Arugula, Sun Dried Tomato, Peppers, and Date Salad

This salad's got a bit of everything - crunch, sweet, sour, salty courtesy of the arugula, dates, sumac, and sun dried tomatoes respectively. Indian dates are really puny, so was delighted to have some really fresh looking and sweet tasting imported dates. Don't know if these are Medjool dates - Can someone confirm? I also forgot to deseed my dates, since I am so used to buying deseeded dates.

Arugula Sun Dried Tomato, Peppers, and Date Salad

Ingredients:

• 2-4 cups of arugula
• Handful of dates
• Handful of sun dried tomato slivers
• 1 red pepper
• 1 teaspoon sumac
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

To make:

• Tear up the arugula leaves and cut the pepper into square chunks.
• Mix all the veggies and dates with the olive oil.
• Top off with the sumac.
  
  
  

My Very Own Walnut, Date, and Orange Zest Balls

Raw and vegan power balls - a tasty and healthy treat.

Ingredients:

• About 200 grams of unsalted walnuts
• About 200 grams of dates (deseeded)
• Zest of an orange -- about a fist full - The imported big oranges work better than the local ones.

To make:

• Grind the walnuts to a granular powder in a blender - I prefer a bit of uneven chunkiness. Set aside.
• Grind the dates or finely chop them up.
• Grate the zest of an orange.
• Using these three ingredients, form a dough, mixing all three well together.
• Form bars or balls in the size you desire.
• Refrigerate for some time

Serving: Will make about 25 laddoos.

PS: Unlike the last time I made these kinds of balls, I left out honey or water - so that this time the "dough" was really dry. That way I dont have to leave the balls out in the sun to dry out the excess moistness.

Something Sweet...That's also good for you!

Here's my version of a raw energy bar.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup of seeds (I used pumpkin and watermelon)
2. 8-10 dates
3. A little orange zest
4. Dash of honey

To make:

1. Divide the cup of seeds into three batches. I wanted varied texture in my bar and not everything ground up into a fine paste. So, what I did was put in each batch in a blender at a different time. So that all the seeds are not evenly ground up.
2. Throw in the first batch of seeds (1/3 of the cup) into a blender and dry-ground them till its a powder.
3. Into this powder, throw in the second batch along with the dates, orange zest, and honey. Blitz once again.
4. Finally toss in the last batch of seeds. I wanted these to remain as whole as possible.
5. Add a little honey or more dates, as required, till you are happy with the consistency of the final mixture. I refrained from adding water because I didn't want a soggy bar.
6. Lay out the mixture in a plate.
7. Leave it to dry in the sun for a couple of days (or a dehydrator). This step is only if you are planning on keeping the bars for a few days. If you just want to eat it immediately, dig in!
8. Chop into pieces or roll it up into a ball, as desired.