colors the almond paste.

Put the spinach in a saucepan with1/2 cup of water and steam it for 10 minutes. Place the spinach in a clean dish cloth and wring out 1 tablespoon of green cooking water. If you used spinach, reserve it for another purpose.

Chop the almonds in a food processor to a very fine grain.

Put the almonds, sugar, Cognac or Brandy, and green spinach water (or green food-coloring water) in a large, nonstick frying pan and cook over a low heat about 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat and turn onto marble that has been sprinkled with water.

Make an incision along the side of each date from the stem to the opposite end. Fill each with about 1 rounded teaspoonful of the almond paste. After the dates are filled, roll them in enough granulated sugar to completely cover the date and the stuffing.

date-stuffed confections. She says they are so delicious that they can sweeten the conversation during an argument. Makes 30 to 40, depending on the size of the dates