Hi!!! I have missed you these last weeks, and
I want to make up for my absence on this site with a scrumptious recipe, one
I’ve actually made six times in the past two weeks. I present you with the Date Coconut Shake.
A date
milkshake?? Oh yes. I grew
up in Southern California, and date shakes were one of the culinary pleasures of taking
road trips that veered off into desert territory near Palm Springs where the date
trees were plentiful. The date shakes of my childhood were traditionally made
with a base of vanilla ice cream, and the pureed fresh dates added a beguiling
honeyed depth to this frosty treat. We’d usually enjoy the shakes from the
renowned Hadley Fruit Orchards, though were it up to me, I’d have been much more
thorough in my research by stopping at all the various roadside stands along
Highway 10 proffering these special milkshakes. (You only have so much input in the family decisions when
you’re a kid!)
Memories
of post-school road trips are looming large now that it is late June, and those
childhood date shakes are naturally springing to my culinary imagination. As I am trying to limit my consumption
of refined sugar these days, I have been riffing on this awesome
dairy-free version that was recently posted on the lovely Not Without Salt blog.
