Turning the Frown Upside-Down

It's not often I wake up in a sour mood on a weekend.

I love my weekends, and it's hard to bring me down when I wake up and realize "I can pretty much do whatever I want today". Even if there are chores to do, errands to run, I can choose when to do them.


But this morning was no ordinary Sunday morning. Last night was the first night my little girl slept in her "big girl" bed, and visions of her sleepwalking out the front door haunted my sleep. All for nothing, as she slept soundly and sweetly.



Then there were the beasts...my normally deep-sleeping dogs and purring cuddling cats were all awake, patrolling the house, getting into mischief and waking us up just about every hour, on the hour. What little sleep my husband got was light, as evident by his snoring, tossing and turning, and the occasional outburst of expletives as a startled cat pounced on his face as it bounded off the bed.


So as the distant sky began to lighten, I was awake. I could have taken a shower, I could have gotten in a workout, but instead I chose to sulk and pout. Even coffee did not tempt me. As the dogs drifted off to sleep at my feet, I got up from the couch and started poking through kitchen cabinets looking for something "good" to eat. Maybe a decent breakfast would put me in a better mood. As things stood, I didn't really feel like doing much of anything. I tried to think of something relatively healthy, relatively easy that would wake me up. Then I spied the grapefruit sitting on the counter...


At first I was going to just peel and eat it. But after that long night I really wanted a treat, so I "kicked it up a notch", so to speak....


Broiled Grapefruit Crisp (2 servings)
1 good sized grapefruit (I happened to have ruby red)
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Dash salt
2 tsp. butter

Preheat broiler to 400*F.

Cut grapefruit in half; loosen grapefruit sections from membrane and discard any visible seeds. Place cut side up in a baking dish.




Oh, and did I mention it helps if you prepare this in a bright sunny place, and spread out your best spring linens. You should iron them, too. I didn't. I told you I was in a bad mood!
In a separate bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon.


Add about 2 tsp. of butter or butter substitute.



Work in the butter either with a fork, or my favorite way, with fingers, until it's well-distributed.

Place half of the mixture on top of each grapefruit half.

Broil for about 10 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and crisp.

I know, the red pot holder clashes with my lovely spring linens. If I were my mother-in-law, I would have coordinating potholders, kitchen towels and curtains for each season, but frankly I still have a few Christmas decorations up.

Think I'm kidding? Hehehehe!

Yeah, I suppose it's time to pack away the leg lamp. Maybe after breakfast....

Which was a great success! Nothing like a burst of juicy citrus, a whiff of cinnamon and the sweet crunch of a crisp-like topping to lift your spirits and refresh your soul, and turn what was about to be a dismal, lazy day into a fun one.



Maybe I should do this again on Monday? ;)