Date and Nut Bars, page 130

OK We just saw a performance of STOMP with the kiddos at Jesse Hall. Have you heard of them? No, this has nothing to do with date and nut bars, or our blog. Only we just got home and it's really fun to type after you experience such a fun rhythm and dance performance. The kids are drumming in the hall, and I'll typing like a mad woman and enjoying the sound it makes. Bam. Bam! BAM BAM BAM!!!

OK now I'll try to get over it to write the post. We made gyros tonight for dinner and date and nut bars from the infamous book for dessert. Pecans and black walnuts were the wild ingredient (clickety, click, CLICK, still not over it!)

My sister-in-law Christy is a mighty walnut picker in the fall. And, for Christmas this year she cracked a jar of nuts and gave them to Fred and I. What a very nice gift for us. I used her nuts in this recipe and thought of her, and her thinking of us as she cracked the walnuts, as I was cooking.

The recipe has no fat in it, besides what's in the nuts. It's lots of nuts, dates, lots of brown sugar, three eggs, a fairly low quantitiy of flour and salt. Once cooked, the bars you cut are coated in powdered sugar (click, click . . .sorry, it's hard to get over).

I was surprised by Fred's reaction. He really, really liked them. Normally, his biggest raves for dessert directly coinside with the quantity of chocolate served.

These are a very chewy bar. They are rich but not too heavy. I was hoping they'd be tasty and not remind one of some foamy, nutritious health food bar, and I was in luck. This recipe is awesome.

I think of all the categories so far of wild ingredients we've made from the book, nuts have been my favorite and I believe this is the last nut recipe. So long, nuts. I'll miss you until I cook all the remaining  recipes in the book and can start all over making whatever recipes I want to my heart's content.

Now, excuse me as I go type with abandon just for the rhythm and fun of it . . .