Sugarhouse Chicken

If the crew is boiling at suppertime they fill their bowls in the front room when they can snatch a moment. The stoker retreats to the back side of the evaporator where there is a counter to sit on if the fire has just been stoked or to rest one’s bowl on if she must… Read More

Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day

Maple Trout Lilli, who is Irish every day of the year, writes: IRISH SODA BREADThe savory herbs in this bread go well with butter and a soft cheese. This is a basic recipe, enabling you, the baker, to substitute a cup of oat flour for whole wheat or exchange herbs to basil, thyme and oregano. Eat crusty and… Read More

Multi-seed Maple Cracker

Studying this photo, you can see the pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame seeds but not the little ones, the poppy seeds and chia. Nor can you see the rosemary. It’s the obscure ingredients that enliven this cracker without calling any attention to themselves. Of course, the one tablespoon of maple syrup does its part. Note the… Read More

Amaranth

Maple Trout Lilli, Nebraska Knoll’s inventive and curious Food Correspondent, writes: Spring is on its way – the days are getting warmer and longer, skies are bluer and our bodies are ready to reset. I’ve been experimenting with different grains and came across quinoa’s much overlooked cousin, amaranth. For the Aztec people, amaranth was not… Read More

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake

Cake is in the air. If ever there was a weekend for cake, this is it. I’m writing this post indoors wearing my thickest fleece jacket and a wool hat. Yesterday’s snow lingers; my daffodils huddle by the sap shed, still waiting to blossom. It’s May 10th. “Where there is cake, there is hope, and… Read More

Let’s Bake a Cake

Maple Trout Lilli writes: PARSNIP CAKE WITH MAPLE MASCARPONE CREAM “Where there is cake, there is hope, and there is always cake.” – Dean Koontz I was speaking with my sister the other day about the state of our world and she said “make a cake – you’ll feel better”…. So I pulled out my… Read More

Maple Trout LIlli’s Thai Curry Soup

Our beloved food correspondent Maple Trout Lilli is back! She nourished the crew on a recent boiling day with this fine soup. I couldn’t taste the maple but I could taste the difference. She writes: CUSTOM THAI CURRY SOUP WITH A hint OF MAPLE A light but warming soup for when it’s still light at… Read More

Throwback Thursday Recipe

While the crew fills the woodshed and the trout lilies thrust into bloom on the forest floor, our food correspondent Maple Trout Lilli offers her Pièce de Resistance du Printemps 2019. She writes: Spring is here, the grass is greening up and our wonderful local farmers up the road have been harvesting their spinach that… Read More

Maple-Oat Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies

Maple Trout Lilli writes: My inspiration for these was a warm, spring, 50-degree day this past week and anticipating free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s. But, alas, it’s back to winter as I write, and free cone day isn’t until April 9th this year. But make these and you’ll feel like it’s almost summer,… Read More

Maple Trout Lilli Bakes Salmon for Dinner

From a well-lit kitchen in the yellow house at the top of fifteen broad stone steps comes the first food missive of Sugar Season 2019. Our Food Correspondent, Maple Trout Lilli, writes: MAPLE-MISO SALMON Weeknight salmon?? Salty miso paste and ever-so-sweet maple syrup are the backbone of this simple marinade…. It’s about as uncomplicated as… Read More