking anyways. I have yet to learn when to stop. No one tells you the rough parts of working from home. You constantly feel like you can work when there is "nothing" else to do, but in reality, those are the moment that we need to take for ourselves and do hobbies we enjoy or plainly kick up our feet and relax. It is easier when work is contained to a space that you can't get to by simply getting up out of bed. So this coming week, I will continue to work on creating a schedule that works for me, but also keep in mind that I need to stop and take breaks/stop working when work time is over.

Now onto these zesty donuts. You all wanted these (and so did I), so I had to get creating! No lie, old fashion donuts have a special little place in my heart. Something about the flavor and texture. They're just what I think of when I think of old school donuts. And I know I need to make an original recipe, maybe with vanilla bean... oooo.. I'm already getting carried away you guys. This is why it is so hard for me to make simple recipes ): But because my recipes aren't plain janes, they're unique and are always bursting with flavor. I like to think of the scene from ratatouille when Remy eats the food & fireworks are going off in his imagination. I feel that when I take a bite into these donuts. It took a lot for me to not eat all the donut holes after frying them because they're good even without the glaze, but I needed to save some for the pics ya know. And now I'm wishing I still had some to munch on today...mmmm.


OLD FASHIONED BLOOD ORANGE DONUTS RECIPE

makes 1 dozen donuts & 2 dozen donut holes


INGREDIENTS

for the donuts

  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour 
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp. blood orange zest
  • 2 egg yolks (room temp)
  • 3/4 cup sour cream (room temp)
  • 1/4 cup blood orange juice
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • canola oil for frying

for the glaze

  • 1/4 cup of blood orange juice
  • 1 tbsp. blood orange zest
  • 3 cups of powdered sugar
  • 1/8 tsp. salt


DIRECTIONS

for the donuts 

  • In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Set aside.
  • In a stand mixer, whip the butter, sugar & blood orange zest till pale and fluffy.
  • Add the egg yolks & beat until it becomes a pale light yellow.
  • Add the sour cream, orange juice, & vanilla extract and mix till just combined.
  • Pour in the flour mixture and mix till it forms a wet cookie like dough.
  • Chill the dough for at least an hour (I like to chill mine overnight).
  • To fry, heat the oil in a deep pot till it reads 350°F on a candy thermometer.
  • Once chilled, flour your surface with a generous amount of flour & transfer the sticky dough over, then flour the top of the dough.
  • Roll the dough out into 1/2" thick circle & using a donut cutter or a circle cutter, cut out as many donuts & holes as you can.
  • Carefully place the donuts & holes into the oil, making sure not to crowd them.
  • Fry each side of the donut for ~1 1/2 mins or until golden brown.
  • Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a wire rack lined with parchment paper underneath to catch the dripping oil.
  • Let the donuts cool for at least 5 mins before dipping in the glaze.

for the glaze 

  • Add all the ingredients into a bowl & whisk till no lumps of sugar are left.
  • Dip cooled donuts into the glaze and place back onto the wire rack to cool before devouring.