Cookbook Perusing: Florida's Natural, Favorite Recipes From Our Groves


Florida's Natural, Favorite Recipes From Our Groves (1998) is a hardcover collection of recipes from the co-op of growers who make Florida's Natural Juices. There are lots of large color photos of the prepared recipes, vintage black and whites of the citrus industry and photos of vintage citrus crate labels. There is short but interesting history of the Florida citrus industry and recollections by growers.
There are recipes from many recipe categories, appetizers to desserts.
This orange recipe sounds very easy and something a little different than the widely seen onion soup and cream soup recipes. It is an older recipe so it calls for whole cut up chicken. Now people would probably use breasts or thighs.

Poulet A L'Orange

2 broiler-fryer chickens, cut up

2 medium navel oranges, unpeeled and cut into thick slices

1 envelope onion soup mix

1-1/2 cups orange juice, home-squeezed style

Place chicken and orange slices in large roasting pan. Add onion soup mix. Pour orange juice over chicken and orange slices. Bake 1-1/2 hours in 400 degree oven until tender and glazed, basting and turning occasionally. Serve with pan juice. Serves 6.

I don't see many grapefruit recipes in cookbooks but this one has quite a few. A pie, cake, several main dishes and others.

Pork Chops With Grapefruit Glaze

6 pork chops

1 grapefruit, squeezed for juice

1/2 stick butter or margarine, melted

2 tablespoons honey

To prepare glaze, mix melted butter, juice from the grapefruit, and honey. Set aside. Cook chops on medium hot grill; 15 minutes before done brush with glaze. Turn chops and continue to brush with glaze until done.

Fresh-Cherry Tart


I was looking through one of my old recipe clipping files today and found this Good Housekeeping Mag. recipe from 1979 that features fresh cherries. They are available around here for a reasonable price now. Usually when I buy them they all get eaten up as a snack before I can use them in a recipe.
The recipe was one of their 30 Minute features, but I think this recipe would take longer that that because you need to pit the cherries.

Fresh-Cherry Tart

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 of 10-1/2-ounce bag miniature marshmallows (2 cups) or about 20 regular marshmallows
2-1/2 cups oven-toasted rice cereal
1 (3-1/2- to 3-3/4 ounce)package vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
1-1/4 cups milk
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
1-1/2 pounds sweet cherries

In 2-quart saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add marshmallows; heat until marshmallows are melted, stirring frequently. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in cereal until well mixed. With buttered hand, pat mixture into greased 10-inch tart pan or 9-inch pie plate.
In large bowl with mixer at high speed, beat pudding mix and remaining ingredients except cherries 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Spoon mixture into cereal crust. Refrigerate.
With cherry pitter, remove pits from cherries or cut each cherry in half but not all the way through to remove pit. Gently press cherries into cream filling. Makes 8 servings.