Dates

I was very dissapointed this week when I could not find my chosen "D" Fruit.  I really wanted to try Dragon Fruit, and I may still when "D" comes back around.  I dragged my feet a bit to find a replacement.  So instead I settled on Dates.  I had no idea I would learn so much and to be honest I didn't know what they were. I thought they were related to raisins some how, because they are dried.

Dates are actually the fruit of the Date Palm.  There is no certainty on the place of origin but it is believed to be some where in the Coastal Areas of the Persian Gulf.  Today they are grown as crops in Turkey, Iraq, Arabia North Africa and Morroco as well as parts of the US (California, Arizona & South Florida).  Knowing that dates come from Palms was surprising to me and makes me wonder how many I have seen over the years growing up in Miami and never knew.  There are several varieties of Date Palms.  Turns out they are quite an expensive palm and the True Date Palm being the one to produce edible dates is being grown and sold more and more for landscaping in South Florida, although excessive water from rain or landscape sprinklers may prevent the fruit from forming.  The trees, leaves and stems have so many uses I couldn't possibly list them all, but you should check it out online.  Culinarily the fruits are used in breads and baked goods or eated fresh or slightly dried. I bought the slightly dried version , tasted them out of the package.  Not very strong tasting but they seemed a bit tough.  I used them in a topping for a tart, however I did see in Spain they wrap them with with bacon and pan fry them....that sounds tasty and I may have to try it since I have so many left over.  I will upload photos of my recipe, let me know if you want the details.  They came out quite nice, the shell is crispy, with a sweet cream cheese filling and the topping is walnuts, brown sugar and diced dates.  The dates get a bit chewier and a nice caramel crisp when done this way.

Any suggestions for letter E?