Maple Raspberry Vinaigrette

It's hot and humid, which means I'm not cooking or grilling.  That means it's salad for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (okay, not really for breakfast, but you get my drift). I love a good salad, and right now at the farmer's markets and farm stands there are plenty of greens, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and radishes to make those salads tasty and beautiful.  Last year I posted my Maple Cream Vinaigrette, a nice light dressing that I absolutely love. But, I was getting bored with the same dressing on every salad.  I decided to switch it up a bit.  I love fruit, and what else would be as perfect to add to a summer dressing?  I missed most of strawberry (my favorite) season while vacationing in Alaska, so I decided on the next best thing - raspberries!  Patti Powers of Cheshire Garden makes the perfect addition to my recipe - Queen of Hearts Raspberry Vinegar. Here's another easy recipe for you to enjoy!

Maple Raspberry Vinaigrette

2/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Woodard's Sugar House Pure Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup Cheshire Garden Queen of Hearts Raspberry Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Combine all ingredients in a mason jar.  Secure lid and shake until thoroughly combined.

Like I mentioned with the last vinaigrette recipe, I was skeptical at first about making my own dressings.  I thought it would be much more involved and take a lot longer than it actually does.  This is another simple, easy to make recipe that takes me about 5 minutes to whip up.  Needing to "beef up" your salad?  Using the vinaigrette, marinate chicken (or steak) overnight and grill. Add grilled meat, cucumbers, and fresh raspberries to your favorite salad greens topped with our Maple Coated Almonds and the Maple Raspberry Vinaigrette. Yum!
Not sold yet on making your own salad dressings?  That's okay.  We do have them for sale at Fresh Chicks Farmer's Market (Mondays 11-3 at Monadnock Community Hospital) and at The Farmers' Market of Keene (Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9-1 on Gilbo Ave).  

Maple Sugar Cookies

I tend to use maple a lot when I cook.  Maybe a bit too much.  For instance, I use it so often that my husband asks if we can have a meal that doesn't have maple in it (say, what?!).  So, I have laid off the maple induced dinner dishes, and have begun adding to my arsenal of maple dessert recipes (thank you, Pinterest!).  That being said, I don't really bake all that often.  Cooking dinner is one thing (gotta eat), but baking is an "extra" that you have to set aside time for.  And all those extra dishes to wash... not my idea of fun.  But, I found a recipe that makes the mountain of dishes and couple extra hours in the kitchen worth while.  Soft maple sugar cookies.  Yup, a simple maple cookie.  The recipe sounded easy enough, and though I was sure my cookies would not turn out like those in the pictures, I was determined to give it a shot.  I did alter the original recipe (found here) to include more maple (imagine that!) and used our famous pure maple cream instead of the maple icing included in the original recipe.  The cookies came out picture perfect and were hubby and kiddo approved!  

Maple Sugar Cookies
1/2 Cup Softened Butter
1/2 Cup Shortening
1 1/2 Cups Woodard's Sugar House Pure Maple Sugar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Woodard's Sugar House Pure Maple Syrup
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cream of Tartar
Pinch of Salt
3 Egg Yolks
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 3/4 Cups Flour
Woodard's Sugar House Pure Maple Cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening on medium speed until thoroughly combined.  Add the maple sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix on medium speed, scraping sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Add flour.  Scoop cookie dough into 1" balls and place 3 inches apart on cookie sheet (spacing is important! These cookies spread!).  Bake for 14 minutes, until edges are slightly browned (tops will still look soft, but will settle as cookies cool).  Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then cool on wire rack.  Once cookies are cooled, warm the maple cream in the microwave and drizzle over top of cookies.  Enjoy!

Need some of our pure maple sugar, maple syrup, or maple cream?  Find them here!

The Sweet Taste of Spring

Our mild winter allowed for early production of the best thing on earth - pure maple syrup! This year we  (and many other maple producers) tapped and boiled earlier than we ever have.  Our season started with our first anticlimactic boil on February fourth.  It was nice to have the pans sweetened before boiling 12 hours the following day, but that first boil always feels long and slow, lucky if we are even close to drawing off any syrup.  By the end of the evening the syrup pans were finally starting to get some color and that wonderful sweet smell started to fill the sugar house.

This is always a special time of year for me.  My husband and I had our first date in the sugar house and I often tease him about which I fell in love with first - sugaring or him.  There's something about the boiling though, actually making the syrup, that I really love.  There is no greater sight this time of year than steam billowing from the cupola.  The sweet maple aroma that lingers in the sugar house is so enticing.  There is nothing that compares to the taste of hot maple syrup right out of the spigot. It is just really exciting making something so natural and pure that also tastes so decadent.
With our added taps this year, along with the added dry line on our vacuum line, there are times we are inundated with sap; making it hard to keep up.  That means plenty of long days and nights in the sugar house.  Late nights often include jumping jacks, singing (horribly) along to the radio, eating vanilla ice cream or plain donuts with warm maple syrup, and downing tons of caffeine - all to stay awake until we are out of sap and can shut down the evaporator.
We welcome visitors anytime that we are boiling!  Be sure to visit us for our open sugar house weekends, Saturdays and Sundays 10am-3pm, March 12th and 13th, March 19th and 20th, March 26th and 27th, and April 2nd and 3rd.  Come watch us boil, learn the process of making maple syrup, sample our yummy maple syrup and other maple products, and enter our free raffle to win maple products!  We hope to see you!

Maple Brussels Sprouts

I know, I know. Brussels sprouts? Gross.  I wasn't a huge fan of them either when I was a kid.  My sister called them baby cabbages, which made them even less desirable.  Yes, I did have to eat them from time to time and I would always try to mask the taste with an immense amount of butter (a stick of butter should be able to make any food edible, right?). 
That being said, my palate has since changed. And I especially enjoy brussels sprouts when they are coated with pure maple syrup (because really, what doesn't taste better with maple?).

 Maple Brussels Sprouts
 1 lb. Brussels Sprouts
 1Tbsp Olive Oil
 3-4 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup
Steam brussels sprouts until tender (8-10 min).  Heat olive oil in frying pan over medium-high heat.  Saute brussels sprouts in oil until lightly browned. Pour maple syrup over Brussels sprouts and continue to saute until well coated.

My family loves this savory recipe and it has been the easiest way to get the kiddo to eat them and ask for seconds!
This is the perfect time of year to find Brussels sprouts at your local farmers' market!  I get mine from Abenaki Springs Farm (http://abenakispringsfarm.com/) at The Farmers' Market of Keene (http://www.farmersmarketofkeene.com/).  And of course, our pure maple syrup can be found at the Peterborough Farmer's Market and The Farmers' Market of Keene, as well as online at http://woodardssugarhouse.com/. 

 

Eating Local

With our local Olive Garden closing, I have heard (and read) a lot of comments about eating local.  I do support the eat local movement.  I cringe every time I see someone with a jug of Canadian maple syrup in their cart at the grocery store. Most of the farmers' markets I attend require vendors to have grown, raised, or produced their wares themselves; which I think is important.  I think it is wonderful that some of our local farmers are supported by our local restaurants, where they regularly use their meats and produce in their kitchens.  Being a small business owner that is dependent upon the support from my community, I think it is important to support the local, non-chain restaurants that are around town. 
But, guess what? 
I also eat at the chain restaurants that are abundant in our area.  My family probably does eat out more than we should, and we are working on cutting back on that.  The few times a month we do eat out, chances are at least one of those times is going to be at a chain restaurant.  And I'm okay with that.  Yes, I realize that most of the food is frozen and reheated once ordered.  Yes, I know that I am contributing to whatever big corporation owns the chain. 
But, guess what? 
I am also supporting local.
How? you might ask.
The student who is working there trying to pay their tuition.  The recent college graduate who is working there while trying to find a job in the "real world" and still needs a way to pay their rent.  Those who are working there as their second (or third) job, income for some to pay their bills, and income for others as their Christmas or vacation funds.  These people, the staff at these chain restaurants, are local.  They are part of our community.  And for these local people who worked at our local Olive Garden?  Well, they are now out of a job.  So, for those of you who are bashing Olive Garden and chain restaurants, think about the people who work at these establishments. Because they are local.
I would like to thank the staff from our Olive Garden.  Thank you for riding it out as long as you did with our changing economy.  Thank you for the delicious lunches and dinners over the years.  Thank you for bottles and bottles of that addicting salad dressing.  Thank you for service with a smile, even after I have asked for my umpteenth basket of breadsticks and bowl of salad.  I wish all of the staff the best of luck.  They, as staff at Olive Garden, will be missed in our community.

Oh, Deer!

It was a nice, sunny day.  A perfect farmer's market day.  Until the sky turned black and the downpours stared.  Then it was mass panic and chaos as us vendors tried to quickly pack up our products before they were ruined and take down tables and tents, knowing full well that getting soaked was inevitable.  My 45 minute drive home seemed to take forever, but I was glad it was cool enough outside that I could leave all the product in the car until the next morning.  Luckily, it had stopped raining overnight, and the next morning was sunny and beautiful.  I went out to the car to start unloading the maple products.  I started to head back to the house when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.  I turned slowly and saw a deer standing about 10 feet or so in front of my car.  How cute, I thought as I gently put down the box of candy and slowly pulled out my phone to snap a picture. The deer, with its head up high looking straight at me, snorted.  I backed up a few feet and picked up my box of maple candy.  The deer continued to eat, so I started back to the house.  Then the deer snorted again.  I turned quickly and saw the deer coming towards me.  I traded the box of candy for two half gallons, one in each hand (for self defense in case the deer decided to charge - a half gallon could hurt, right?), and ran like a girl back to the house.  I slammed the door shut and ran to the window, peering out between the curtains, watching the deer's every move.  The deer circled my car a few times before heading down the driveway towards the road.  I went back to the door and opened it ever so slightly, making sure the killer deer was nowhere in sight.  I ran as fast as I could to my car, grabbed a box of maple candy, and sprinted back to the house.  Then I ran to the window, on the lookout for that monstrous deer.  Coast was clear so the process started over again: opening the door just a crack to scan the yard for the vicious wild animal, dashing to the car to grab the next box of maple products, and rushing back to the house before the ferocious deer returned.  It should have taken about 30 minutes to unload my car, but that day it took me two hours.  Two hours of panicking, worried for my life if that vile deer returned.  I was glad my husband was working and not home to watch the spectacle.  He would have teased me for being scared over a silly little deer.  But, thanks to that deer, I am a lot more cautious before just running out to my car and am aware of the animals that could be around.  And now that we have a dog, our yard, at least, seems to have a lot less wild life in it.  Too bad we didn't get her a few months earlier!

Maple Cream Vinaigrette

I like to cook.  And I love to grill.  But when it is hot and humid I want nothing to do with either of those.  Salad tends to be my go to meal on those unbearably sticky days. I consider myself lucky to be at five different farmers' markets a week - I'm usually able to procure a bag of salad mix, lettuce, or spinach before it is all sold out.  And now that carrots, cucumbers, and radishes are readily available at all of the markets I attend, my salads not only taste amazing, they also look pretty.  I can even score some tasty croutons from Houghton Farm at a few of the farmers markets. This time of year my salads are mouthwatering (how many people can actually say that about salad!).  I am, though, somewhat picky about the dressing.  I am not a fan of heavier dressings and I do not want something that will overpower the garden fresh tastes.  I had often contemplated making my own dressing, but I thought it would be so time consuming and thus never tried.  My dear friend Rebecca, of Holland Homestead Farm (http://hollandhomestead.com/), came up with this fantastic vinaigrette recipe that is both delicious and easy to make. 

Confession: I was skeptical about this at first. I had never made my own dressing. I thought mincing shallots and the prep to put this together would take forever.  I was wrong. It was simple and quick.
I am one for shortcuts - anything that will save time and make things easier.  I do usually "cheat" and purchase lemon infused olive oil from Your Kitchen Store (http://www.yourkitchenstore.com/) since I do not often use lemon juice for anything else and squeezing lemons is a step I would like to avoid. Luckily, I do know a few places where I can get my hands on some award winning pure maple cream (http://woodardssugarhouse.com/).
Still not convinced this is quick enough to make with your busy schedule? That's ok too.  We do sell the vinaigrette already made at our local farmers' markets! Find us at Fresh Chicks Local Outdoor Market in Peterborough, NH; The Farmers' Market of Keene in Keene, NH; Peterborough Farmer's Market in Peterborough, NH; and Hinsdale Farmer's Market in Hinsdale, NH.