Here in the Northeast, we experienced the Arctic Blasts of January and currently Spring-like temperatures in February.  The cold at night together with warm temperatures during the days have created perfect maple syrup runs.  John first began trying out the art in the ‘90’s, but I on the other hand have never known about the process, other than picking up a cute little jug  from a country roadside shop.  

I appreciate John’s accomplishments while having the luxury of  sitting on benches in a 10’x20’  sweet little wood structure John  made.    After learning how he first began boiling down sap, I am not so sure I am as hardy a soul.   Compared to his early days of sitting in an open field with just the protection of an umbrella against the Winter elements, the sap house is pretty close to Heaven!  And we are already planning big changes for 2019, with hopes of having a public viewing area of the process!

I cherish our evening hours as we babysit the sap intake into the holding tanks, while keeping a close eye on levels of sap being boiled down, and not to mention  regularly loading wood into a  roaring fire.  I watch, listen and learn intently from John’s wisdom.  Although he humbly insists he is just a hobbyist, he never ceases to amaze me with the equipment malfunctions and obstacles he has overcome in order to keep his hobby going through life’s ups and downs.  Two days ago for instance one of the syrup tank seams came apart and we lost a fair amount of sap.  Somehow through the thick walls of steam, he heard a sizzle and smelled sap burning which caused him to act!  In an instant he removed burning logs from the  massive fire into our nearby pond.  He monitored each gauge, attempting to prevent any further loss of the precious liquid.

Unless you have experienced tapping hundreds of Maple trees  and connecting miles of hosing in knee deep snow together with very cold temperatures will you know how we felt watching sap wasted from our tank malfunction.  But do not take this as a cry for sympathy.  Maple syrup processing is an art for certain.  An art like all others full of much passion and commitment.  For me, it is a beautiful work we continue as did indigenous people of long ago.  From early tribes placing heated stones into logs carved to hold and boil sap, to John and I reminiscing in our little sap house.....we  can easily make case of maple syrup processing as indeed an art form.  

And this my friends leads to more future writings as after 3 weeks of preparing and  working, we still have not been able to bottle one jug!

Wait.....Until just now......

I started out today thinking of putting together an interesting breakfast. I think I nailed it, don’t you? Here’s a nice twist on Sweet ‘n Salty and it’s a not-so-bad-for-you excursion too.  For some reason I thought pickling anything was a bit intimidating, but not so! Just hard boil and peel some eggs, mix up some spices into vinegar and water, then pack it all into some clean jars! We tried them after 3 days and, they tasted like pickled eggs! So go ahead.  Enjoy....even for breakfast!

Pickled Eggs

* 12 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cooled

* 1 tsp. Dill (or use fresh herbs if you have them).

* 1 clove garlic or 1 tsp. crushed in the jar

* 3 cups white vinegar

* 1 cup water

* 1 teaspoon coarse salt

* 1 large onion, thinly sliced

* 1 bay leaf

* 1/3 cup sugar (give or take)

* 4 teaspoons pickling spices

* Clean glass jars with twist on lids

(Note:  if you use pickling spice without cloves, the brine will not turn brown).

Mix ingredients together while dissolving sugar. Place your eggs in glass

Jars  together with the mixture and refrigerate. Don’t be afraid to push the eggs in nice and cozy.  I kept flipping the jars so the onions and spices moved around the eggs. We sampled our first on the third day and enjoyed them very much!

Pumpkin Bran Muffins

1 1/2 cups Oat Bran

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 cu brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Baking soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 cup pumpkin

4 tbsp. Oil

2 eggs

Options: walnuts, diced apples, raisins, dates or chocolate chips are great additions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line or grease 12 muffin cups. Stir dry ingredients together, then add remaining. Mix well with spoon. Batter will be heavy and dense, (even after baking). Bake for 15 minutes. Options:  Serve warm with butter, drizzle with honey or powdered sugar for an extra little something.  Whip up some softened cream cheese and add honey, Cayenne Pepper and a sprig of fresh parsley to taste.  Ooo la la!