We're sugaring down in Maine!

It's one of those scuddy cloudy, sun and brighty March days here in Maine and we are collecting our maple sap.......
...in possibly the smallest sap buckets known to man...everyone else uses 5 gallon buckets...not me, they just aren't cute enough!
The sap has been flowing intermittently as the temps have been up and down the last few days but today it is flowing like a raging torrent...well not quite, more of a constant trickle, but certainly better than yesterday when it was freezing coming out of the tap!! I am awestruck at how much water you have to boil out of the sap...the ratio is about 43:1 so I am going to have to collect 43 gallons of sap to end up with 1 gallon of maple sugar, no wonder the divine stuff is so expensive. I am aiming more realistically for a pint, and then I will consider myself lucky!!

Here is Eleanor wondering when she gets to taste the sap which you can see frozen into a doughnut shape...yum, maple doughnuts...that sounds good to me. Alas, I don't have a recipe for today but I did just see a delicious looking one on David Lebovitz's blog so hop on over there for Giovanna's Maple Creams.

I would show you a picture of the actual sugaring down on our trusty old wood burning stove but I have to admit I am too embarrassed at it's current state of dirt and rustiness after a hard winter of constant burning day and night. I am delighted to be able to do the sugaring down on the stove which we are still using to warm the house so I am killing two birds with one stone...apparently this is not such a bright idea as there is the possibility of my coating the entire house with sugar sap but so far it hasn't been a problem and honestly you saw the size of my buckets....we will be lucky if we end up with 4 fluid ounces of that delicious golden liquid, nectar of the Gods. When I have completed the process I will post a Brit recipe which uses maple sugar but I haven't decided on one yet.

HAPPY MAINE MAPLE SUNDAY!

Melting moments...please!!!

In a desperate attempt to help the mounds of dirty snow dissipate I decided to make one of my favourite cookies which just happen to be called MELTING Moments, also known as Viennese Swirls (does everything in England have more than one name I ask??) These sublime little cookies/biscuits really, honestly do just wisp away in your mouth, it is quite extradorinary how they do it, AND they are very simple to make.

MELTING MOMENTS: From 'Irish Traditional Food' by Theodora FitzGibbon

10oz butter (as always I like mine salted)

2oz icing sugar/confectioner's sugar

8oz sifted all purpose flour

2oz cornflour/cornstarch (same thing on different sides of the pond:))

(for equivalent US measurements check out Sue Palletts link in my web/blogroll in the right hand column aways down from the masthead...thanks!!)

Lashings of vanilla buttercream...or any flavour really, almond would be good, anything flavoured with almond is good in my book.

1. Cream the butter and sugar 'til very light

2. Sift both flours together and add gradually mixing well after each addition.

3. Either pipe the dough as I did in the pictures above (other wise you can't call them Viennese SWIRLS)...or if you don't do the piping thing drop small spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet.

4. Bake for about 15 minutes at 350F until 'set' and very slightly browned.

5. Cool on a baking rack and then snadwick, or even, sandwich together with your lashings of buttercream.

6. Eat and melt!!!

Happy Baking and melting...Patricia

Spring is coming...it is HONEST!!!

Spring simply must be coming because I am now the proud owner of this little pink chick...and chick's are born in spring right???...or at least near Easter because chick's are associated with Easter...anyways I bought the chick from the same place (Left Bank Books, Searsport) I purchased these lovely little boxes of Italian candy/sweets....aren't they adorable, look - the pink one says "Fairy Wood Fragrance", doesn't get any better than that!! The chick decided on his own about the red ball.....
...and then there's this sign....the very tiny tips of daffodils, I just spotted them this morning and I am thrilled...this winter may really, in fact, END!!!
Then there's this sign...the shadow can only mean one thing...SUNSHINE! ...and thank goodness temperatures above 32F/oC, the snow is melting...I am so happy!!!...anyone who has made it through this winter in Maine knows exactly how I feel...congrats to all of us if we haven't been institutionalized!!