Last weekend Jeff and I spent a few days in Palm Springs. We planned this trip a while back for our winter sunshine getaway from Portland. And it almost didn’t happen. It snowed here in Portland the day before we were supposed to leave and it doesn’t take much to shut down the city, since snow is rare they don’t clear the roads, so you never know how it’s going to go. But we got lucky and only had a slight delay with our flight. I can’t tell you how happy I am the trip didn’t get canceled. And while it wasn’t as warm there as we had hoped for, there was sunshine and date shakes! It rained our first day there, followed by strong winds from a coastal storm. The palm trees were bending with branches scattered in the streets. The feeling of not being able to escape crazy weather was overwhelming, we spent time around the hotel bar for sure. But it passed. And the next day greeted us with brilliant sunshine. We headed up to Joshua Tree National Park, then detours! Flooding! can you believe this? Will we ever get there? We did. What an amazing and unworldly place. I’ve been through desert before but nothing like this. I’ve never seen this variety of Cactus and Palms. It’s a magical place and I would highly recommend it. We stayed at Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, the Date Shake was quite memorable. I had to make it. They offered it with a shot of espresso and we would share one in the morning. Ice cream shakes in the morning! The recipe is based on the menu description at Ace Hotel and a bit of research. The variations and ratios are all over the place, but this is very good. Some say to soak the dates beforehand, but I don’t think you have to, I like the texture and bits of pieces of dates in the shake, but it’s up to you. Here are some photos I’d like to share with you.

Joshua trees and Skull Rock

A tiny birds nest in a cactus shrub

Cholla Cactus Garden

Nightfall in Joshua Tree National Park

KIng's Highway at Ace Hotel Palm Springs

Date Shake

1 cup Medjoool dates, chopped and pitted
1 cup almond milk
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 1/2 - 2 cups vanilla bean ice cream
Espresso (optional)

Place dates and almond milk in blender, blend until smooth, then add ice cream and blend again until smooth. Optional, but recommended, add a shot of cold espresso along with the ice cream!