Recipe

Blue socks are done...well, I still have to weave in the ends, but they look great. I'm on to the Serendipity socks from the sock club. The pattern is quite easy, and the first sock is coming along.









I bought more dates yesterday. The matrimonial cake has become somewhat of a habit. For anyone interested, the recipe is as follows (and then I promise, I won't speak of it again.)

Filling

1/2 lb. chopped dates (I use a 283.5 gm tub)
1/2 c. cold water
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
Grated rind of 1/2 an orange
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 tsp. lemon juice

Cook dates, water, orange rind and sugar in a small saucepan, over a moderate heat until thick and smooth (You may have to add water as this cooks. It usually takes around 30 minutes to cook.) ; remove from fire, add fruit juices, mix well. Cool before spreading.

Matrimonial Cake

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. butter (I use non-hydrogenated margarine)
1 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. coarse oatmeal

Sift flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Rub in butter with tips of fingers. Add sugar and oatmeal. Mix well. Spread 1/2 the crumbs in a greased shallow pan (about 8 x 14 inches). Pat to smooth. Cover with cooled date filling, spreading evenly, then cover with the remaining crumbs. Pat to smooth. Bake at 325F. for 30 to 35 minutes. Increase heat slightly and bake for a few minutes longer, to lightly brown mixture. Cut in squares while hot and allow shortbread to cool in pan.

This recipe is from a Five Roses Flour cookbook from 1957. Some of the best recipes come from these older books. They don't have the nutritional information we're used to seeing, but they do have recipes that taste great.

Dates are highly nutritious. Perhaps their high iron count is the reason I crave this stuff. Unfortunately, the cup of brown sugar isn't good. I may try to reduce that this time. I'll let you know the results.

Time to walk the dog. I'm trying two 30-minute walks instead of one 60-minute walk. We've been in the house for over a week due to the cold weather, so I gotta break us both in again gradually. I've put on weight since I stopped smoking, and I'm counting on walking to take it off again. Lucky me, all of the five or six pounds I've gained landed directly on my stomach. Looks terrible, feels terrible. Can't wait to shed it.