Ruth'S Date Cake
["2 c. dates, cut up", "2 c. walnut pieces", "2 Tbsp. soda", "2 c. boiling water", "2 c. sugar", "4 Tbsp. lard or Crisco", "2 eggs, beaten lightly", "water from dates", "2 1/2 c. flour", "1 tsp. salt", "1 tsp. vanilla"]
["Pour boiling water over mixture of dates, walnut pieces and soda and let stand.", "Cream together sugar and lard or Crisco.", "Add eggs.", "Add water from dates.", "Add flour and salt.", "Add dates, nuts and vanilla.", "Do not frost.", "Serves a lot of people.", "Can be cut when cool into small loaf sizes.", "Wrap in Saran Wrap and then aluminum foil.", "Freeze.", "Makes nice small gifts by adding brightly colored ribbon."]
["dates", "walnut pieces", "soda", "boiling water", "sugar", "lard", "eggs", "water", "flour", "salt", "vanilla"]