Fresh Picked Rhubarb
You know it’s truly Spring when you have fresh rhubarb for sauce, pies and cakes! I make my rhubarb sauce with Maple Syrup or Maple Sugar instead of white sugar. I also substitute the white sugar in the cake with Maple Sugar. The maple rhubarb sauce can be eaten as is, used over pound cake or ice cream.
Sauce ingredients:
Maple Rhubarb Sauce
4 cups of fresh rhubarb
1 cup Maple Syrup
2 tsp butter Read more
Crocus bud
I blinked – I swear that’s all I did and sugaring season is done for 2015. Well almost done – Dave and Blaine have finished boiling in all the sap now we just have to clean the rig, refill the woodshed, wash the lines, pull the spouts, wash the tanks and Read more
Quick word association – I say maple syrup you say……pancakes right? I certainly agree with this – I love maple syrup on pancakes or more accurately I enjoy a little pancake with a lot of syrup!! Maple syrup is a natural sugar loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that makes a great substitution for processed sugar.
I use maple syrup everyday in my coffee. I also use it to sweeten plain yogurt, in smoothies and on my oatmeal. I substitute sugar in my baking with maple syrup. Winter squash and carrots are extra yummy when baked with syrup! Top off any meal with a Vermont tradition of maple syrup on ice cream.
Maple syrup substitutions for granulated sugar:
1 cup granulated sugar = 3/4 – 1 cup maple syrup If you like sweeter food use 1 cup , if you want it slightly less sweet use 3/4 cup
There is more moisture in maple syrup so you should decrease other liquids (milk, oil,etc.) by 2-4 tablespoons overall (not each type of liquid).
If the batter needs to rise add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of baking soda to neutralize the slight acidity in maple syrup. If the recipe already has buttermilk, sour milk or sour cream this will do the same as the baking soda so do not add more.
Decrease the oven temperature by 25* as syrup tends to caramelize the top and edges.
Baked Maple Glazed Baby Carrots
Vary this recipe based on how many your feeding. I either use whole carrots ( so my bunnies get the scraps!) or I cheat and use a bag of baby carrots.
1 bag of baby carrots
1 – 1/2 cups syrup
3 Tbsp butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parsley
Mix all the ingredients in a large glass baking dish. Spread evenly. Bake at 350* about 35 minutes or until tender. Enjoy!
Rising sun Stevens Mills Slide, VT
Invariably in January in northern Vermont we get some bone chilling, finger numbing, hurts to breath days. Just as surely, I hear Grampa Hue’s voice saying “as the days begin to lengthen, the cold begins to strengthen”.
Fence posts near Johnson, VT
This has been one of the first days of sunshine in a long time – so no matter what the thermometer says (-4 the last time I looked), the day just doesn’t seem so bad!
Missisquoi River near Richford, VT
I stopped to watch an otter play on the ice this morning on the Missisquoi River then had to stop and take a picture of the railroad crossing.
Now for another cup of coffee sweetened with maple syrup and some birdwatching – from inside the house!
Pinnacle Mountain Canada
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
