Dates Galore!

To date or not to date?

Definitely date!! Especially if you come across the date man who has his weekly supply of date gems every Sunday morning at the farmers market. He may be a rather unfriendly merchant, but his goods are always a hit!

Of the six varieties of the date fruit that he sells, the top picks are the large sweet and succulent Medjools and the nearly cylindrical and caramel-rich Barhis. I like to keep at least one of the two varieties in my date jar at all times for the perfect and pleasant snack for myself and the occasional dinner guest.

So I am spoiled on the date man and can't fathom eating normal Costco dates anymore. But I happen to have an entire box of store-bought dates in my fridge. What to do?

The absolute best compliment to the date is the nut. Mix the two and it's always a win win situation. My morning smoothie ritual consists of a blend of dates, almonds, almond milk and a banana. It needs nothing else... except for maybe ice, if the almond milk isn't already cold.

But what else? Use them in desserts!!! This past Christmas I concocted a raw dessert made out of dates and marzipan. Yes that is all. And it was a huge hit.

Marzipan-Filled Medjools with Orange Blossom and Candied Orange Zest

This is a fairly simple recipe that can be labor intensive if you are making the marzipan from un-blanched almonds.

Take home lesson: buy blanched almonds for marzipan. I made this up on the fly, so unfortunately i don't have a recipe to add here. Happy experimenting!

What else? Here is something my mother makes from time to time. Once again, dates plus nuts. Nutritious and delicious!

Date Nut Rolls