Shield's Date Gardens

A date garden, why can't I have one in my backyard? I would spend all summer snacking on sticky, toffee-like, caramel-y dates all day and everyday. -drools- No joke, residents of Palm Springs/Palm Desert/La Quinta/Indo etc have date trees in their yards and date trees lining the streets and parks. Not. Fair.

Shield's Date Gardens, really, don't miss it!

Right after I took this photo, I immediately ran to the air-conditioned car. That is a forced smile you see, partially at least. The only genuine-ity coming from the fact I bought a bunch of dates.

Just around the corner from our hotel in La Quinta, California, lies the largest date retail store in Palm Springs. -insert angelic voices here- Also the more popular date garden compared to Oasis Date Gardens. Aka the highlight of my side trip number two. This massive sign with a medieval soldier pointing to the store can be seen from a mile away, I think.

If Peanut Crumpet got to go to taunt me with Coconut Glen's then I get payback with the date capital of the world. Mwahahaha!

Size Comparison

What I love about Shield's Date Garden is being able to sample every single possibly variety of date, maybe twice, before deciding on which boxes to purchase and haul home (by hand carry!) 12+ kinds of dates can kind of be overwhelming for a date newbie like me. Nomnomnomnom, Coconut Crumpet just chows down enough dates to keep a sugar rush going for the next three days. Sugar makes you fat? Not of my concern at the moment. -keeps eating more dates-

Khadrawi Dates from Shield's Date Gardens

Oasis Date Gardens

My only goal in Palm Springs was to visit a date garden. Or maybe two.

With only one full day to spend in the Palm Springs-ish area, we wanted to make the most out of it. I knew I wanted to visit Shield's Date Garden, which was pretty much around the corner from our awesome hotel (Homewood Suites in La Quinta!), but my dad found a brochure for Oasis Date Gardens a little further away in Thermal. So we went there first.

Date Shake

I've heard rave reviews about the date shakes at both Oasis Date Gardens and Shields Date Gardens. The name 'date shake' made me think it was a date-flavoured milk shake. But it's not. Soft serve ice cream blended with date crystals. We got this half-cup size for free because we had a coupon for a free date shake with a purchase of like $10. Contrary to all the rave reviews, I didn't find this date shake anything close to amazing. It was good ice cream, but it didn't deliver with the date flavour. Vanilla soft soft ice cream is what I tasted. The full-size version of this is really large, an stuffed cup full of date shake for around $4. However this sample size was more than enough for the four of us because it wasn't that exciting. After trying Oasis' date shake, I was no longer interested in Shield's version as I believe it's the same thing.

Medjool Dates from Oasis Date Gardens

The store portion of Oasis Date Gardens is pretty small. And there were no other customers when we arrived at 10am, which made it rather awkward to browse around. The shelves were a bit empty and the gift sets looked like they had been sitting there for a while. (I'm just guessing by the slightly drier-looking appearance of the medjool dates) We tried a few samples, and bought a pound of medjool dates from the bulk area. We just wanted to buy something, try a date shake, and get out of there. 

I actually didn't have much expectation for these medjools, because who knows how long they've been there? However, I am extremely impressed with these. Perhaps their bulk and wholesale boxes sell a lot quicker than the gift boxes. These medjools are meaty, moist, and super caramel-y. I would describe them as nature's caramels. In fact, these are better than caramels! I crave them every single day.

So, would is it worth going to Oasis Date Gardens? Hmm... Since Shield's is closer and they have medjools just as juicy and caramelly, I'd say it isn't necessary to drive the extra distance. 

And a tip for those that often use a GPS to navigate around, Grapefruit Blvd is actually Highway 111. Our GPS didn't have Grapefruit Blvd as a choice so we looked at a physical map and saw Highway 111 ends and then turns into Grapefruit Blvd. Why don't we get cool street names like that in Vancouver? I wanna live on Blackberry Street or Blueberry Lane...

Oasis Date Garden
59-111 Grapefruit Blvd, Thermal CA 

Reviews on Yelp

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Raw Vegan Tart

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Raw Vegan Tart

Raspberries and chocolate, a dreamy combination of sweet and tart. My family is down to the last few raspberries from our trip to Krause Berry Farms so I took the opportunity to incorporate them into some kind of chocolate dessert. This recipe is a no bake, super easy, and uses minimal equipment. It's a tart that looks extravagant enough to bring to a dinner party. No one has to know it is vegan and can also raw!

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Raw Vegan Tart

I managed to put this tart together in one hour, the pressing in of the crust taking most of that time. It sat in my fridge while my mom took us grocery shopping for our upcoming 'glamping' (glamorous camping) trip. By the time we returned home with an entire cooler of food for the barbeque, I was hungry and ready for a sweet snack. So hungry that I forgot to sift icing sugar over the tart to make it prettier. All that was on my mind was "photograph then eat". Oops~ Natural animal instincts, okay?

The vegan mousse is quite impressive. If made with a stronger machine like a Vitamix, the texture could become a lot smoother. My 'antique' food processor did an okay job but I could still feel a few clumps of mac nuts. I was so surprised as to how airy and light the mousse is! Looks like real mousse and feels like it. It's amazing what nuts can turn into whether it be a custard for Nanaimo Bars or a crust for a Banana Cream Pie, nuts are a healthy and satisfying alternative to highly processed store-bought food with zero nutrition and who-knows-what in it. Plus, it's been loving made with your own hands and effort~

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Raw Vegan Tart

Next time I make a this tart, I'll have to either make the sides shorter or double the mousse filling. The final product will look more 'normal' and less like a boat (as my mom described it as). But aesthetics aside, this is absolutely delicious. I couldn't stop eating after one slice and helped myself to another. The chewy and naturally sweet crust is just as good eaten alone. This wetter version of the crust used in my Nanaimo Bars holds its shape a lot better and doesn't crumble at all. I can imagine it working beautifully in mini individual tarts.

The overall tart is very lightly sweet with no refined sugars whatsoever. Most Asians prefer less-sweet desserts so this tart suits those with that preference. As for myself, I would probably add a tad bit more honey and cocoa into the mousse to give the dessert a more robust flavour. I mean, if you're going to eat dessert it might as well be one that truly satisfies your craving for glucose. 

When in a rush and need a delicious and nutritious dessert, try making this Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Tart! It won't disappoint any taste buds ;)

Click below for the recipe

Chocolate Banana Cookie Dough Cream Pie

Who says a vegan can't have pie?!
A pie that is so delicious and good for you at the same time? Yes please!
Your family and friends would NEVER believe this pie isn't laden with processed sugars, butter, lard, modified corn starch and all that "natural and artificial flavouring" junk. But i don't blame you if you decide you want the whole pie to yourself because I grant you permission to eat this whole pie! 
But do try controlling yourself eh? ;)

Vegan whipped cream is the best thing I've ever experienced in my life. It tastes so. freaking. delicious. 
Coconut whipped cream= happy peanut crumpet

Chocolate Banana Cookie Dough Coconut Cream Pie

yield 1 pie that would make you go "MAMA MIA" 

Crust:

1 c. almonds

1 c. walnuts
1 1/2 c. dates

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Chocolate Layer:

4 large bananas (set 2 aside for slicing)

3 tbsp. agave

1/4 c. almond butter

1 tbsp. coconut oil

dollop of vanilla paste (or splash of extract)

Pinch salt

1/4 cup cacao

splash of almond milk

Whipped Cream:

1 can full fat coconut milk, in fridge overnight (I used Thai Kitchen organic coconut milk)

1/8 - 1/4 tsp. stevia

splash of vanilla extract

For the crust, put everything into the food processor and pulse until it forms a sticky gooey delicious mass of dough. Remember to pulse so the oils of the nuts don't release as much to prevent it from being too oily! Take a generous amount of dough to press into your pie pan. Put your crust into the freezer to firm up while you make the filling. 

For the leftover "crust", roll them into cookie dough balls the size of the nail of your thumb and set those aside. 

For the chocolate layer, put all of your ingredients in the food processor (except the almond milk) and just give it a whirl until super smooth with the consistency of a thick pudding. If you think your mixture should be a little runnier, add a teensy weensy splash of almond milk, but don't add too much or the filling won't hold its shape!

Pour this lovely concoction into the prepared crust and let sit in fridge until it firms up a bit.

Once firm, slice your 1 banana thinly (so you get more slices), and scatter them in addition to some of the cookie dough balls all over the chocolate layer. Bat your eyelashes at the pie and admire for 1 minute (optional step ;) ). TIME TO MAKE THE COCONUT CREAM!

Take the coconut milk you've been hiding in your fridge and spoon off all the thick goodness from the top. You will be left with clear liquid which can be used for smoothies, or any coconutty baked goods. It tastes sort of like a coconut syrup/extract. I know coconut crumpet would approve. After the scooping of the yummilicious full fat coconut milk, it's time to whip it up baby! Use a handmixer or stand mixer for optimum fluff, but because I don't have a hand mixer and I didn't want to wash the large bowl of my stand mixer, I decided to whip by hand. Wheeee! When you get soft peaks, add your stevia in and whip until you get moderately stiff peaks! Now, you don't want to eat this whole bowl because your pie will make it all up to you later. So just spread this goodness on your pie and lick ALL the equipment that touched this luscious cream. 

Garnish your pie with another sliced banana and your remaining cookie dough balls, and stick it into the fridge for at least 1 hour before eating! (or you can eat it all gooey and melty :) )


Lots of nuts,
Peanut Crumpet xoxo