The young girls would bring a handful to the little palm frond school hut where I taught. An old woman would roast coffee beans, grind them and a few cardamom seeds with a mortar and pestle, and brew a pot of coffee, pouring me a tiny cup of thick aromatic coffee that perfectly complemented the dates. At first, I didn't realize the fruits the students gave me were dates. At the beginning of the harvesting season, the crunchy and apple-like dates they gave me are called khalal, softer ripe dates were rutab, and the more familiar sun-dried date are tamr.
RPCV Ann Vogel writes: When I lived in a tiny oasis village of central Oman as a Peace Corps volunteer, the men in my village would scale the trunks of the female date palms to pluck dates
ANN VOGEL | Dating for Valentine's Day
Don't have a date this Valentine's Day? Sure you do!
Your super sweet and juicy date along with a bunch of other dates are waiting to dine with you this weekend. Just take them home from the grocery store and add them to salads, meat dishes, and cookies, or stuff them with goat cheese, cream cheese, bacon and other and foils to their generous fructose. If you have a sweet tooth, dates are perfect vitamin C-packed alternative to chocolate.
Dates ripen in four stages. When I lived in a tiny oasis village of central Oman as a Peace Corps volunteer, the men in my village would scale the trunks of the female date palms to pluck dates. The young girls would bring a handful to the little palm frond school hut where I taught.
An old woman would roast coffee beans, grind them and a few cardamom seeds with a mortar and pestle, and brew a pot of coffee, pouring me a tiny cup of thick aromatic coffee that perfectly complemented the dates. At first, I didn't realize the fruits the students gave me were dates. At the beginning of the harvesting season, the crunchy and apple-like dates they gave me are called khalal, softer ripe dates were rutab, and the more familiar sun-dried date are tamr.
The following recipes are from the California Date Administrative Committee. See their Web site for more ways to enjoy your Valentines's weekend date(s).
Date Citrus Salad
½ cup dates, chopped and pitted 1 bag mixed salad greens
2 oranges, peeled
1 pineapple, peeled and cored
2 kiwi fruit, peeled
Fresh mint for garnish
Slice oranges, chop pineapple and kiwi fruit. In large salad bowl, place the salad greens, add sliced and chopped fruit, and toss. Add dates and mix in. Garnish with mint.
Chocolate Stuffed Dates
28 large Medjool dates, whole
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup milk
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 Tablespoon salted btter, softened
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, lighted toasted
½ cup chopped walnuts
Walnut pieces for decoration
Cut each Medjool date lengthwise along one side. Remove the pit. Put sugar, salt, cornstarch and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan and whisk together.
Gradually add milk and continue to whisk. Put the saucepan on medium heat and whisk constantly while bringing it to the boil. Boil for 1 minute. Take off the heat. Pour about 1/3 of the heated mixture into the egg yolks whisking the egg yolks vigorously. Pour the heated egg yolk mixtures back into the saucepan and put on heat for 1 minute, but do not boil. Take off the heat. Add butter, almond extract and whisk until incorporated. Add the coconut and chopped walnuts and mix together. Pour the entire mixture into a medium bowl and put a layer of plastic wrap on top to keep air from the mixture. Let it cool until most of the heat is gone. Take each date, spread it open, and add a generous amount of the chocolate mixture to the inside of the date. Add one or more pieces of walnut to the center of the date on top of the filling for decoration.
Ann Vogel may be reached at P.O. Box 4926, Bremerton WA 98312 or e-mail ann.vogel@comcast.net.
