Dates and a Date

As you know, I have some time off this week in between summer school and the start of the regular school year. Since we returned Tuesday night from our mini-vacation, I thought I'd take advantage of these few days at home to try out some new recipes. A few weeks ago I bought a container of Medjool Dates and wanted to experiment with some snack-making. Today seemed like the perfect day.


I started off the morning with a bowl of peanut butter banana oats (cooked in the stove NOT the microwave)... oh the luxury! I was really sore and achy from spending so much time in the car this weekend so I got in an hour of gentle yoga this morning in order to be kitchen-ready. I felt much better afterward.


For lunch, I had some more of my favorite...


Vegan Egg Salad:

1 can mashed chickpeas
1 tablespoon Veganaise
1/4 cup chopped dill
2 teaspoons tumeric
sea salt and pepper to taste

"Egg salad" sandwich with heirloom tomatoes and kale- snap peas and orange peppers on the side

After lunch, the Date-Fest began. First I tried out Mama Pea's version of the cookie dough Lara Bars. However, I preferred balls of cookie dough rather than bars.

Mmmm... snack time!

After the cookie dough balls, I had some dates leftover so I decided to get creative...

Cheesecake Snack Bars:

Crust:
6 pitted dates
¾ cups almonds
¾ cups cashews
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Topping:
1 container tofutti cream cheese
½ cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 tablespoon agar agar powder (to thicken)- cornstarch would probably work here too

1. Combine all crust ingredients in food processor. Press thin layer into the bottom of a loaf pan.

2. Combine all topping ingredients in food processor. Pour on top of crust. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before slicing into snack bars.

I had to quick up a quick dinner after the date-fest because I had an actual date to see Eat, Pray, Love with my good friend Allison : ) I cooked up some brown rice Mediterranean Couscous with chopped bell peppers in a hurry.

Added some curried cashews for some crunch and protein

While the movie did not inspire me to drop my current life and travel the world, it did make me think about cooking up some yummy pasta dishes... stay tuned!