The Arlington Garden Club had a lovely afternoon, full of food, friendship and flower planning. At the luncheon our new program booklet was revealed, with beautiful cover art by our own artist member, Betsy Habberfield! This year is a special year with our biennial Summer Garden Tour. There was a lot of excitement as some of the programs were discussed beginning with the first program which is open to the public in March.
Arlington's own Fred Pickering will lecture on "Stonescaping in Gardens" on March 17th at the Arlington American Legion Hall. The evening will begin with a members meeting at 5:30, and is then open to the public at 7:00 PM. These free annual educational lectures are part of what the club brings to Arlington every year.
Several new faces were in the group, and the lunch offerings were delicious. Two popular recipes are included here: a salad dressing Elizabeth LaBelle brought, which she served over a spring salad of greens and fresh fruit, and these delicious "must try" stuffed dates which were brought by Pat Williams. In truth, all the food was outstanding.
Bacon Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Manchego
24 Medjool Dates
1/3 lb aged manchego cheese, cut into 24 blocks
Slivered almonds
8 slices of bacon, cut in halves
½ cup maple syrup
Preheat the oven to 400. Make an incision on one side of each date, take the pit out and insert a block of manchego and a few slivered almonds. Squeeze the date shut. Wrap each date with a half slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place on a rack/broiler pan. Bake in the oven for 5 to 6 minutes. Turn them over and bake for another 5 to 6 minutes. Brush both sides with maple syrup and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until crackly and sticky.
Asian Citrus Vinaigrette (double)
1/4 cup fresh tangerine or orange juice
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
See rest of recipe HERE.