Whisk Kid

Baking delicious things in the Mitten State

  • Home
  • Recipe Index
  • About the Kid

Work – {Sticky Grapefruit Rolls with Grapefruit Cream Cheese Glaze}

January 31, 2016 by Kaitlin 1 Comment

Sticky Grapefruit Rolls with Grapefruit Cream Cheese Glaze. Pillowy soft like a cinnamon roll, but fruitier!

I stopped wearing makeup recently. While it’s true that I’m trying to take better care of myself, that had absolutely nothing to do with it. It didn’t help my skin clear up, and it didn’t help me save time getting ready in the morning. It was because, for the first time in my life, I’d become a reckless abuser of the snooze button. I got to work on time, but it was because I rushed what was once an enjoyable morning routine.

I stopped dry brushing before showers, and I gave up on lotion afterwards.  I quit using the facial cleanser I’d so painstakingly sought as a mate to my temperamental skin; reaching instead for a cheap store-brand bottle that burned my cheeks and left my skin parched. Moisturizer was not even a consideration.

I sought no balance in my meals; over-indulging daily in breakfast, lunches, dinners, snacks, and wine.  When the weekends came, I wasn’t excited to use free time to bake. I didn’t want to read. I didn’t want to take pictures. I didn’t want to go for a walk. I didn’t want to cook, and I certainly didn’t want to clean up afterward.

I don’t know exactly if I was sad, but I was certainly very…. blah. I wasn’t excited for much, and the things that I did find myself excited about were met with cautious hesitancy. I didn’t aspire to adding “defeated” to the list of vague adjectives I could use to describe my state. Deflated was close enough.

I hate to accept that I even felt that way because I have so much in my life that I should definitely not be “flat” about. Friends, family, health, safety, passions — in no particular order. It’s been helpful to have the blog to focus on, which provided a blessed impetus toward making an effort even when things felt oh so very “why bother.” I’m so thankful for everyone who has encouraged me to stick with it after all these years.

I wasn’t really looking for a new job when the posting crossed my Twitter feed, but the opportunity sparked something in me. As I sat, briefly imagining my life in a different role, the timing started to seem like fate. I didn’t think for a second that I was a shoo-in, by any means, but I felt hopeful and optimistic; adjectives that hadn’t, I realized, applied to me for quite some time. I had to apply.

Sticky Grapefruit Rolls with Grapefruit Cream Cheese Glaze. Pillowy soft like a cinnamon roll, but fruitier!

In the panic and fear that is graduating from college, I bit at the very first job opportunity that crossed my path. I mean, really, I would have been dumb not to — jobs aren’t exactly easy to come by. It’s certainly not that there was anything inherently wrong with the job I had… I just don’t think it ever occurred to me that the industry might not suit me. I don’t think I realized that a personal connection to work was even an option, you know? Work is work. You work at work. You have a job, and you do it, and then you go home and you don’t think about it for two days, and then it starts over. That’s what being an adult is. Right?

When I started looking for jobs after college, I cast a wide net — and I know I’m not alone in this — because I had to. My grades were fine, but I wasn’t an absolutely exceptional student. I wasn’t a part of any organizations. I didn’t do a lot of volunteer work. I didn’t play sports. It’s not like I had any sense of power or an upper hand; it was 100% “open yourself to every possibility and then take what you can get” back in the spring of 2013, and it probably still is. It wasn’t about finding the perfect job, it was about finding the job so you could quit hyperventilating every. single. time. someone innocently asked you, “so what’s next?” It was about signing the acceptance agreement as soon as possible so you could finally, for the first time in months, get some sleep. I don’t think I’ve ever felt such relief in my life as the moment I was told, that spring, “you got the job.”

But that’s just it: it was more relief than joy. Don’t get me wrong – I’m so thankful and appreciative for that job because I learned so much about… well, everything. More than I ever could have learned in school. I had some wonderful mentors and got to work on some awesome projects. And, truly: I liked what I did.

But, when it came down to it, I was always happy to go home at the end of the day.

Even during the day, in the office, coworkers would ask me: “Why are you here? Why aren’t you working in food?” It was a fair question, but I didn’t know how to answer it. Working “in food” just never seemed like a real possibility, I guess? It sounded like a dream, but living in the middle of Michigan…. Well, let’s just say that there aren’t a lot of options for that kind of thing.

But then, there was that fateful second in the existence of (and my obsession with) Twitter. And after that: there was the process of applying and — remarkably — interviewing.

And, in me, there was a growing sense of hope and purpose and just plain-old excitement that I hadn’t felt in a really, really, really long time.

Sticky Grapefruit Rolls with Grapefruit Cream Cheese Glaze. Pillowy soft like a cinnamon roll, but fruitier!

I was shaking, on the phone, when they told me I got the job. Sometimes, I still don’t believe it’s true, but I’m delighted to say it is, and that I celebrate the fact every freakin’ day.

Sticky Grapefruit Rolls

To make a pan of these bad boys, pop on over to The Kitchn for Faith’s Sticky Lemon Roll recipe. Sub all instances of lemon for the appropriate amount of its grapefruit cousin. They’re so pillowy soft, you’re going to want to eat the whole pan as much as you’re going to want to nap on it.

Related Posts

  • Pick – {Dandelion Macarons}Pick – {Dandelion Macarons}
  • How to Assemble a Layer CakeHow to Assemble a Layer Cake
  • How to Make Italian Meringue ButtercreamHow to Make Italian Meringue Buttercream
  • Play – {Legend of Zelda Birthday Cake}Play – {Legend of Zelda Birthday Cake}
Tweet
PinIt

Filed Under: All Recipes, Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Fruit, Yeast Breads

« Learn – {Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie}
The Savory Side of Life – {Everything Bagel Babka} »

Comments

  1. Beth @ bethcakes says

    February 3, 2016 at 9:25 pm

    Congratulations on your new job! I saw this on your instagram bio recently and wondered, “When did that happen!?” Also I know exactly where you are coming from with your previous job. I was in a similar situation, but had been “in food” before. It wasn’t full time though, so I jumped at the first full time thing I got. It was awful, and people would say the same thing to me. “Why aren’t you working with food?” So now I’m “in food” again, and I can’t tell how much of a difference it’s made in my daily happiness. I hope you enjoy your new job! 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Modifying a fav chocolate cake recipe into somethi Modifying a fav chocolate cake recipe into something a little more my own. Brown sugar. Greek yogurt. Espresso. Pretty darn good. Continuing with the speckle theme from the last cake too because it’s just so darn fun to do. 

I was terrified to submit my cakes to the oven after the revisions I made to the recipe I was working from. They turned out perfectly, which was a huge relief considering the amount of bizarrely cratered cakes I’ve been turning out lately! That frustration put a bad taste in my mouth, so I sought out other hobbies as a reprieve. I fell back into knitting, which felt great, but it’s very time consuming 😉 I knocked a couple sweaters off my list on Ravelry and have a couple more I want to make. 

Relatedly, I know I’ve shared it before but here’s another friendly reminder that your local library probably grants you access to all sorts of virtual classes via a free app. Whether you want to learn how to work with fondant or sew a bra, there’s plenty of exciting new hobbies to explore.
The cranberry frosting on this cake is incredible The cranberry frosting on this cake is incredible but goodness gracious: the cake is absolutely not! I’ve made two yellow cakes in a row - different recipes - and they’ve both ended up with crazy tunnels like I’ve never experienced in my life. I was telling @meghan_splawn recently that I feel like I can’t get anything right until the third try these days, even things I have plenty of experience with (hello?! I can bake a cake!!). It’s driving me absolutely nuts. Tell me your favorite yellow cake recipe and help me break this curse? #f52grams #f52community #thebakefeed #weekendbaking #cake #beautifulcuisines #huffposttaste #thekitchn #instafood #bareaders #bakemore #williamssonoma #rslove #bakewithus #makemore
Stay-Soft Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls Cinnamon rolls a Stay-Soft Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls 

Cinnamon rolls are like new cars. The second they leave the oven, their value begins to drop immediately. Really: a cooled cinnamon roll is just…. Not that great. But this @kingarthurbaking recipe gets around that by cleverly incorporating tangzhong (cooked flour and milk), ensuring a soft, pillow texture much longer than traditional cinnamon rolls. Swipe to the last slide to see how soft the rolls are even hours after baking. I can personally attest that they’re excellent even the next day 😉 

I recently finished one of those massive 7-oz containers of cinnamon - before the expiration date! - which felt like some sort of life achievement. Baking these seemed like a great reason to bust into a new container of Ceylon cinnamon 💪 
.
.
.
.
.
.
#bakeoftheweek #recipeoftheyear #bakewithus #makemore #williamssonoma #imsomartha #feedfeed @thefeedfeed #buzzfeast #thekitchn #f52grams #thebakefeed #bonappetit #beautifulcuisines #eeeeeats #tastecooking #madeinstaub
I’ll never tire of star bread. I posted a reel t I’ll never tire of star bread. I posted a reel to show how it’s made (check my feed if you missed it!). The process is really so fun and not as hard as you might expect 😚
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#feedfeed @thefeedfeed #thebakefeed #bakewithus #makemore #cinnamonrolls #imsomartha #instafood #beautifulcuisines #huffposttaste #buzzfeast #thespruceeats #tastecooking #thekitchn #kingarthurbaking #dessert #eeeeeats #breadbosses #f52grams #f52bakingclub #thekitchn #redstaryeast
Follow on Instagram

How to Assemble a Layer Cake

How to Frost a Cake

Heaven and Hell Cake

Copyright © 2022 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress