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The flight from San Diego to San Francisco was so short that once we reached cruising altitude it seemed like only five minutes later the seatbelt sign went on. As the plane started the descent, the woman in the seat in front of me started shrieking with laughter, and I suddenly realized that I had put a bag full of oranges under her seat with the opening facing forwards. At that moment the oranges were rolling out of the bag at a fast pace, and leaning forward I could see them rolling all the way down the aisle towards the front of the plane.

When I finally got to the baggage claim, I asked an elderly woman who was sitting in a wheelchair if I could leave my bag of oranges next to her while I grabbed my suitcase. She agreed and very sweetly asked if I needed a lift to the city, handing me her business card that read: Sally Stanford, Vice Mayor Sausalito. I didn’t recognize her name, but felt safe with a “vice mayor”. I accepted her offer and her chauffeur put my bags in her limousine. Accompanying us into the city was a TV network executive who was consulting her on a film they were producing about her life, starring Dyan Cannon. I felt like Alice in a scene from Wonderland sitting in the back of this limousine, next to this tiny woman whose feet barely touched the floor; she took puffs from a long silver cigarette holder, smoke circling her head as her powder blue eyelids slowly closed. Giving directions to the chauffeur, Sally pointed out a building here and a block there that had been given to her by one of her husbands. I think she said there had been three. We stopped at a hardware store in Japantown and she took the TV exec inside to buy him a wok. While they were in the store, the chauffeur leaned over the front seat and said “I bet you don’t know who you are talking to. Sally Stanford used to be a very successful madam during Prohibition and eventually became the mayor of Sausalito.”

I didn’t believe him, but he insisted that it was true. After dropping me off at my apartment, I immediately called my girlfriend June who confirmed what the chauffeur had told me.

Even now when I buy a bag of oranges I have to laugh at the image of that woman sitting in a plane and suddenly a bunch of oranges start rolling between her feet. So many oranges that she has to lift her legs up. This recipe doesn’t require a whole bag of oranges, just one orange and one lemon.

• 1 large orange or 2 tangerines, mandarins, or clementines

• 1 lemon

• 6 ounces almond flour

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 Tbsp. baking powder

• 4 large eggs, ideally at room temperature

• ½ tsp. table salt

• 1 ½ cups sugar

• 2/3 cup olive oil

• Confectioners Sugar for dusting the top (optional

  Preheat oven to 350°

Lightly butter a 9” springform pan

Note: You can also use a 8” springform pan just start checking the cake for doneness at about 40 minutes

Fill a medium sized saucepan with about 4 inches of water and bring to a boil. Put the whole orange and whole lemon into the pan and lower the heat slightly. You want the water at a medium boil (higher than a simmer). The fruit will float — don’t worry when it does. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes. Drain the water and let the fruit cool. When it is cool enough to hold, cut in half and scoop the flesh out and into the bowl of your food processor. Next step is to remove as much of the pith from the inside of the zest as possible. Using a butter knife or spoon, gently scrape away the white pith. After being boiled, the zest is soft so be gentle—don’t worry if there is still some of the pith left, or if the pieces tear, just get off as much as you can. Add the scraped zest to the pulp in your food processor and pulse 5 or 6 times. Stop when the pieces are approximately pinenut sized pieces.

Whisk almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt— set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat eggs with an electric mixer until they are light and lemon yellow, add sugar and beat for a couple minutes until combined. Add dry ingredients and olive oil in three parts ending with the oil. Using a hand spatula gently fold in the zest making sure it is spread throughout the batter. Pour into the prepared pan and cook for 50 minutes. Check the cake is done with the toothpick test. A clean toothpick is a perfect cake. Cool in the pan. When it is completely cooled you can sprinkle powdered sugar on the top if you’d like.

Note: With a leaf or two, or three from your garden, you can make a simple design on the top of your cake. Place the leaf or leaves on the top in an attractive design (try to get them as flat as possible), and sprinkle powdered sugar over the whole cake, carefully lift the foliage off the top and you will be left with a lovely pattern.