Spiced Dates

Through a treasured friend next door, I have recently realized how very wonderful dates are. Having just one is a fabulous treat- I consider them nature's caramel. After falling in love with these little wonders, I came across a recipe for 'Stuffed Dates' that included double-boiling them in brandy and orange juice, stuffing them with blanched almonds, and rolling them in a combination of sugar, cinnamon, and orange zest. I substituted coconut oil for the sugar this time, and next time I think I'll try the recipe with evaporated cane juice as the substitute for refined sugar. The down side- the recipe only made 30. This will definitely be made by the double or triple batch next time. I am having visions of these as a traditional holiday treat for us.
I call them Spiced Dates because I think it is a more suitably descriptive name-the cinnamon, orange, caramel-like essence of 'Spiced Dates' are perfect as a decadently warming sweet. love-A

Brownies

Patrick surprised me a couple of weeks ago with some "healthy" brownie mix from the co-op. I'm trying to reserve this blog for things made basically from scratch, but this seemed worth mentioning as a jewel because it contains rice flour, evaporated cane juice instead of sugar, and an array of other wonderfully healthier ingredients. The mix was enough for 2 8x8 pans, and this is the second batch, to which I also added some pure maple syrup, a shaved cube of unsweetened cocoa, and chopped walnuts. They were phenomenal. Just like my wonderful husband who brought home the mix that day... xxxoooxxx

A story I found: A young girl was at the dentist for a check up. With much tutting, the dentist examined all her teeth. Finally he announced crossly "Young lady, you've been eating far too many sweet things, several of your teeth need filling."
"Oh goody!" she replied happily. "Can I have chocolate filling please?"

love-A

GINGER beer!

I am incredibly excited about this one. The photo to the left is from the 2nd day of making ginger beer, and the photo to the right is from the 7th. The whole process takes 28 days and at the end we'll have 8 quart-sized bottles of the hopefully delicious non-alcoholic concoction. I'm thinking it will be tasty in the summer over ice, or great for stir fry, or just fantastic in general. More photos and news to come on this rather exciting development. love-A

Chicken Stock

Last week I made a delicious chicken stock from the carcass of a three pound chicken I had cooked for dinner the previous night. It took a few hours but was surprisingly easy, and made for a fantastic base for an Italian chicken soup. I definitely plan to make my own stock as much as possible in the future- what a wonderful way to use everything down to the last flavorful bit. love-A