Tuesday: Datenut Bread

AH bread. My favorite food, which doesn't like me much. I found that I am slightly gluten intolerant. Ah well, sometimes it's ok.... and if we make it from scratch, well, then I have to indulge a bit. But only a bit. But you can indulge all you want! Here's how for my date nut bread.

• 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped (we love medjool dates, if you please)

• 1 cup boiling water

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 3/4 cups flour and 1/4 cup rolled oats

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup nuts, chopped - I love to use pecans or english walnuts

Combine the first three ingredients in a bowl, cover and let cool then grease a loaf pan.

Sift dry ingredients together without the sugar - then beat sugar and egg together and add to dates, alternatively with the sifted ingredients. Chop the nuts and stir into batter. Pour into prepared pan, let rise for 20 minutes. While batter is rising, preheat oven to 325°F. Bake for about an hour, check at 50 minutes with a toothpick

Turn out onto cooling rack to cool. This is so good and can be used for a dessert or if you are feeling exceptionally decadent spread with the below after you have sliced it very thinly. Sandwiches with tea!

Take a small package of cream cheese and bring to room temperature. Mash it with a fork and add to it:

1/4 cup chopped dried cherries

1/4 cup finely chopped nuts

Mix and mash this all together well with a little zest of lemon and spread it on that lovely thin sliced bread.

yum!