Welcome to Fall and very special and super delicious natural foods that will give you so much joy you won’t know what to do with it.
Last week I decided to shop in the local Middle Eastern Market. As I entered close to the front door sat a table filled with large plastic containers with these slightly yellow oblong fruits.
In all my years, I was perplexed as to what they were. There was a lovely, friendly man, close to my age. I decided I couldn’t just let him walk away, he might have the secret answer to these interesting looking fruits on a stem.
Between his English and my ability to understand or not, he decided to use a sort of sign language reaching up to the sky and sweeping his arms around like a half-moon gesture. With joy and glee I yelled out, “Date Tree?!!” In excitement and sigh, he responded with a big nod and laugh, “Yes!”
I said I don’t understand because they are a very light yellow and aren’t dates all dark brown? I lived in Israel when I was younger and saw many date plantations. Never have I seen such pale light dates. He assured me they are a different type and if I sit them on my counter within a few days they will begin to ripen to a sightly darker, super soft version of their hard, pale, inedible formerly selves.
Well, here is today, they are ripe and my wonderful housekeeper is here to share them and marvel over the absolute honey-dripping moist, sweetness of these gorgeous, amazing little fruits! You’ll never need to buy sugar-laden desserts again!
