Orange you glad you found this bread?

Another day, another house full of hungry volunteers.

To some, this may seem like a burden, but to me, it's a chance to feed and mother a couple of dozen hard working people...my favorite thing to do.

This year, we had an exceptionally good crop of oranges. The extended cold snap that has finally ended didn't  harm the trees and made the fruit even sweeter.

Oranges are the perfect snack. They come in their own little biodegradable package, they are pretty high in fiber (2.4 grams per average sized orange, which is at least as much as you'd get from a slice of good whole wheat bread) and really low in fat (0.21 grams per orange). Of course, they're a little messy because of the juice, so wrap one in a bandana and throw it in your bag when you're heading out the door in the morning and you'll be set to snack...food and drink - all in one place.

But while we were sitting down to work, we needed something a little less juicy to snack on. Cake? Muffins? Scones? Bread?

That's it...bread. A little sweet and perfect for a working brunch. And with oranges freshly-squeezed (or, as I always say - freshly squozen) for the juice, this couldn't taste better. Even if your fruit comes from a far away land, by way of the grocery, you'll be able to make a great bread.

Orange Poppy Seed Bread

3 cups of flour
2 1/4 cups of sugar
2 tablespoons of poppy seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 cup of vegetable oil
3 tablespoons of grated orange zest
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
Orange Glaze (see recipe below)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9 by 5-inch loaf pans.
• Combine the flour, the sugar, the poppy seeds, the baking powder and the salt in a bowl (You might need a big one for all this stuff).
• Add the eggs, the milk, the vegetable oil, the orange zest, the vanilla and the almond extract; stir everything together  until dry ingredients are moist.
• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans. 
• Bake for an hour (check at about 50 minutes because you don't want it to get dry) It's ready when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. While it's baking, make the Orange Glaze.
• Cool on wire racks.
• While the loaves are still hot, poke holes in the top of the loaves with a chop stick, a fork with long tines or something like that. 
• Pour the Orange Glaze over the loaves. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes and remove.
• Cool completely before slicing.

Orange Glaze

3/4 cup of sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup of freshly-squeezed orange juice
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
Combine all the ingredients and stir them up until they are well-blended.

Vegetarian.