Pouding Chomeur (Poor Man's Pudding)

Maclean's Magazine recently featured a story about "Pouding Chomeur", a traditional Quebecois desert that is made with Maple Syrup. Translated literally, "Pouding Chomeur" means "unemployed person's pudding".

You can find the article here:
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/02/08/the-very-rich-poor-man’s-pudding/

Dad was so tempted by the sound of the dish that he baked up a batch for us, and it really was delicious! We had it warm with some vanilla icecream...

The recipe that he used is as follows:

Pouding Chomeur

BATTER:
1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 C milk
1/4 C melted butter
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/2 C raisins

SAUCE:
1 1/2 C water
1 C real maple syrup
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp cornstarch


PREPARATION:
Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and nutmeg in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, butter, and lemon rind. Pour over dry ingredients. Sprinkle with raisins and stir until just combined. Spread in greased 8" square glass baking dish

Whisk together water, maple syrup, butter, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Pour over batter.

Bake at 350F until golden and firm to the touch; 40-45 minutes.

Mild Weather Rains On Our Parade

The sap run has slowed down over the past few days with this mild weather. It hasn't been quite cold enough to freeze overnight since Wednesday. We expect it is going to continue to be mild and rainy over the weekend, so we probably will have only a very small sap run, if any. Visitors are still welcome at the farm from 1pm - 5pm if you'd like to come out and stock up on that precious first-run syrup. Looking ahead, the weather forecast promises better weather to come by the middle of next week. Fingers crossed!

Big Thanks!

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to visit our sugarbush this weekend! It was great to kick off the new season with so many smiling faces, and great sunny days. For those of you who are still planning to come out, we are now open daily from 1:00pm - 5:00pm.

We have had a slow but steady start this year and have collected small amounts of sap every day since March 2nd. The syrup we have made so far is delicious, and looks beautiful - Dad says it "sparkles". The weather forecast looks sappy for the next few days, with things warming up and getting rainy by the end of the week. However, the weather reports tend to change frequently at this time of year, so we will have to wait and see what mother nature brings our way. Stay tuned...

Opening Weekend

The 2010 season is off to a good, early start as expected - we had our first official boil last night. As a result, we have some delicious, light, first-run syrup made, and we're working away at getting it bottled up so that it'll be ready for sale on Saturday afternoon. We will be opening at 1:00pm on Saturday and will close at 5:00pm, and we will also be open on Sunday from 1:00pm - 5:00pm. It's shaping up to be a beautiful weekend, so please be sure to make the most of it and come out for a visit! Chances are good that the sap will be running, and we will definitely be making everyone's favourite sugar-on-snow while we've still got some snow around to do it. Bring your sunglasses, and your appetite for the first syrup of the season!

2010 Season Under Way

It's that time of year again, maple enthusiasts! We've been busy over the past week stretching out lines and tapping all of our 6500 trees, and so are feeling well prepared for what we expect may be an early season. We've seen some signs of sap already during our preparations, and if the current weather trends hold true things may be getting underway very soon! Please take a look at some of our stylish tapping crew hard at work, and check back soon for further updates and notification of our opening date.

Maple Old Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail

I had someone inquiring at the Farmers' Market yesterday about a recipe for a maple cocktail for her gourmet club. I was able to find this video on youtube with instructions for making a maple old fashioned whiskey cocktail. Looks delicious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UksnUyBfUA

Maple Whipped Cream

Happy Thanksgiving!! I'm currently baking up a pumpkin pie for our family dinner tonight, and thought I'd share my idea of topping it with some maple whipped cream. It's super easy to make and is great with apple, pumpkin, or blueberry pie, but would also make an extra special topping for pancakes or waffles.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cold whipping cream
2 tablespoons cold maple syrup

Preparation:
Have mixing bowl and beaters chilled for best results. Beat whipped cream until soft peaks form; add maple syrup and beat until firm. Makes about 1 cup of whipped cream. Note: this recipe is easily doubled.

Maple Rhubarb Pie

The perfect end to your spring BBQ or picnic

3 cups rhubarb, cut up
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt

Beat the egg, then add the sugar, maple syrup and flour. Mix thoroughly, and then stir in the rhubarb.

Bake in a two-crust pie at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, and then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Fresh Fruit Salad with Maple Syrup

A sophisticated and elegant twist on a very simple dessert.
(serves 5)

1/2 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons orange or almond flavored liqueur,
or rum or cognac (optional)
4 cups fresh fruit pieces (strawberries, peaches, apples, grapefruit, orange, banana, cantaloupe, blueberries, kiwi fruit, etc.)

Mix maple syrup and liqueur together. Gently stir maple syrup mixture into fresh fruit pieces. Allow to stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Serve chilled. Great with plain yogurt or ice cream!

Grilled Maple Sweet Potato Slices

Flavored with maple syrup and cinnamon, grilled sweet potatoes are a unique alternative to regular potatoes

2 sweet potatoes
1 large zip-lock bag
½ cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
Aluminum foil

Wash sweet potatoes and slice lengthwise about 1/4-inch thick. Place maple syrup, cinnamon, and brown sugar in zip lock bag, add sliced sweet potatoes and let air out before you seal up. Mix with your fingers so that all the slices are coated. Marinate in fridge until ready to cook.

When ready to grill, place entire contents of bag in foil and close up, poke some vent holes on top so steam can escape and put on grill for about 5-7 minutes. They should be tender but still crisp.

Take out of foil and grill to brown more if desired.