My Grandma Cleveland's Date Roll #2bitrule
My substitutions #nogranularsugar #betterchocolate

(I added the bitter taste of dark chocolate to counterbalance the sugar taste)

Here are the written steps to make a date roll covered in yummy holiday no-sugar-added chocolate.
Step 1
Boil to 325 degrees: (soft boil stage)
3 cups of sugar (Yes, this is so much sugar. Please use a substitute!!!)
1 cup of whole milk
11/2 cups of chopped dates
2 teaspoons butter

Step 2
Remove from the heat to cool.
Add 1 1/2 cups walnuts or pecans.

Step 3
Pour the mixture onto a cold towel knead it and shape into a log shape.
Cover with wax paper and chill overnight.

Step 4
Melt no-sugar-added chocolate in a double boiler.
Pour into a small cake pan.
Roll the log around in the chocolate.
Let it settle and harden.
Enjoy one or two bites.
This was last till New Years Day.

Heart to heart:
My paternal grandmother was Esther Cleveland, whom I adored. She was a busy homemaker whom I could only hope to emulate. My sisters and I love to talk about her and remember her ways.
Here is a short list of her qualities:
1. She taught me how to wash myself. As a child, I soaked and played with toys in the bathtub, but she kindly reminded me of body cleanliness. Like so many children of the 60's, I played outside barefoot all day. I listened to every word she said: I think. lol
2. She made unlimited chocolate cookies for Kay, Karen, Karlene and Dennis. Could we eat a gross of them? Gross=12 dozen. Yes. almost.
3. She allowed me to paint her fingernails. I loved her hands and knobby fingers that seemed powerful and well-used.
4. Her garden had beautiful summer strawberries, plus more.
5. She vacuumed with a Kirby. Of course, I copied her, and we purchased a used Kirby for our 1st
apartment in 1975. It was heavy and hard to push but Grandma did it so I did it, too.
6. She told me that I was unashamed to show that I loved her. She liked that: I was just being me.
7. She sewed clothes for me without measuring me. She knew me.
8. She made Grandpa shower in the basement after a day in the field!! Her home was clean.
9. She like maple-nut ice cream.
10. She taught me how to fry a cut-up whole chicken. In 1975 or 76, during the national bi- centennial, Myron and I tented across Montana and Wyoming eating out of a cooler full of chicken that Grandma made.
No eating out as we could not afford it.
We vacationed in Jackson Hole and Yellowstone!!
We slept on cheap air mattresses and camped on lumpy sloped campsites.
We drove a yellow Pinto with questionable tires.
It was out first vacation together.
11. She made quilts and blankets.
12. We ALL honestly thought we were her favorite. That's God-like and amazing. How did she accomplish that?
13. She did not drink coffee among the coffee guzzlers. It stood out.
14. She did not drink alcohol among the adult party relatives. I observed that, too.
15. She went to the church on Sunday morning without Grandpa.
16. She lost all her hair as a child due to Scarlet Fever. Her sister died during that family crisis.
Grandma felt responsible as she had found a pretty handkerchief walking home from school, and soon after that the family become infected. She repeated this story to us throughout her life.
17. The last time I remember getting advice from her at the birth of our daughter when she told me to monitor the amount of time, I held our baby so as not to spoil her. It hurt me to hear Angela cry so I disregarded that advise.
18. Toward the end of her life, she lived in a locked down assisted living facility in Scottsdale where I visited her.
Being over 90 years old, with dementia, she struggled with her life and living arrangements. She told me she was ready to die and go to heaven. Though it was sad, I felt her pain and prayed with her.
Soon after, she passed away.
I could not attend her out-of-state funeraal so I went to Norstrom's or Macy's where I purchased a large set of silverware like Grandma's kitchen silverware. It was my way of saying goodbye (for awhile) while keeping the memories of her homemaking alive in my kitchen.
I was a Grandma's girl.