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 

Little Brownie Bonbons ...

Let's just start out this post by getting it clear ... yes, those are highly processed maraschino cherries and yes, I went one step further and used their highly processed FDC#2 red dye-infused syrup to flavour the drippy glaze that is atop these brownie sugar bombs. No, I'm not apologetic, because I don't remember the last time I had maraschino cherries, so I don't feel that they will kill me or throw the levels of FDC#2 red dye into lethal levels in my bloodstream. Phew ... I feel better already!

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'.

A Jaunt to Parker's Maple Barn

Today was a pretty day for a jaunt ...

Snowy footprints from sap pail to sap pail ...

Mid week is the perfect time to go to the sugar shack for the year's supply of maple syrup and the treat of a huge pancake breakfast. Last weekend was Maple Weekend in New Hampshire and every shack in the state was overrun with local families and tourists wanting to see how syrup is made, eat sugar on snow, chow down at pancake breakfasts, and buy up the sweet stuff. SB and I decided to wait and get our 'fix' when the lines were down and some of the excitement waned, fogies that we are. This year, we headed down the road to Mason.

Christmas Sweets Day #1 - Coconut Date Balls

The grey cottage is going to be 'Baking Central' this week! I'm making the last minute treats that will grace a platter of sweets on the Christmas dessert table, sit beside the cups of coffee and tea that guests will be served, and  make their way onto Christmas plates that we'll drop off to our neighbors on Christmas Eve.

It's All About the Candy ... Chocolate!

The raw materials are above ... and Cupid is at work!

Okay, folks. I have never been successful at making candies, fudge, or buttercream. It has seemed a fussy, exacting exercise requiring way too much attention to food thermometers and 'ball stages' and melted chocolate consistencies. THIS, however, worked for my feeble skills as candymaker! Bark! Yes!

Now, you MUST notice that I 'glommed onto' this recipe from another location. Notice the post title is underlined? That's your link to chocolate heaven! Click on the post title and you will access the recipe for this chocolate treat. Those girls at BigGirls,SmallKitchen know their stuff! There is NO WAY I can ever take credit for this easy and completely orgasmic snacking experience. Yes, I said, orgasmic.

The only changes made to this recipe were strictly personal... I love dark chocolate and can rationalize eating it far easier than milk chocolate, so I used dark bittersweet chocolate chips. I also cut the amount of nuts by half... and increased the cherries by 1/4 cup. I also cut the cherries in half, and chopped up the nuts into smaller pieces, figuring that the sugary goop would increase their size. That's it for adaptations... it's pretty to look at and so wonderfully sensual to have melting in your mouth! Go for it! Happy Valentine's Day!

Incidentally, the survey says ... go for the flowers if you're trying to impress your Valentine, but having a batch of chocolate can't hurt!