Home Grown: Different things to make with dates

Thinking about what’s for dinner tonight? What about dates?

You may often only consider dates as a sweet treat but you may be surprised to hear that they are just as delicious on savory plates!

The growing process for dates can take up to one year.

Meaning, date experts must take advantage of their versatility.

You may often first think of enjoying a chocolate-covered date, and for that Sarah Kingery, owner of Brocket Farms on Main Street has just the treats for you.

“We do chocolate-covered dates and stuffed dates,” said Kingery.

A true Yuma staple, dates are often easy to come by.

“Well for me, dates are always around, I have more dates than dried cranberries or figs or anything like that or prunes. So a lot of times, when I look at recipes, I’ll say ‘OK, it calls for dried cranberry or figs, and then I’ll just put a date in there instead,” said Kingery.

In addition to being high in vitamins A, B, and D, they are a great source of energy.

“They are very high in potassium. They actually have more potassium than bananas. A lot of fiber and they are also good for people that maybe are diabetic. When they have a lower glycemic index, that will not spike your blood sugar as bad if you want something sweet,” said Kingery.

Kingery is a date dish master.

In her kitchen, she strives to come up with new ways for people to enjoy the benefits of the fruit. Here are some examples of how you can bring the taste of dates to the dinner table:

BBQ Chicken Date Pizza

Ingredients

Any Pizza Crust

Your Favorite BBQ Sauce

Chicken Strips

Arugula

Medjool Date

Gorgonzola Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven according to pizza crust recipe. While oven is preheating cook chicken with oil of your choice in a skillet. Cut up chicken and set aside. Add a layer of bbq sauce on your pizza crust and top with diced chicken, diced medjool dates and Gorgonzola cheese. Cook Pizza according to pizza crust. Top with Arugula and serve.

Medjool Date & Blueberry Salad

Ingredients

Spring Mix

Pepitos (Toasted Pumkin Seeds)

Blue Cheese

Medjool Dates

Balsamic Vinegar

Blueberries

Directions:

Mix together desired amounts toss and enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash With Medjool Dates & Goat Cheese

Ingredients

1 Spaghetti Squash

2 tablespoons of butter

4 to 5 Medjool Dates

2 Tablespoons of Goat cheese

1/4 cup of walnuts

2 Teaspoons of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cut Squash in half add 1 table spoon of butter to each side. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to a hour until soft. Take a folk and scrape out the inside of the squash dice medjool dates and add to squash, then add walnuts and season with salt then add goat cheese to top and serve,

Because she is surrounded by dates in her shop, Kingery is always thinking of new ways to make easy, healthy recipes with dates.

“I always love to cook on the weekends or always grilling. That’s why Chocolate Crafters, we brought that into Brocket Farms, and that was really fun to play with the chocolate and do different recipes and try everything out,” said Kingery.

And lastly, a fun fact many people don’t know about dates:

“What a lot of people don’t know like if you pick up a pack of dates, if you put it in the freezer they last pretty much forever.”

For more on Bard Date Company and the recipes for these dishes, you can visit www.brocketfarms.com or you can visit www.barddatecompany.com.

Kingery’s Brocket Farms shop is located at 102 E. 3rd St. in Yuma.

You can also visit their social media pages on Instagram or Facebook.