Our Food Correspondent Maple Trout Lilli writes: GREEN, GREENS, GREENS I recently read an article whose byline was “Let’s all stop pretending we love Kale.” Agreed, so let’s eat Chard instead. A vibrant dressing makes these humble leaves go Ka-Pow. Jolt your taste buds like the Nebraska Knoll crew jolts the boiling sap… Read More
A Few Stats
This week, a brown envelope arrived from the USDA bearing the annual survey for sugarmakers. Twice, a USDA person left a message regarding technical problems with completing the survey online. In a couple of months, the survey results will arrive in another brown envelope and will be summarized in maple industry publications along with similar… Read More
Fast Forward
The trees are released! At Nebraska Knoll, even though there is considerable preliminary or mopping-up work at the edges, sugar season itself spans from the day tapping begins to the day the last tap is pulled and every last tubing line is rinsed. Yesterday! No one will miss the urgent… Read More
The Black Box
Today’s writing prompt is ‘The embarrassing truth is, I knew this.’ Here is Chief of Operations’s entry: The Black Box Old Blue, my ’64 International woods truck which I have owned since 1980, was parked, as it had been all winter, in the only turn-around suitable for the 26’ truck I had rented to transport syrup… Read More
They abide…until
Duking It Out
Chief of Operations writes: Duking It Out Summer and winter, the opposing seasons, cycle through their rhythm of dominance and remission. Spring and fall… Read More
This Weather, That Recipe
A Late April Morning Weather Report Snow this morning. Will it linger? A spring of change, The full range, not So strange for here. But the sun steers on course: cheers of praise for the day’s light, for days of light. May’s within sight. The temp never broke 33 degrees here today. Word has it… Read More
The OK Scale
I -Throw down a case each of gallons, quarts, and pints. -Nnnkay. -Time for a stoke. -‘Kay. -Raise that float up to thirteen. -Nnkay. -Switch the plugs over in the back pan. -‘Kay.… Read More
Martians and Oranges
Weather, as recorded in the sugarhouse log book: 4/14: Low last night upper 40’s, high today upper 50’s. Partly sunny with cumulus clouds, colder breeze, feels like colder weather moving in. Sap Sweetness 1.7 4/15: Another tease freeze, down to 28 without shutting the run off – must be warmer up higher. Another cooler sunny… Read More
That Aroma
Since the last post, the crew has been working. This is it. Now. The crew is working right now. What keeps us going? That aroma. P.S. You can hear Falls Brook now from quite a distance, mezzo forte.
The Nebraska Knoll Blog 