There are so many date companies to choose from, but I tend towards those that I have a deep familiarity with and can really understand where they come from, particularly knowing the growers and owners, if and when I can. Others I’ve taste-tested and because I can more easily verify the quality and integrity of the products, especially since they’re almost all so close to me here in Southern California, (with the exception of the Tunisian date sugar- you can watch my video with PurDate here). That’s why I feel good about recommending these products and hope to continue to add more and more in the future.
Joolie’s Organic California Whole Medjool Dates, Ramadan Gift box, date syrup and ” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>snack boxes are super cute and whimsical, very California packaging, all actually make quite nice gifts.
Let’s Dateorganic date sugar, organic date paste, or organic date paste come from dates in the UAE and are sold by a California-based company around the United States.
Natural DelightsBard Valley Medjool Dates from California. I was able to visit the date groves near Yuma, Arizona several years ago which you can read more about here. I like their date rolls as hostess gifts for Iftar parties or for serving at your own, of course.
Nature’s Anthem dates hail from California’s Coachella Valley and the first Ramadan I came back to California, I was able to visit the groves, which you can read about here and also find links to purchase their products.
Oasis Date Gardens dates come from Thermal, California and grow 20 varieties of exotic date species. Visit their website for more information and to purchase. They even have a Ramadan promo going on right now.
PurDate products are a new brand to me, bringing date sugar from the edge of the Tunisian Sahara to the American market. The date sugar is a great alternative to white sugar and is vegan, as well. In this video, we learn more about how to actually use it in cooking and baking.
So, that’s a wrap. If you haven’t gotten your dates or date products yet or need a refill mid-month, just click on the links of the product images or titles.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means that as an Amazon affiliate, I may receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. This helps keep my website running is very appreciated. Thank you so much for your support!
Have you ever come up with a dish that is so tasty you think you invented it yourself, only to find out later that it’s actually one of the great national dishes of not one but many different nations?
Well, that happened to me when I thought I was a culinary genius for coming up with the most delicious breakfast egg dish I’d ever eaten. I was simply using leftover ingredients that I had on hand from my mostly Italian/Sicilian/Mediterranean cooking. Well, little did I realize that everywhere from Palestine to Turkey to Lebanon and Algeria, everyone has been making this dish, or something very similar to it: Shakhshouka (also spelled Shakshuka).
In Turkey, the same ingredients (onion, peppers, tomato sauce) are used but the eggs are scrambled and the dish is called Menemen. An Italian version might use leftover tomato sauce, and in Algeria or Morocco they spell it Chakchouka. In some Middle Eastern recipes they add nutmeg; I do not ever put nutmeg in mine.
I recently worked on a video project for American Muslims for Palestine called Turning Tables, so watch out for that to be published in the near future. I was asked to make a Palestinian recipe or one that was inspired by Palestinian cuisine, so I decided to make my version of Shakhshouka, inspired by the cookbook, The Gaza Kitchen by Laila Al-Haddad, which now has a new and updated version.
Gently warm the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the onion, green and red peppers and jalapeno. Cook until the peppers have softened. Add the sea salt and ground pepper as they cook.
Add the tomato paste and swirl around the pan to dissolve it as much as possible. Add 1-2 teaspoons of water to thin it out. Add the paprika. Cook until the water has mostly evaporated.
With a wooden spoon, carve out 4 round spots in the pan and crack one egg into each spot. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let cook until the white membrane of the eggs have cooked and whitened.
Remove from heat and drizzle the dish with olive oil, the crumbled feta and chopped parsley. Serve family style on a hot plate on the table, with fresh and warm pita bread.
Bismillah and Sahtein!
You can see a slightly different, faster version that I made for breakfast recently and posted on my Instagram page:
![""]("https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=myhalalkitche-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B08563LKPJ")
