Maple Syrup: a local discovery

Did you know that maple syrup can come from any maple tree - even the ones outside of Vermont and Canada?!?  Well, apparently the answer is yes, it can.

I recently discovered a local farm that makes maple syrup and since we've been on a pancake kick lately, I planned a little field trip. (I should really learn my husband's whole-grain pancake recipe and share it.  It's that good!)

Here's what I learned.

Any maple tree can make maple syrup.  Even the one in our front yard (!) but it takes a lot of sap to make syrup.  From a hard maple tree it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.  It takes 60 gallons from a soft maple... so much for the one in my front yard.

It takes many hours and even up to days (Little House on the Prairie style) to reduce it down that far.  The farm where we went recently got a new "oven," which reduced their boiling time to only about 5 hours.

Maple syrup tastes different depending on where and how the tree is grown.  It's kind of like wine.  I wouldn't call myself a connoisseur of maple syrup (or of anything really!) but this stuff was delicious.  It tastes a little like caramel.  Yum!

And, yes, it's already half gone!

Oh, and it's cooooold when the sap flows!!  Temperatures need to be freezing over night and just above freezing during the day.  Once that fluctuation in temperatures changes so does the sap and the "season" is over.
 
What local treasures are waiting for you just outside your back door?  

Peace,

Stacey

Sprouts!

It's still cold here in the Midwest but we're already dreaming about Spring at our house!  

Every year we plant a garden in our tiny yard but this year we've decided to try something new.  We're attempting to grow our plants from seeds.  Yep, seeds.  All of our plants!  From seeds.  Not just the peas and marigolds like other years but the broccoli, peppers, and tomatoes too.

Who knows if we'll succeed but we're excited right now.

The plan was to use empty toilet paper rolls to grow the seedlings but even after saving them for months, we didn't have many.  I ended up buying one of those peat cell trays and some organic seed starting mix to (hopefully) give our heirloom seeds a boost.

Someone thought it would be exciting to try to grow a monster-sized fruit this summer.  Off we grow!

Have you ever grown your garden from seed?  Feel free to pass along any tips you might have. (Please.)

Peace,

Stacey

Roasted Pecans - Super EASY!!

I referenced this in the comments of my Easy Granola recipe so I thought I'd just make a post out of it so here's my "recipe" for roasted pecans.  I say "recipe" because it's not much of a recipe and virtually no cooking skills are required!  Seriously.  Here goes.

First, find some local pecans.

Mine were still in the shell so my next step was to shell them.  Your fingers might be luckier.

Next, spread them on an unlined baking sheet.  Make sure none of the pecans are overlapping each other.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, flip pecans, respread so none overlap, and bake for 2 more minutes.

Enjoy!

These are delicious warm so I just bought 10 more pounds to have enough to enjoy and enough to freeze.  I like to use these frozen pecans in baked goods until the next season.

What's your favorite pecan recipe?

Peace,

Stacey

31 Days of Green Little Things: Buy Natural Clothes

Welcome back to my 31 Days of Green Little Things!  This is my place to talk about the little things that I do to help the environment.      

Remember that trip I just took to Wyoming?  Well, I needed new socks.  I needed short, ankle socks that I could wear with my trail/hiking shoes.  I knew I needed them because when we went hiking last December in Puerto Rico, the socks I had were “quitters.”  (“Quitters” is Mr. Green Stuff’s name for socks that no longer stay up.)  Less than a mile into the rainforest, my socks were lost somewhere near the arch of my foot.  Nowhere near my heel!  My options were to go without socks or keep pulling them back up every 5 minutes.  Obviously, I needed new socks.

The problem with needing new socks is that it’s really hard to find any without synthetic material these days.  (The fact that I forgot I needed them until two days before our trip didn’t help either.)  I wanted socks made out of natural material so I searched all over town.  I really wanted wool or organic cotton, but I was willing to settle for anything without polyester/plastic.  This was hard.  Impossibly hard.  Here’s what I ended up buying:

Cute, huh?

I usually avoid big brands and logos whenever possible but these were the best option.  It turns out they are made with 80% cotton AND made in the US.  That was as close to a win as I could get.  The rest had a least 50% synthetic fabric and had to cross an ocean to get to my local store.

That’s when I remembered why I hadn’t ever gotten around to buying new socks.  The options sucked!  And now that it’s getting cooler around here, I’m noticing that almost all my socks are in need of replacement.  I’m sure my yoga students secretly laugh when they notice that the heels of my socks are transparent.  My plan is to buy these:

www.maggiesorganics.com

They are organic, made in the US, and even in my color scheme.

Anyway, to wrap up this post, I try to buy the most natural clothing I can find... and only when I need something.  Then when I make the best decision available at the time, I try not to feel guilty about the fact that it wasn’t “perfect.”  Remember this about the little things not the guilty things. ;)

Next time you (really) need something, search for natural materials.  Let me know what you find!

Peace,

Stacey

To follow other "31 Days" journeys, check out The Nester.  She's hosting this party.  Thanks for the motivation to join this year.
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