Sugaring!

From Vermont Maple Syrup: Maple syrup making, known as “sugaring“ takes place all over the Northeastern U.S. and Canada just as winter is losing its grip. The maple producers, or “sugarmakers“ look for weather that alternates between freezing and thawing; this is what makes the sap flow. In Vermont, sugaring weather usually starts around the beginning of March, and normally lasts for about six weeks.


I am so excited!

My first grade teacher, Mrs. Wilcox, owned a Maple Tree Farm and every once in a while she would give us maple sugar candy as a treat. Mrs. Wilcox was very proud of her farm and would tell us stories upon stories about daily farm life. I still remember some of those stories and I can almost taste the maple sugar candy. I have wanted to tap a maple tree since I was 7 years old and I finally did it today! WOW! I am just so excited.

I watched some Youtube videos (I love this guy's Maine accent), to get some ideas. You only need a few tools; Drill, Hammer, Maple Sugar Tap, Bucket and of course a Maple Tree but Oaks work well too. Your maple tree needs to be big enough to hug so I'd say probably at least 25 years old and a good 25-30" around.

Drill a hole with an upward slate about 2" into the tree. Then pound the tap into the tree. I used a 2by4 as a cushion because you can break the tap if you're not careful.







Here I am setting the sugar tap dressed to the "9s" in my finest sugaring outfit. Joe seemed to enjoy getting the "behind" shot. Not that my size 10 butt is that big but gee thanks honey?












I bought my sugaring buckets years ago at a flea market for $1 a piece and they've been stored in our barn ever since. It took me some time to find the buckets and they were covered with cob webs and straw so a thorough washing was due.

On the tap there's a little hook for the bucket. But you can rig up many different things to catch the sap. Some people use coffee cans or plastic bags. But the sap is heavy so make sure that whatever you use will hold the weight.

If there's a cold night and then a warm day the sap really starts running. So it will be fun to see how the weather effects the sap totals. Yes, I am a weather fanatic and will keep track of the temperatures and yield.






Here's a close up of the sap as it's running down the tap. Actually the sap started running as soon as I drilled the hole. I'm still so excited and it's such a simple thing. But it's so much fun to finally do something you've always wanted to try. Thank you, you gorgeous Maple, you just made my month!

***Make sure to click on the below photo to enlarge it so you can see the sap dripping out of the tap.





I am still so excited!!!!!!!!!!!











Here's my Maple Tree in Nov 2008. Not only is a gorgeous tree throughout the seasons, it's going to sweeten our table as well.










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Rose Petal Flan

I've been wanting to try this recipe for over 2 years, so for our July 4th dinner I finally made it. It was SOOoooooo good and quite refreshing after the spicy rib dinner.

Since I was in a rose mood I made some candied rose petals which were absolutely delicious and a perfect garnish for the flan! I remember wanting to make Candied Rose Petals for one of my badges for Girl Scouts...and no I'm not telling you how long ago that was but it's over 30 years...oops probably over 35 years ago.

My husband and I travel to Mexico quite often and the Mexican Flan is much denser and richer then any other flan I've had. So with this in mind I made up my own recipe and although it's better then a traditional flan, the texture is still not as I wanted, but it was still delicious.






Rose Petal Flan
Recipe developed in the kitchen of Big-Black-Dog

1-13 oz can of Evaporated Milk, about 1 1/2 c.
Milk, enough when added to the Evaporated Milk you get 2 cups
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 tsp rose water

Caramelized Sugar:
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. water

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. I usually grease my ramekins but most recipes do not call for this.

Slightly whip the eggs and add vanilla and rose water.

In a small sauce pan add milk/evaporated milk mix and sugar. Heat and stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Gradually dd warm milk mixture to eggs and continually whisk until well blended.

In a small fry pan, over medium heat, add 1 c. sugar and water. Sugar will melt and start turning a golden color and then amber. When the sugar is a medium amber color it is done.

Pour the hot sugar in the bottom of each ramekin, making sure that each ramekin has approximately the same amount of caramelized sugar. Then pour in the custard mix up to about 1/4" from the top.

Place full ramekins in a sheet cake pan and put it in the preheated oven. Add enough hot water to the sheet cake pan so that the water is at least at the half mark on the ramekins.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until custard is set in the middle. Chill for about 2 hours.

To remove the custard from the ramekin run a butter knife around the edge of the custard. Cover the ramekin with a dessert plate and flip it and the custard should easily pop out. Garnish as desired and serve.







Candied Rose Petals


Rose Petals, from clean (no insecticide) roses **See Note
1 c. sugar, finely processed
1 egg white, whipped.

Gather rose petals. Dip each petal in the whipped egg white. Lay the petal in the finely processed sugar and then cover with more sugar. When petal is completely coated with sugar, lay it on a piece of parchment paper. Let dry for 24 hours.

Note: I used rose petals from my rugosa roses and they had a nice rose flavor before adding the sugar.




All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

Fun with Lilacs

Last week I was driving down our driveway and all of a sudden I was over-whelmed with the perfume of Lilacs. I love Lilacs and as soon as I smelled the fabulous blossoms I knew I had to make something incorporating this delicate, beautiful flower.

Lilacs, as most spring blooms do not last long, in one way or another Mother Nature is not very kind to our early blooms. So this post is a bit premature, as the fermenting process is not quite finished, but I wanted to publish before all the blooms disappear. There's nothing more disappointing then to have to wait an entire year to make something not only adventurist but delicious!

It is surprising how the blossom vinegars mellow with each day. Day 1 the Lilas vinegar was still very tart but on day 2, it has changed to a tangy/sweet taste that is just wonderful and this morning the Lilac Vinegar is so delicious, still tangy but much sweeter. As with my Tulip Vinegar that I made last week, I will use it in as a flavoring in baking and cooking. Home flavored vinegars are not safe after about 3 months and must be kept refrigerated, so I'm going to try freezing my vinegars to preserve them for use year round. Wouldn't it be wonderful to use a tsp of Lilac Vinegar in Sauteed Chicken when the temperature is -15 and the snow drifts are 2' deep!

I made my Lilac Vinegar very similar to my Tulip Vinegar. But since the Lilac bloom is much smaller then a Tulip blossom I just used my kitchen shears and cut off the tiny blossoms careful to avoid any green stem. The green stem will color your vinegar and combined with the purple flower you will get a yucky gray color which is not appealing at all.

To bump up the color and flavor, on day 3 I strained the vinegar through a fine mesh, discarded the blossoms and then added fresh blossoms. Since my Lilacs are still in gorgeous bloom today, day 4 of the fermentation process, I am going to strain and add new blossoms again. I should get a more intense color and more of the wonderful sweet Lilac nectar!!

Here's the bounty of Lilacs I used for my initial ferment. It is 4 large bunches of Lilacs, probably close to 4 c. of tiny blossoms tightly packed and remember no green stems!



Here is a picture taken just a few hours into the 1st ferment. You can still see the purple Lilacs, the gorgeous soft red of the vinegar but the vinegar is somewhat cloudy.



After 2 days, I strained the vinegar and added new Lilac Blossoms. Here is a picture I took this morning and you can see a more intense color to the vinegar and the purple Lilac blossoms have been totally stripped of any color and the vinegar has clarified wonderfully!



The color of the vinegar is true as I did not add any food coloring at all. But different varieties of Lilac should produce a slightly different color. If you do want a purple vinegar I would suggest adding a bit of blue food coloring, but test it first with a small amount of your vinegar. Since you will be working with the natural dye of the Lilac and an artificial dye of the food coloring the results might not turn out visually appealing, especially with purple being one of the more difficult colors to mix.


All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

Grama and the Fried Dandelions

I have fond memories of my Great Grandparents. When I was very young, maybe 4 years old, my G-Grandparents managed and lived in a large apartment building in Detroit. I remember going into the apartment basement with Papa Fred and watching, fascinated, as he shoveled coal into the huge furnace. Once when I was in the basement with Papa Fred the coal delivery truck came. I remember hearing the diesel motor and gears grinding and then coal came crashing down a shoot into the basement bin! And I also remember the casts of Dandelion Wine stacked in a dark corner and Papa Fred showing me the golden yellow liquid inside.

I remember Grama, always dressed in a "housedress" and apron, telling me about eating puff balls and picking wild mushrooms and huckleberries. I remember her livingroom with the fancy table lamps and the big windows that I could sit at and look way down at the traffic on the street. And I remember Grama telling me about frying dandelion blossoms.

Fried Dandelion Blossoms
Recipe by Big-Black-Dog in memory of my Great-Grandparents, Fred and Cora Will

15-20 large dandelion blossoms
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. hot Hungarian paprika
1 crushed garlic clove
Oil for frying

Mix up milk, flour, corn meal, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic. You can add a bit more milk if the batter is too thick. Holding the dandelion blossom by the green end dip in batter and place in the deep fryer careful not to crowd the dandelions as they fry. Fry until golden brown and put in a bowl lined with paper towels.

When I read about Sarah's blogging event Tastes to Remember, my Grama's Dandelions immediately came to mind. Thank you for bringing back that long forgotten memory.




All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

Making Tulip Vinegar

When I was younger I made many flavored oils and vinegars but as my life became more and more complicated priorities took over and some fun activities were eliminated. Why is that? Why do I eliminate fun from my life? As I glanced out my office window I knew rediscovering a tiny bit of too-long-forgotten fun was going to be easy and it was now in bloom.



Making flavored vinegars is a simple process and most of the work is waiting for the vinegar flavor to "bloom"! Here are my vinegars beginning to ferment and you can see the beginnings of a hint of color and of course you can also see a big Rottweiler butt in between the jars!






Four hours later...WOW, look at the color so far!





I used sterilized quart jars, 6% white vinegar, petals of a dozen or so red and yellow tulips and time. I let the vinegar ferment in my refrigerator 4 days before straining. Any infused vinegar must be kept refrigerated and used within 3 months.

As for taste...well that is difficult to describe. It is very pleasant and somewhat sweet like a drop or 2 of honey vinegar if there is such a thing! I will use the tulip vinegar in my Almost No-knead bread and salad dressings.








All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

The Dandelions are coming......

I finally did it! I finally made Dandelion Soup!

I was at my market and they had fresh Dandelion Greens for a very reasonable price and so I snatched some and made soup today. I used my Cream of Spinach Soup recipe which is one of our favorites.

I substituted the Dandelion Greens for the spinach and I added 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 TBL Dijon Mustard and 2 TBL balsamic vinegar. If you're adding the vinegar I would eliminate the optional white wine.

The first spoonful was bitter but with the second spoonful, the third and the fourth, the soup just got better and better. Yes, I would make Dandelion Soup again!


Cream of Spinach Soup
Recipe adapted from "Tested, Tried and True" by the Flint (MI) Junior League

4-5 Green Onions, chopped clear to the top
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 Box of Frozen Spinach
1/4 cup Butter
1/4 cup of Flour
2 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup light cream

Optional: 1/4 cup dry white wine

Saute onion, celery, and spinach in butter until tender. Stir in flour, cook gently. Add chicken stock, while stirring. Bring to boil. Simmer 15-20 minutes. Place in blender or emerse hand held blender into pot to blend vegetables smooth. Mix egg yolk and cream and add to soup. Add wine if desired and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Any vegetable or mixed vegetables may be substituted for spinach.

Sorry no picture tonight.


All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog