Reflection:

An old Arabic legend tells of the Date palm's creation: "After God had finished molding Man from Earth; He took the remaining material and shaped it into a date palm which he placed in the Garden of Paradise". Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East for thousands of years. They are believed to have originated around the Persian Gulf, and have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 4000 BC. There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in eastern Arabia in 6,000 BC (Alvarez-Mon 2006).

In later times, Arabs spread dates around South & South East Asia, northern Africa, and Spain. Dates were introduced into Mexico and California by the Spaniards by 1765, around Ignacio. In Riverside County, I meet my friends for the biggest party of the year.the California Date Festival. The annual Competition, open to professional chefs is designed to encourage chefs to be creative and adventuresome to promote a locally grown crop Dates with the Coachella Valley's hospitality, restaurant and tourism industries. ...Lots of chefs, lots of dates and lots of fun!!!

Tip:

One pound of dates = about 3 cups Store dates at 65 degrees F, in a dry place. Dates contain up to 70% sugar by weight. When buying dates, avoid ones that are sticky or ones that have crystallized sugar on the surface. Fresh dates should be firm and springy, and should have a fresh smell, not sour. Fresh, soft dates should be kept in plastic bags in the refrigerator, and will keep for several weeks. Dried dates should be firm, but not hard.

Dried dates will keep for up to a year, refrigerated Five California dates per day are a perfect energy boosting snack Fill dates with blue cheese and roll in crushed toasted walnuts is a great finger food. Stuffed dates with almonds and dark chocolate then roll in shaved coconut is a sensual feast