By April 2026. I am 67, and spring in Memphis is arriving with its usual lack of subtlety — everything blooming at once, the dogwoods and azaleas competing for attention, the air warm enough to sit on the porch again.
Tyrone came for dominoes, bringing his competitive spirit and his cheating heart, and the evening was loud with the brotherly combat that is our love language.
Cornbread in the cast iron — buttermilk, cornmeal, bacon drippings, 425 degrees until golden. Some weeks the simplest food is enough. Cornbread is always enough, the way showing up is always enough. Both require heat, patience, and the willingness to be plain when plain is what's needed.
The week ended on the porch with Rosetta, the evening gentle, the smoker cooling. Another week of tending fires — the smoker, the marriage, the family, the faith. Low and slow. Always.
Rosetta has always had a soft spot for anything with orange in it — the smell alone changes the air in the kitchen — and after a week that ran loud and warm and full, it felt right to set down the cast iron and let something gentle come out of the oven instead. Orange Date Bread doesn’t demand much: a bowl, a loaf pan, ingredients you already have. That kind of recipe suits a Friday evening on the porch, where the only agenda is cooling down and staying close.
Orange Date Bread
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 60 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 12 slices
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup pitted dates, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh orange zest (from about 1 large orange)
- 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with butter or nonstick spray and set aside.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Stir in the chopped dates and orange zest, tossing to coat the dates in the flour mixture so they don’t clump.
- Combine the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the orange juice, melted butter, beaten egg, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Bring it together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix — a few lumps are fine. The batter will be thick.
- Pour and bake. Transfer the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top gently. Bake on the center rack for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is deep golden brown.
- Cool before slicing. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and cool for at least 30 minutes more before slicing. This lets the crumb set so it slices cleanly.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 190 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Carbs: 39g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 155mg