Banana Date Ring

4 cups sifted regular flour
1-1/3 cups sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup finely-chopped walnuts
2 eggs
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1 cup chopped pitted dates
Confectioners sugar

Oven: 350 degrees

Grease a 12-cup tube pan or 10-inch angel cake pan. Dust lightly with flour, then tap out the excess. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, spice, salt and baking soda into a large bowl. Stir in the walnuts.

Beat eggs well in a medium-size bowl. Stir in the milk, melted butter, bananas and dates. Add all at once to the flour mixture. Stir until just evenly moist. Spoon into pan and even out the top.

Bake one hour and ten minutes, or until cake tester inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack ten minutes. Loosen around edge and center with a sharp knife. Turn out on rack and cool completely.

Wrap loaf in waxed paper, foil, or plastic wrap. Store overnight to mellow flavors and make slicing easier. Just before serving, dust lightly with confectioners sugar. Cut in thin wedges.

Honey Date Rice Pudding

Extra nutritious because brown rice is used instead of white.

2 cups water
2/3 cup brown rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely cut fresh pitted dates
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
Cream (optional)

Oven: 325 degrees

Bring two cups of water to boiling. Add rice and salt and cook for thirty minutes, or until tender. Drain if necessary, and place rice in a shallow 1-1/2 quart baking dish, distributing evenly across bottom. Sprinkle with dates and set in a large, shallow pan.

In the same saucepan used for cooking the rice, scald the milk. Beat the honey and eggs together. Add the milk and mix well. Stir in the lemon rind and pour over the rice and dates. Add a half-inch hot water to the shallow pan, and bake pudding about one hour, or until set. Serve slightly warm or cool, with cream if desired. Makes four servings.