Producer Spotlight: Grace Harbor Farms

As we trudge through the winter months, it’s good to add some splashes of brightness to our tables, and there’s no better way to do that than with some fresh, seasonal citrus. One of my favorite citrus fruits is the blood orange—it has all the sweetness of a navel orange with just a hint of grapefruit-y bitterness, and the striking crimson color is just beautiful. They are great for eating out of hand, or as a sweet accent on a cheese plate, but they really can’t be beat baked into our Blood Orange Upside Down Cake. In it, deep vermillion slices of blood orange are lightly caramelized, then baked into an Italian-style cornmeal cake, enriched with yogurt and almond. It’s a perfect way to brighten a dreary February day!

This cake gets its particular richness from the addition of full-fat yogurt. That yogurt comes from one of our favorite dairies here at Acme, Grace Harbor Farms, a small, decades-old family operation in northern Whatcom County. Their milks, yogurts, and kefirs are all made with un-homogenized, vat-pasteurized whole milk from their Guernsey cattle (as well as their goats!)—all their products are cream-topped, rich, delicious, and packed with naturally occurring nutrients and vitamins. Unhomogenized whole milk retains all the flavor and nutrition originally present, and it just tastes great! Thanks, Grace Harbor, and thanks to all your cows!