Saturday 13 September 2014

Mandarin and Date Slice

Like many other Aussie backyards we have a massive mandarin tree down there which produces far more fruit than we can eat during winter. We have given a lot away and could have listed the mandarins on Ripe Near Me for people to come and pick them but the tree is quite high and it would be too risky to have them climbing ladders and perhaps falling and hurting themselves so I asked the CEO to pick as many as he could for juicing.


I should have bitten my tongue as, before I knew it, I was presented with enough mandarins to fill a huge EcoStore bag and these bags are about twice as large as the usual shopping bags. 


I guess that isn't surprising when you have a tree the size of ....

 

...this one which is as old as Methuselah. 

So I started juicing and you wouldn't believe how long it takes to produce two jugs of mandarin juice...a couple of hours!!! It certainly isn't as quick as juicing oranges. Anyway, I poured some of the juice into ice cubes to keep for using down the track and included the rest of the juice in two batches of Mandarin and Date Slice. 


This recipe is based on Linda Woodrow's Orange and Date Bars which feature in her ebook, The Muesli Bar Challenge which can be purchased through SmashwordsiTunes and Amazon for A$3.99. It is a great eBook as there are lots of recipes in it that include macadamia nuts in the ingredients which suits me fine as we have three macadamia trees...two for the cockatoos and one for us that is :-)

In one of the batches I used Coconut flour instead of wholemeal flour but it wasn't all that nice so will just use the plain flour in future although I do want to make it using gluten-free flour to see if it works out as then I can take it to our Simple Living Toowoomba morning tea as a couple of our regulars adhere to a gluten-free diet. I haven't had much success with cooking using gluten-free flour though I must admit. 

So without further ado here is the recipe:

Mandarin and Date Slice

Filling:

2 cups dates
1 cup fresh mandarin juice and pulp (or oranges)

Put this in a saucepan, bring to the boil and then turn off to soak while the crust is being made. 

Crust:


1 1/2 cups wholemeal plain flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 t baking powder
1 t grated mandarin or orange rind
100ml (almost 1/2 cup) of honey
100ml mild flavoured oil

Put into food processor and mix thoroughly.

Then press half of the crust into a lined shallow pan. Make sure you press it down firmly.
Process the dates and juice in the food processor to make it spreadable and then spread it over the crust.

Cover the filling with the rest of the crust and press it down as firmly as you can while leaving the filling intact.

Bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes or until brown.

Leave it to cook before cutting otherwise it will be too crumbly. Cut into fingers or squares.



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Tomorrow I am off to Brisvegas for a class reunion and the forecast is for beautiful, warm Spring weather. Have a great weekend everyone!


 




13 comments:

  1. This sounds like a good recipe to try Nanna Chel, and its healthy so that's a bonus :)

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    Replies
    1. I thought you would like it, Tania. It is a good way to use up some of those mandarins you have growing.

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  2. I never thought of juicing mandarins before and I have a juicer. I wish I had mandarin tree and macadamia trees - so healthy and delicious! In our cold climate berry bushes are ideal though. Have you tried the Organ brand? It's gluten free but without preservatives but it might be too expensive. I use it when I am desperate and need to cater for GF. I also use rice flour and almond; they might work in your recipe too:)

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    Replies
    1. I might try the other flours, Zena. Gluten free flour feels like cornflour to me.

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    2. Zena, I replied to this last night so I wonder where my reply went to. I might try using the other flours and see what it tastes like.

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    3. Hmmm, that is strange as my replies from last night have just appeared. Odd!

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  3. My son would give anything (make that me because i buy them) Macadamia tree. His ability to eat them is only dampened by my ability to buy them, which is not that often. I have to put them in snack bags and hand them out or they would be all gone in one sitting. Now that is a big tree and so prolific. I wonder if you can put Mandarin Curd in the post? (hint hint).

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  4. We have heaps of macadamia nut seedlings coming up here, Lynda. The cockatoos keep knocking the nuts off the trees, then they fly down, have some for breakfast then fly off and leave plenty behind on the ground. Then eventually we have seedlings coming up. It does help if you have room for such big trees.

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  5. Lynda, I forgot to add...the recipe for Mandarin Curd is in the recipe section at the top of the page. Let me know if it works out for you.

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  6. Will have to try this one with store bought citrus, our mandie has yet to bear fruit. On the other hand the macadamia is prolific if only I could beat the cockies (high up) and dogs (ground level).

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  7. Dogs? Do they eat the nuts too?

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  8. this sounds like a good recipe, i dont make things with dates as i have not found any to purchase that grow here. i only buy Australian. Yes dogs do eat nuts just ask my Sally Girl she's a forager.

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  9. Hmmm, I have just had a look online for Australian dates and there are only two date plantations here apparently but they don't say where the dates can be bought from. I didn't realise that dates could even be grown here. Thanks for the info about the dogs liking macadamia nuts. We don't have a dog anymore and I didn't realise they liked the nuts. A dog would give the cockatoos a run for their money :-)

    ReplyDelete

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