Molasses Sourdough Bread

From the sourdough recipe we also made up a recipe for a hearty molasses bread. It was baked in a skillet and decorated with a cool pattern on top. It was great warm from the oven, cold, and toasted with butter and a good spoonful of molasses. It was also enjoyed with baked beans and cheese.

Sourdough Bread

Using some fermented apple cider vinegar, we made a sourdough bread starter that in no ways really followed the recipe, but when made into bread, made really nice bread! Instead of water and sugar, the fermented apple cider vinegar, slightly warmed, made a great environment to activate the yeast. Add some salt, sugar, and lots of flour and knead, rise, shape, and bake!

Sweet and Sour Stuffed Dates

There is hardly a recipe for these - just something tasty I recently came up with. Dates can be stuffed with a variety of yummy fillings, the most common being nuts and soft cheeses. Wrapping sweet dates in salty cured meats is also popular. I decided to stuff my dates with a little sweet relish, bound together with a bit of tahini paste. I blended these together using a handheld immersion blender, then thickened the mixture on the stovetop with a small amount of cornstarch. Then I added a good amount of ground black pepper. Theses flavors give an acidic bite to contrast with the sweet date. I like the bright green color from the relish as well, and the consistency of the filling was perfect. 
I then sprinkled the dates with a few crushed red pepper flakes to add some color and extra heat.

The best dates to use for stuffed dates are those big, fresh, soft and sweet Medjool dates if you are able to get your hands on them. They usually have to be pitted, opening up a large cavity for a good amount of filling. These dates can even be cut in half for an open-faced stuffed date, or if you'd you would like smaller bites. I didn't have the Medjool dates, and I wanted tiny dates, so I used the common dates found at grocery stores.To prep in advance, these stuffed dates may even be frozen in a single layer.