I’m really affected by mosquito or midge bites and unless I’m covered in repellant, I don’t go out at night. Except that I did. I was cleaning the swimming pool and didn’t finish til nearly dusk and that was about 30 minutes too long. I didn’t notice the bugs while I was out there – probably because I was brushing and tossing the ball in the pool for Charlie, but once I got inside. Ugh.
When I get bit I end up scratching myself silly. I tried the hot spoon until I thought my skin would melt. Still itched. Then I read where the inside of a banana peel might work. I unwrapped a banana and gave it a try and you might think I’m nuts but I stopped itching. John said it was all in my head because I believed it would work. I said, “So why didn’t the hot spoon work?” Apparently I didn’t believe hard enough on that one. It’s okay to stop rolling your eyes at him.
So what do you do when you’ve peeled a banana so you could smear the skin all over your legs? You make a banana and date bread. Then, just because you can, you make a delicious buttery, date, pecan and cream cheese spread to go on top. To make it even better, you add a bit of brandy.
It was really good, especially after the addition of just a tweak of brandy. Next time I would whip the spread in the food processor or thermomix but since we were one of 3,800 homes without power for hours, I smooshed it all by hand. It shows. It just proves you can make tasty things without new fangled gear.
After photographing I was walking back inside with the green plate just as someone knocked on the door. It was a delivery man and I offered him a slice. He said to tell you that it was really good.
- ⅓ cup (75 grams) softened butter
- 4 ounces (110 grams) softened cream cheese
- ¼ cup (50 grams) finely chopped dates
- ¼ cup (50 grams) chopped toasted pecans
- 1 tablespoon apple juice, sherry or brandy
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C
- Place pecans on a baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes.
- Cool and chop the pecans and set aside.
- In a food processor or mixer whip the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.
- Fold in the remaining ingredients.
- Serve with banana or nut bread or with crackers as a dip.
