Threads of Love

Last Thursday, I took the train to Oakville to spend the afternoon with Barbara, a very hospitable Australian lady who gracefully hosted me with her New-Zealander husband, Edward, when I first arrived in Toronto. Needless to say, I owe them a lot!

Barbara has always been an arts and crafts person, and her passion is catchy. I did not try to resist the contagion... Even when she used to be a nurse, she would devote part of her time to sewing, quilting - she makes amazingly complex quilts!- embroidery, etc. Well, now that she is retired, she obviously can spend more time making things, but the beauty of it is that she loves to share and so often meet with her friends to share the joy. In a nutshell, Barb is a wonderful person, as you may already have understood. ;)
With Christmas drawing closer, I asked her if I could come over and make some gift bags with her help and expertise. For every gift that she makes, Barb places it in colourful gift bags, whose various patterns she adapts to the person she offers the gift to. It really makes her gifts special.
I decided it was time for me to learn how to make them. I enjoyed the shopping spree I took on Queen Street West to find the fabrics. I found some in a beautiful linen quality ( Japanese design, Echino- Bird to Hang- by Etsuko Furuya), and some plainer ones in cotton. We spent four hours, cutting, assembling, sewing and decorating these little bags. Barbara did most of the sewing as she is super fast and I am still quite slow. I am so proud of our work. We made 13 bags that I would like to share with you. They will be perfect to offer with my jars of chutney, marmalade and other Xmas homemade goodies. I know that my loved ones will appreciate these homemade, and very personalized gifts.
We stopped for tea time with her son, Brad, who popped in for the occasion. She had prepared some scrumptious date squares and chocolate brownies. Oohlala, how do I love date squares, that is insane!...
Here is her traditional recipe of date squares, for your tasting pleasure.

Barbara's date squares: delicious!

DATE SQUARES

For the date mixture.

Combine 2.5 cups of dates and 1 cup of HOT water, plus 0.25 cup of brown sugar and the optional addition of zest (shaved skin of a lemon) and the juice of 1 lemon and a pinch of salt. Add one teaspoon of vanilla after the date mixture has absorbed the water and let cool.

For the crust:

Take 1.5 cups of All-Purpose flour, 0.5 teaspoon of baking soda and crumble 1 cup of butter into the flour then add 1 cup of brown sugar and 1.5 cups of oatmeal. Stir all together dry to form the bottom and top crust mixture.

Spread half the mixture into a 9 inch X 9 inch pan (or a 9”x13” pan) lined with parchment paper. Then add the cooled date mixture and then the remaining half of the of the flour- oatmeal mixture to form the top layer.

Cook in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 20 to 25 minutes. The top crust should be lightly browned.

Have a happy season, sewing the threads of love according to your fantasy!