The Little House Cooking Club - Maple Sugaring !

"Every day Grandpa puts on his boots and his warm coat and his fur cap and he goes out into the snowy woods and gathers the sap. With a barrel on a sled, he drives from tree to tree and empties the sap from the buckets into the barrel. Then, he hauls it to a big iron kettle that hangs by a chain from a cross timber between two trees. 

"He empties the sap into the iron kettle. There is a big bonfire under the kettle, and the sap boils, and Grandpa watches it carefully. The fire must be hot enough to keep the sap boiling, but not hot enough to make it boil over. "

                                                                                                          - Little House in the Big Woods 

Sweet Corn and Butternut Squash Succotash

 

This is SUCH a nice side dish for this Maple Sugar Time of Year ! We had this with roasted baby potatoes and grilled lamb chops this evening.  It was a bit of springtime before the actual seasonal warm up. 

Maple Walnut Quick Bread -

... Oh! What a maple glaze ... sticky crunch atop a maple and orange quick bread ...be still, my heart!

Maple Pecan Cookies

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to seek out some new and worthy cookie recipes ... score! I picked up a cook book from the church rummage sale last weekend and found these cookies staring me in the face ... and isn't it Kismet that it's maple season here in New England?

Gram Lindquist's Banana Cake with Maple Frosting and Salted Hazelnuts

Banana Cake ... Maple Frosting ... Toasted and Salted Hazelnuts ... Yup, I squirreled a piece to bring home from the party. I know. I'm bad.

Butternut Squash Muffins with Pecans

Cooking with leftovers today! These muffins are positively luscious ... sweet and moist and perfect with ice cold milk ... I played with Nigella's maple and pecan muffin recipe that comes from her Feast cookbook. The resulting muffins could pass as cupcakes if you iced them, but we're just dusting them with confectioner's sugar and having them with some butter slathered on.

Bring on the Greens ! ... Virtual Supper Club

This time of year in New England can seem almost bleak, as one rattles the last of the garden squash around the cellar bin, yanks the last of the parsnips from the garden during a warm spell, and roasts potatoes with snippets of the rosemary brought in from the late summer herb garden. The punky potatoes get a soup treatment and then, we start to anticipate Spring fruits and vegetables. Getting fresh green vegetables involves kale and spinach, hydroponic greens and tomatoes from the area growers, and yes, buying asparagus from 'far, far, away'.

May and June seem ages away but we dream of going into the back yard and snipping our own salad greens and lopping off our own spears of asparagus (or getting them at the farmer's market). Right now, though, we begin to feel the return of a more intensely warm sun and the maples are beginning to waken. Sap is flowing and, in our hearts, we know Spring can't be far off. Still that ache for green is urgent. That is why, when asked to choose a theme for March's Virtual Supper Club, I chose "All Things Green".

Maple Season! Maple Glazed Spareribs and Winter Slaw

 

... maple glazed spare ribs with winter slaw ...

 

Walnut Cupcakes with Maple Meringue Frosting

It's been a busy week at the grey cottage. Our church holiday fair is fast approaching and I have been a busy little seamstress. The big project has been a baby quilt that will go up for auction.

Boston Baked Beans !

For me, this is the ultimate one-pot meal. I think of all those beanpots over the years simmering away in the coals by the fire, on the warming rack of the wood-fired cookstove, and now, in ovens all across New England (and beyond!). It's a recipe as old as this country ... beans, molasses, pork, and onions ... basics back in the day. The dish is so entrenched in New England's culture that countless church's host Saturday Night Bean Suppers to raise funds for their coffers, an annual 'Beanpot Tournament' has become part of the Boston collegiate hockey scene, restaurants have made their reputation on this staple of New England diet (Boston's Durgin Park, being one of them) and beanpots have become collector items in antique stores and on the Web ...

The Land of the Bean and the Cod ... and Fannie Farmer

Boston Brown Bread

Fannie Merritt Farmer's preface to The Boston Cooking School Cook Book

courtesy of Michigan State University's website

'Back in the day' is one of my favorite expressions when talking about old times, favorite memories from childhood, or past practices, rules, and traditions that are pretty much written in the stone slabs of New England granite. Living here in the heart of New England, there are a few dinners that have stood the test of time ... they're cheap, can be made ahead of serving time, keep well for a day or two or three, fill the belly with nutritious and locally produced foods and meats and fit the criteria for those things 'written in stone' -

Daring Bakers - Maple Mousse In An Edible Container ...



The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com/ !

some assembly required ...

Okay folks, this is my second time through the gate with Daring Bakers. I was really excited about making a maple mousse (required element) and thought about a kazillion ways to present it in some sort of edible vessel ... I played with lots of ideas, but kept returning to the maple flavor/French toast connection. Lots of posts lately have had a bacon and maple thing going on, but sorry, I won't go there with a bacon bits bedecked bit of decadence. I have to admit, though, I did think about trying to do a salty/bacon flavored meringue to complement whatever I came up with ... but, no. Not this time.

Brussels Sprouts with Maple Glazed Hazelnuts

The last of the really good Brussels sprouts have hit the market this week and before we say good bye for the spring and summer, I thought I would make up one last bowl to enjoy with a steak and roasted potatoes.

I love how fresh B-sprouts look, so tight and crisp-looking. Of course, nowadays I love how they look and taste, but there was a time in my life when the mere sight would cause me to wretch and writhe around on the kitchen floor, begging Mom not to cook them. The smell, the bitter taste, the smushiness was just too much for my kid palate. What IS it about certain foods' tastes that just don't resonate with children's taste buds? Mom always insisted I take what was on my plate ... that I would 'acquire a taste' for anything that my tastebuds and sour stomach rejected. I still can't stand blackened steak or plain green olives, or prunes, but I've 'acquired a taste' for Brussels sprouts.

Fudge for the Faint of Heart ... How I Conquered My Fudge Fear

I know this maple themed month may be too much for some folks, but I've found myself getting carried away a bit. Maples are a huge influence in New England. They have been the source of sweetness, great autumn beauty, warmth and strength - they are rooted in the soul of New England - truly.

So, when I signed on to provide a sweet something for the online bake sale for Japan, I felt that maple walnut fudge would be just the thing to offer. I imagine the Japanese people feel as deeply about their cherry trees as we feel about our maples  ... how fitting that something so deeply rooted in the culture of New England help to provide a bit of solace for the folks of Japan - I'm just sayin'.

Another Day, Another Muffin ... Maple Walnut Seasonal Mix

I was cruisin' the supermarket the other morning and happened upon the beer/wine aisle ... can't think how that happened, but it did. Good old Sam Adams and about a kazillion other micros were touting their seasonal brews. Boy, it was a tough decision! I picked up the latest mid-sized box of Noble Pils from Sam Adams' brewhouse and moved on to get the makings for my 'muffin de jour', or should I say my 'seasonal muffin' ?

Baked Maple, Pecan and Croissant Pudding

Another in the continuing saga of maple syrup-based recipes that come out at the grey cottage during 'Sugar Season'... I can get away with making this rich dessert, as we are jumping into the car to make a quick junket to Brooklyn to deliver 'apartment warming' presents to daughter Kate and give ourselves a bit of a respite from 'cabin fever'. Just look at the back yard view! It's March 1st, for crying out loud! Wouldn't you have 'cabin fever' too ?!?