“How did the season end up?” asked Barb the bookkeeper.“I hope the season finished strong,” wrote a friend from the West.“What sort of year was it?” asked Patty when she placed a phone order.“Did you have a good season?” asked Wendy at Mac’s Market. “Good.”“Yuh, it did.”“Good.”“Yuh, we did.” It reminds me of returning home… Read More
Rite of Spring
One late morning recently, writing from a coffee shop in the village of Morrisville, Sugarhouse Meal Angel and today’s guest blogger Nina Church reminisced: Sugaring season is a vital gush after long, frozen winter. My whole body senses the opening of the maple veins and the sap rising. When our boys were little we tapped… Read More
Throwback Tuesday
If you wait for mild sunny days to knock out taps and rinse lines, scrub and hose soot off the bottom of the front pan to load it into the van to drive to Leader Evaporator Inc. in Swanton, wash and hose pails, wipe down sap tanks with hot water, and so forth, you will… Read More
Maple Coconut Drops
MTL writes: EASY, NO BAKE YOU WILL NEED: ½ cup almond butter½ cup tahini1.5 tablespoons maple syrup1 tsp. cinnamon½ cup chopped walnuts or almonds1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut + more for rolling2 tablespoons chia seeds2 tablespoons coconut flour1 scoop collagen powder (optional) Mix nut/seed butters w/maple syrup until smooth. Add all other ingredients and mix… Read More
Sugarhouse Dome
Chief of Operations writes: Visitors entering our evaporator room during boiling hours are immediately confronted by the roaring evaporator that commands their attention. As the initial shock of voraciously steaming pans subsides, the observant begin to notice a few other points of interest in this room. High on the north wall over the woodshed doors… Read More
April 1 Hill Report: Using the Ears
Ace woodsman Larry Lackey writes: The vacuum pressure in the main lines, as indicated by the gauge in the sap shed, last week slipped about 1 ½ inches mercury last week, after holding steady for two weeks. The drop was not unexpected. Freeze/thaw cycles can nudge taps out of trees. Critters with sharp teeth –… Read More
50 Years to the Month Now
One recent Saturday morning, Scott came by the sugarhouse with his granddaughter, Tena, to pick up a couple of gallons of Golden Delicate (formerly Fancy) syrup, the grade his family selects year after year. Scott sat down on the gold bench and reminisced while Tena silently scrambled on and off his lap. “Would you be… Read More
Recharge
A Tanka for March 22 Sun warming one cheek,A wind chilling the other,Earmarks of a run.The maple buds are still tight;Mud season is not over. A Tanka for March 29 Brrrr, winter is back,Frost is winning over sun,Mud ruts are frozen.Two days of this are welcome;It means at least one more run. WEATHER: After the… Read More
Northern Tacos
MTL writes: FOR THE SWEET POTATOES 2 tablespoons miso paste2 tablespoons maple syrup2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar2 medium sweet potatoes, unpeeled and choppedOlive oil TACO FILLING OPTIONS *Corn tortillas – warmed*Avocado sliced*Maple pickled red onion (see below)*Cilantro*Black Beans – warmed*Cabbage*Toasted Pepitas*Cotijo Cheese*Lime juice *Add or omit to your liking Directions: Heat oven to 400. Whisk… Read More
Notes from a blur of a week
We’re doing that different now, he announced. She could smell from outside that the syrup had dropped grade.Everyone is saying it’s the worst mud season in a long, long time.Forty degrees feels chilly after two days of sixty.Now we scrub the niter off the hydrometer cup during evening cleanup. Until this week we soaked the… Read More
The Nebraska Knoll Blog 