Great Grapefruit

Simple. Delicious. Nutritious. I've yet to find a better way to eat grapefruit than grapefruit topped with granulated pure maple sugar. I love the way the maple sugar melts over the top. The juice becomes slightly sweetened. The flavors complement each other beautifully.

To sweeten up your grapefruit with maple - simply add a spoonful or more depending upon the sweetness desired to the top of grapefruit. Slice, spoon out and enjoy!

Maple Pan Popovers

The first time I made these my oldest daughter said, "Mommy, I love these more pancakes." I wondered really, really she liked these more than pancakes, so I asked, "how 'bout more than crepes?" "More than crepes," she responded, "and more than ice cream, maple syrup, and chocolate." Coming from her that's saying something.

She's right, these do make a pretty exceptional breakfast - especially when topped with maple mixed berries and maple whipped cream. They're simple-  flour, eggs, a little sugar and milk and less than 5 minutes prep time. Then in to the oven for another 20 or so. Viola, the perfect breakfast.

Pan Popovers
1 Cup Flour
4 Eggs
1 Cup Milk
2 Tbsp Granulated Maple Sugar
2 Tbsp butter
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place four small (4" cast iron pans) on medium heat with a 1/2 tbsp of butter in each pan. Alternatively you could cook the popovers in two batches or use two larger 8" to 10" pans. 

Mix flour, eggs, milk and sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth. When pans are hot, pour 1/4 of the batter into each pan and swirl. Then place pans in preheated oven. 

Cook for ~20 minutes or until the popovers are golden and puffy.

Maple Berries

1/2 Cup Granulated Maple Sugar

12 oz Frozen Mixed Berries (use fresh if in season)

Place mixed berries in a sauce pan with granulated maple sugar. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat when berries are thawed and juices has reached a slightly syrupy state. 

Maple Whipped Cream 
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream 

1/8 to 1/4 Cup Granulated Maple Sugar

Beat maple sugar and whipping cream together until it forms stiff peaks. 

Top pan popovers with berries, and then with whipped cream and serve.

Maple Sugar Cake

Robust maple flavor, a crackly maple sugar candy like crust and super moist...It's a great cake. Typically gone in a matter of minutes after coming out of the oven. I'll admit is that it's not the prettiest of cakes, but really does it matter if the cake doesn't last until it's even cool. If you could keep around longer than I've been able to, you might just get a chance to add some maple butter cream frosting and create the truly ultimate maple cake.

Maple Sugar Cake

1/2 Cup Butter

3/4 - 1 Cup Granulated Maple Sugar

1/2 Cup White Sugar

3 Large Eggs, separated

1/2 Tablespoon Vanilla

1 Cups Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Cup Buttermilk

Line the bottom of a round cake pan with parchment paper, then sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 cup granulated maple sugar on to the parchment paper. Set cake pan aside.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl combine flour and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat 1/2 cup butter until fluffy. Gradually add 1/2 cup granulated maple sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar. Beat well. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating until blended. Add vanilla and mix. Alternate adding the flour mixture with the buttermilk. Begin and end with the flour mixture. 

In a separate bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into cake batter, making sure not to over mix. 

Pour cake batter on top of the granulated maple sugar in cake pan and bake or 25 minutes or until done at 350 degrees.

Remove from oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto serving dish. 

Serve with maple whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. 

Sweet and Sour Maple Coleslaw

This is one of those recipes that's become a family classic. My mom makes for nearly every family gathering - no matter the time of year. It's great for summer picnics because it won't spoil like a mayonnaise based coleslaw. It's almost always guaranteed to be gobbled up - we've learned to make nothing less than a double batch. 

Maple Coleslaw

 Adapted from Pamela Anderson's "A Perfect Recipe"

1 ½ lbs (1/2 a head) red or green cabbage finely shredded

1 large carrot peeled and grated

½ cup granulated maple sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp celery seed

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup maple, rice wine or apple cider vinegar

Black pepper to taste

1. In a colander set over a medium bowl,  toss cabbage and carrot with sugar, salt and celery seed. Let stand until the cabbage has wilted (between 1 and 4 hours). 
2. Drain the liquid from the bowl. Rinsing the cabbage and drying
3. Transfer the cabbage and carrot mixture to a bowl and add oil and vinegar. Mix to coat and season to taste. Add a little more maple sugar if necessary. 
4. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to serve. It can be made up to 5 days in advance. 

Maple and Apple Muffins

Maple and apple is a  combination we love and this recipe is perfect for this time of year. Hearty and filling, plus it brings back memories of the fall harvest and the spring harvest (sugaring) that's yet to come.

This past fall we had a wonderful crop of apples. The trees were laden with fruit just beckoning to be picked. We pruned heavily a few years ago and now the trees are bearing fruit on nearly every branch. The picking was easy, even for the little ones. Most of the apples were blemish free - too tempting to wait to eat. The jars of applesauce, and recipes like this are reminders of this fall's bountiful harvest.

 

Though we've had more snow than we'd like in the last couple of weeks - it now comes up past the windows on the house - we're ready to start the sugaring season. We've spent the last couple of months preparing, tapping and checking to make sure everything is ready. It's flowed a little over the last weekend, but hopefully it'll really break open soon. 

In the meantime we'll wait and enjoy the wintery weather with eager anticipation of what's to come - and yes we'll eat some maple apple muffins, too.

Maple and Apple Muffins

Adapted from Mennonite Country Style Recipes and Kitchen Secrets

1 Cup Flour
1/4 Cup Granulated Maple Sugar
3 tsp Baking Powder
1/2tsp Salt
1 Cup Rolled Oats
1Egg
1 1/4Cup Milk 
3 tbsp Olive Oil
4 tbsp Apple Sauce
1 Apple Cored and Chopped
3/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts
Topping
3 tbsp     granulated maple sugar
3/4         cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp      flour
1 tsp      melted butter


Grease one muffin pan. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Mix together the dry muffin ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl mix together the egg, milk, olive oil and apple sauce. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, mixing only until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fill muffin cups 2/3rds full with muffin mixture.Spoon topping over each muffin. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Maple Pork Medallions

Simple, quick and easy - those are our kind of meals and this is our kind of recipe. Simple enough to cook on a week night, but special enough to serve friends and family. With only six ingredients and a cooking time of less than 15 minute and a prep time under 10 this recipe is tough to beat. 

Maple Pork Medallions

 adapted from Cooks Illustrated

2lbs pork tenderloin cut into 1 ½” rounds

12-14 slices of bacon cooked for approximately 5 minutes (fat removed but neither brown nor crisp)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 cup apple cider (or chicken broth or water)

1/3 cup maple syrup

3 tbsp cider vinegar

3 tbsp maple mustard

Wrap a slice of bacon around the pork and fasten with a  toothpick. Place the oil in pan on medium high heat. Add pork cut side down. Cook for 3-5 minutes, making sure top not move the pork while it is cooking. Flip pork and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Finally, place pork on edge turning as necessary to cook the bacon. Total cooking time should be between 8 and 15 minutes for the meat. Place pork pieces on plate and cover with tin foil. 

While the pork is resting, remove most of the any excess oil/grease from  the pan.Decrease pan temperature to medium and add onions. Cook onions for 3-5 minutes until softened and browned.

Add the liquid to the pan and deglaze. Making sure to loosen cooked on pieces. Cook the liquid until it  is reduced by half  to two-thirds, or about 5 minutes. Then, add maple syrup, vinegar, mustard and any juices from resting meat. Cook until the sauce is thick, an additional 3 -5 minutes (there will be about a cup of sauce). If the sauce gets thicker than desired add slightly more liquid.

Place meat on plate, drizzle sauce over each medallion, and serve