Orange Blossom Quotes

“Did you ever sleep in a field of orange-trees in bloom? The air which one inhales deliciously is a quintessence of perfumes. This powerful and sweet smell, as savoury as a sweetmeat, seems to penetrate one, to impregnate, to intoxicate, to induce languor, to bring about a dreamy and somnolent torpor. It is like opium prepared by fairy hands and not by chemists.”
― Guy de Maupassant, 88 Short Stories

“Now the road was crossing orange groves in flower, and the nuptial scent of the blossoms absorbed the rest as a full moon does a landscape; the smell of sweating horses, the smell of leather from the carriage upholstery, the smell of Prince and the smell of Jesuit, were all cancelled out by that Islamic perfume evoking houris and fleshly joys beyond the grave.”
― Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard

“Dans la cour attenant au triclinium, des musiciens assemblés accordaient des lyres et des flûtes pour accompagner en sourdine les conversations.
Des parfums intenses, nés de la nuit chaude, arrivaient par bouffées. Brigitte, assise au pied du lit de l’impératrice Eutropie, s’étonna :
— Quel est cet arôme étrange, à la fois si lourd et si doux ?
Les narines de Niké palpitèrent pour mieux humer l’air parvenant du jardin :
— Je sais ! Il provient d’une fleur en forme d’étoile et que l’on dirait sculptée dans la cire. C’est la fleur d’un arbre fruitier. Elle fleurit sans cesse, d’une lune à l’autre. Sévérien aime beaucoup cet arbre, qu’il a rapporté d’Afrique. Il l’appelle oranger.
— La nuit est tout embaumée de son parfum. Il est…, il est inoubliable !”
― L.N. Lavolle, L'Otage de Rome

“Danielle wore a simple bias-cut gown of the palest blush silk- one of her own designs- with white roses and jasmine braided into her thick auburn hair swept up from the nape of her neck, onto which she'd applied a new perfume she'd blended with a corresponding harmony just for the wedding. She carried the flowers of Bellerose: mimosa, rose, jasmine, violet, and orange blossom, twined into a voluptuous bouquet that spilled from her hand.
Jon stood before her, his velvety brown eyes sparkling with flecks of gold. She drank in the delicious, virile smell of him, loving how the scent of his skin melded with the perfume she had blended for him for this day- blood orange and orange blossom, patchouli and sandalwood, cinnamon and clove. She had devised a salty note, too, and added the sea's airy freshness.”
― Jan Moran, Scent of Triumph

“Amazing how sunlight makes a landscape shine in shades of ocean blue, blood red, grass green, and everything in between. A tree with orange blossoms high in its canopy of leaves; blossoms that sway in the wind and flutter downward, slowly, pirouetting like miniature dancers.”
― Astrid H. Roemer, Gebroken wit

“It is in Italian, and I can just read the recipe title, scrawled in large cursive above the incomplete ingredients list. Torta Fioritura Degli Aranci. I translate it in my head. Orange Blossom Cake. That sounds yummy... and intriguing.”
― Rachel Linden, The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake

“Every recipe in this book has the potential to help someone in need. The recipes work in many different ways, depending on the individual's circumstances," she explains, "but the recipe for Orange Blossom Cake is special. The person who takes the first bite of the cake will see a vision of the sweetest moment of happiness that awaits them in life.”
― Rachel Linden, The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake

“I sniff the batter, savoring the sweet, delicate aroma of the orange blossom extract and the unctuous aroma of good olive oil.
"You sure this is all there is to it?" I ask Nonna. "It just seems too simple."
"Simple can be just as good as complex," Nonna says serenely as she whips up a simple sugar and orange zest icing to pour over the cake when it's done. "Often is better. It doesn't need to twist you into knots. Often the best choice is the simple one. Simple is beautiful.”
― Rachel Linden, The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake

“I can see blue sky over the lake and a pale beam of sunlight on the water. The rain has stopped. I take a bite of the cake, closing my eyes and savoring the delicate flavor and the sudden calm with a sense of relief. I'll worry about how I'm going to save the farm later. Right now I want to enjoy my cake and the satisfaction of having made my decision, having chosen my right hard thing. I take another bite of cake, and another. Every one tastes like olive oil and orange blossoms, earthy and honest and a little bittersweet.”
― Rachel Linden, The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake

“Often I think back to that day three years ago when I did not take the bite of the Orange Blossom Cake. Sometimes I regret that I missed my chance to see the happiest moment of my life, but mostly I just feel grateful that I found the courage to take a risk for my right hard things. Now I try to live as though each day may indeed contain the best moment of my life. One day it will, but I won't know it until I look back on my life from beyond the grave, with the wisdom and perspective of eternity. So I embrace each day as fully as I can, trying to infuse each hour with purpose, meaning, love, and joy. I think this is the most important lesson of the cookbook. This is the true secret of Orange Blossom Cake.”
― Rachel Linden, The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake