You Know You are in the South When……

People greet you with “Hey” instead of “Hi”…
The conversations all around you are peppered with “Y’all”…
Can’t find a Giant Eagle, only Piggly Wigglys…
There are lots of blooming flowers everywhere even though it’s January…
The cockroaches are called “palmetto bugs”…
You see the silvery Spanish moss dripping gracefully from all the live oak trees…
Grits and biscuits with sausage gravy is the breakfast de jour….
Most of the radio stations are either bluegrass or country western…
And finally, there is only one pace…SLOW!!!

But my favorite is the mild temperatures and warm breezes..AAhhhh!

Citrus-Winter’s Sweet Delicacy

  The first thing my husband, Sam, did the morning after we arrived at my daughter and son-in-law’s house in San Diego was walk out of the guest room door into their backyard and pluck a shiny ripe orange from one of the orange trees.

The crisp citrus/floral scent of a just-picked orange is intoxicating to say the least.  It starts out very delicate and invites your nostrils to inhale deeper and longer all the while intensifying and wowing your sense of smell. I observed a tiny hummingbird quickly darting in and around the branches of the trees.  It was flying unusually slower than I’ve seen them fly in the past. I think it, too, was inebriated on the sweet scent as it visited each branch that still had some white blossoms attached to a stem.

This little hummingbird provided a pleasant added attraction as we lingered in the citrus grove of oranges, lemons,tangerines and grapefruits.

Here is a Sicilian Orange Salad that we’ve been enjoying :

Layer the following ingredients on a pretty platter in the order given

Three or four navel oranges peeled and sliced in half inch slices

One half red onion sliced very thin

The bulb of one stalk of anise (fennel) thinly sliced

Sprinkle a handful of pitted kalamata olives, cut in half

Dress the salad with good extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Florida oranges should be readily available on the East Coast.  Blood oranges would be a great substitute.

Enjoy this refreshing salad after dinner. (As the Italians do!)