From the Orchard

I had such a craving for Indian spices. It happens to me, maybe once a week, where I’m yearning for the warmth and the brightness of these wonderful spices. This chickpea curry started out of a can of chickpeas, some fresh black mission figs, and some Fruit Bliss® Turkish apricots. I ended up with a sweet-spicy curry that everyone loved. Leftovers are perfect the next day. I served over rice because the kids asked for it, but you could easily serve over any other grain. 5 ounces dried Fruit Bliss apricots 1/3 cup orange juice 2 teaspoons grapeseed oil 1 medium...

Whether you follow a paleo diet or just want to eat healthier, date paste is a great way to impart sweetness to your baking without using refined sugar. Plus, it’s super easy to make. Just blend hot water and Fruit Bliss dates. And because our dates are moister than others you find on store shelves you don’t even need to soak them.The paste can be used in cookie and cake recipes. You can offset the increased liquid by slowly adding more flour to achieve the right consistency. This paste can also be transformed into a chocolatey frosting (see note below)....

Having a dinner party can be a lot of fun, but it’s always a ton of work. Whether you are hosting a few or many, feeding people requires a great deal of planning, shopping, prepping, and preparing.  Sometimes I invest so much in the appetizers and main course, that I have little energy to bake a cake or make a complicated dessert. Over the years, I have found a number of impressive ways to finish off the meal while barely lifting a finger. One such hack is chocolate covered fruit. This is perhaps the easiest crowd pleaser in existence. No...