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

Maple Caramel Sauce

By now you may be sensing a theme in the recipes I'm drawn to - sweet and simple. I've been wanting to find a good recipe to make maple caramel. I love caramel - sweet, sticky, the perfect addition to that bowl of ice cream - and, at last, I think it's safe to say, I've found one.

Maple Caramel

Adapted from Donna Hay

14oz Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Cup granulated maple sugar

2 Table Spoons Corn Syrup

Place sweetened condensed milk, maple sugar and corn syrup in a heat proof bowl and mix. Place the bowl over a boiling pot of water (to create a double boiler). Cook fro 20 minutes or until the mixture has reached the desired consistency, stirring occasionally. Use immediately or store refrigerated.

The Perfect Pancake

I know I said, forget pancakes, but we do, occasionally eat pancakes.In fact, we've found an oatmeal pancake recipe, we really enjoy from The Mennonite Country-Style Recipes & Kitchen Secrets.

When I first came across the cookbook, I chuckled. Many of the recipes are things I'd never dream of cooking, but I've discovered that there are many others that are simple and with a few tweaks make amazingly great food.

This recipe for maple oatmeal pancakes is one of those recipes. Simple and hearty, these pancakes cook up beautifully every time. I often mix it up by adding shredded apple or whole wheat flour and, of course, when the recipe calls for sugar - I substitute pure granulated maple sugar.

Maple Oatmeal Pancakes
 Adapted from the cookbook Mennonite Country-Style Recipes

~ 3/4 Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 Tbsp Granulated Maple Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 Cups Quick Oats
2 Eggs (beaten)
1 3/4 Cups Buttermilk 
1/4 Olive Oil


Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. In a smaller bowl combine mix ingredients. Then add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing until only moistened. Cook on a hot pan until browned on each side.

Rustic Quiche with Maple Apple Chicken Sausage

For more than a year now we've been a part of a wonderful CSA. They provide us with great vegetables and local products year round. We don't grow much wheat for flour in Vermont, but we do grow some other grains and as a result we've a pantry full of mixed grains, oats, barley, etc from the CSA. Figuring out what to do with them has been a challenge. They aren't really foods we've cooked much.

So, over the weekend when I was wondering what to make...feeling like we had a house full of food and nothing to cook...I decide to venture out and make what I'll call a "rustic quiche." - mixed grains, whole wheat flour and a little maple sugar to sweeten the crust, leftovers from the fridge for a filling  (maple apple chicken sausage, broccoli, potatoes from breakfast and a few onions), topping it all off some good Vermont cheddar cheese. The results were, well, the kind of meal that makes you feel good, full and warm.

Multi-grain Crust
Mixed Grains
Water
Whole Wheat Flour
Maple Sugar


Cook the mixed grains on simmer. One part grains to two parts water. Cook until the grains are soft and the liquid has mostly evaporated or been absorbed. You'll need to stir occasionally to prevent the grains from sticking and burning to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and add flour. I'd say about equal parts mixed grain and flour, but start slowly it may not actually be that much - continue to add flour and mix until the mixture holds a shape. Add maple sugar (I used about 1/4 cup - translates probably to roughly a quarter part). Place the mixture into a pie or desired baking dish and press until evenly distributed along the bottom and sides - about a half inch thick.

The Filling
The filling could really be anything you desire. I imagine ham and leek would be wonderful or bacon, swiss chard, and onion.The opportunities are endless. 
Eggs
Milk
Broccoli
Chicken Sausage
Potatoes
Cheddar Cheese
For this particular version it was chicken sausage, potatoes and broccoli. I mixed 8 eggs with about a cup of milk (remember I really just cook and don't measure much - so go by what feels right). Seasoned the mixture with salt and pepper and set aside.


Sliced two links of maple apple chicken sausage and lined the bottom of the crust with these. I then add some frozen broccoli. Again maybe a cup. I then poured the egg mixture over the the broccoli and sausage. I then added the pre-cooked potatoes. Distributing them evenly over the top. Finally, I topped it all with a generous amount of cheddar cheese.

The quiche cooked in 375 degrees. I pulled it out when the crust was golden and the eggs had set about 40 minutes. Served with a small side salad and a glass of red wine.

Crepes: the Perfect Vehicle for Maple Syrup

Growing up my brother and I would race to see how many crepes we could eat - five, six, seven (each) - mom and the electric frying pan struggling to keep up, my brother and I jockeying for the next one with plates puddled with maple syrup. I don't race the way I used to, but I still probably eat more crepes at one sitting than most. To me they're they perfect vehicle for maple syrup. They don't absorb the syrup,  but instead simply allow you to wrap it up leaving the flavor of the syrup pure and unmasked. Plus, with a crepe you don't waste all that stomach space on the vehicle like you would with a pancake or waffle, which well leaves more room for more crepes, and maple syrup.

Crepes rather than pancakes were the standard in house growing up. My mother always cooked them by feel just kind of throwing them together. I've never been able to get an exact recipe from her, and well now, I've fallen to the same fate as she - just kind of throwing them together. I've actually adapted her recipe a bit adding a little whiskey, which nicely complements the flavor of maple and seems to create the perfect crepe batter every time (even if you don't measure like me). 

Crepes with Maple Syrup

1 3/4 Cups Flour 

1 Tsp Baking Powder

2 Tbsp Maple Sugar

Pinch of Salt

3 Cups Milk

1 Large Eggs

 2Tbsp Whiskey

2 Tbsp Butter

Combine flour, baking powder and granulated maple sugar. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add milk, water and whiskey. Mix well.  My mother actually mixes the ingredients in her food processor. I usually do it the old fashioned way (it helps me feel a little less guilty about all the crepes I eat). Add eggs. Blend until batter is smooth, or nearly smooth.    Liberally grease a frying pan, crepe pan or griddle with  handle on medium high heat. Pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter into the pan. Swirl the batter by lifting the pan and tilting it in a circular motion. The batter should form only a thin layer across the bottom of the pan. Bubbles will form on the top of the crepe, when the bubbles have all popped the crepe is ready to flip (the crepe will also be golden brown). Flip. Cook the second side for an additional minute or two. Serve with plenty of maple syrup.  They're also good with fresh fruit, yogurt, whipped cream, ice cream, or, well, nearly any other topping you desire. Enjoy!

Autumn Harvest Stew

Autumn harvest stew is rich and sweet with the flavors of fall - apple, maple, cranberries and root vegetables. It's a wonderful meal for a cold and rainy day, which we've had a lot of here. It's perfect for simmering on the stove, in fact, it's adapted for doing just that.

My mother is an avid wood stove cook - cooking nearly every meal from September to June on the wood cook stove. She always has something simmering or baking, and who wouldn't with the stove running day and night. She carefully manages the fire - selecting the right type of wood (maple wood burns hot and long, birch quick and fast, ash and apple somewhere in between), positioning the stoves damper just so to further manage the fire (with damper wide open she gets the fire 'cranking", with it closed down she can hold the heat steady). Failure to pay care with the wood cook stove usually results in an under cooked dinner or burned dessert.

As a result, my mother has perfected several recipes as wood stove fail-safes - recipes that simmer for long periods of time with rich aromas, but need relatively little attention and are forgiving when it comes to cooking temperatures. Autumn Harvest Stew is one of those recipes.

Autumn Harvest Stew
Adapted From Rachael Ray
2.5lbs Pork Roast or Tenderloin cut into 1-2 in. cubes
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat or White Flour
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
3 Small Onions cut into quarters
3 Leeks sliced
1 Bulb of Kohlrabi cut into 1" pieces
5 Potatoes cut into 1" pieces
2 Bay Leaves
1 Tsp Allspice
2-4 Springs of Thyme
3 Tbsp Maple Sugar or 1/4 Cup Grade B Pure Maple Syrup
2 Cups Apple Cider
3 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Cup Fresh Cranberries or 
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries 
4 Unpeeled Apples cut into 1-2" chunks

Heat a heavy bottomed pan on high heat with the olive oil (1/2 the olive oil). Place the cut pieces of pork in a resealable plastic bag (1 gallon zippered works well) along with 1/2 cup of flour. Shake bag until pork is evenly coated. Once the pan is hot add a third to half of the pork  and brown on all sides. It will take 5 to 8 minutes depending on how large your pieces are. Remove from the pan and set aside. Repeat with remaining meat until all is cooked. Set aside the pork.

Place the remaining olive oil in the pan and add onions and leeks saute until soft 3 to 5 minutes. Add potatoes and kohlrabi and cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Add bay leaves, thyme, all spice, maple sugar, apple cider and chicken broth. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to incorporate all the bits from the browning of the meat and the cooking of the veggies. Add the pork back into the pot.

Simmer the stew for at least 1 to 2 hours. 10 to 30 minutes before serving add the apples and cranberries. Serve when the apples and cranberries are soft - making sure to remember to remove the sprigs of thyme and bay leaves before serving.