Coupon Code CM21
We created a new Valentine’s Day Gift Collection for you to show how sweet you think someone is! We’ve included a squeezably cute Honey Bear and Gift Box of Maple Hearts & Bears. Add in Pure Beeswax Candles to create a warm cozy atmosphere and Pure Beeswax Hand Cream and Lip Balm.
I originally found this recipe in a Vermont Maple Cookbook, but have modified it slightly over time to make it my Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake. This is a very easy coffee cake that goes nicely for a potluck. I have also found that it taste better the second day after the berries and maple have…
I work in the Dairy Industry as a milk tester. I have a circuit of about 35 dairy farms in Northern Vermont and parts of New Hampshire. I travel to each farm once a month, collect milk samples from each cow (from 30 cows to 1500 cows) and do data entry. The hours are not easy – chores start anywhere from 3am and on and I have to drive to get there. On the plus side – I drive to work on back roads through some of the prettiest countryside you ever will set your eyes on. And the people – oh those resilient farmers.
One Easter weekend years ago I was relief testing. I was sent to Sutton Vermont. To get there I drove by Crystal Lake took a right under an old train trestle and climbed up a hill. That’s Sutton – a series of tall rolling hills with old farms dotting the landscape. The village has streets leading here and there with houses tucked every which way. It reminds me of a rabbit warren with little nests tucked in.
The People
The farm I went to was an old old bank barn right next to the road in a narrow ravine with a brook running along the other side of the road. The oldest part of the barn opened towards the road, you walked through the milk room, past the stainless steel milk tank and up a set of stairs. The cow stalls were much like the town itself – tucked away here and there with walkways connecting them. They were a pleasant older couple, there was a teenage grand kid or two helping out now and again.
Conversation passed on where I lived, how the cows were doing, and of course the weather. I remember sharing a few of our favorite maple recipes with the Mrs. ( it was sugaring season). Her family favorite she said was Maple Biscuits. “start with a large baking dish, add a stick of butter and pour in the syrup, drop your biscuits and bake. Well you had me at butter and syrup!
We finished for the evening and I returned the next morning, as they checked both the evening and morning milking. The morning passed much the same as the night before. It was to be my one and only trip to this old hill farm as there regular tester was returning and they retired not too many years later.
The Memory
We finished in the early morning light. The sun just coming over the hill to the farm, the water tumbling over the rocks in the brook across the road. Daffodils surrounding the old barn and house. They were still in the barn finishing the last of the chores before breakfast. I loaded the back of my car with my supplies then opened the drivers door. There sat a glass quart jar filled with Maple Syrup and a yellow plastic Easter egg perched on top. Oh the quiet goodness of those old hill farmers.
Those were the best Maple Biscuits I’ve ever made.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Credit: 1998 Vermont Maple Festival Cookbook
My son should be a Smurf as much as he eats blueberries 🫐 I started planting Blueberry bushes for him over ten years ago. Today there’s enough for him and a few left for the rest of us 😆 This is a recipe I’ve modified over the years – you can make it in the…
This morning I slipped on a long sleeved shirt before heading to work – just a reminder to savor summer as much as I can. We still have plenty of hot days left this season so try the” Vermonter ” – a yummy maple milkshake! My other summertime favorite is Maple Mint Sun Tea. Refreshing but not too sweet! Recipe coming soon! Here’s a quick rundown on farm news this summer!
This summer we’ve been working on cleaning up the farm and the sugarhouse – it’s it crazy how fast piles accumulate?! We’re in the process of creating a 3rd camp site – this one to make it easier for even the largest RV’s to park here. Did you know you can stay at the farm? We use both Hipcamp and Harvest Host. We love having visitors!
Now that nesting season is over for the migratory songbirds, we have begun cutting a small section of woods between our place and Dad’s. The goal is to add 2-300 more taps. We lost a lot of taps (and trees) from the tent forest caterpillars a few years ago so we need to add on a few. The trees being cut will primarily become firewood with a few logs that we can sell to the local mills. The remaining trees will have more room to expand and grow. Our cutting procedures are in line with recommendations from our forester in accordance with our forest management plan. We are consciously working to maintain a healthy eco system while we produce high quality maple syrup!
The toils of Springtime are paying off – we’ve had an abundant crop of blueberries 🫐 – love Blueberry Muffins with Maple Crumb topping! The veggies are coming fast now and canning and freezing will begin this week. The meat birds are processed and in the freezer. The layers are in full production. I also seem to have an abundant crop of pet call ducks 🤔. At least they’re cute!
The bees are doing great this year! We did have a period where I stayed away from them – the wild fires from out west affected our air quality and the poor bees were upset. They told me so one day – 41 times – yes I got stung 41 times while requeening one of my hives. Luckily only one bothered my on my hand – the rest were gone within days! This year I successfully requeened a hive and I’ve created 2 “nucs”. A nuc is a new colony of bees that will become a production hive next year if they make it though the winter. I’m using local queens to create a hardy bee colony that’s adapted to the farm. Currently in at 3 production hives and 2 nucs and an ongoing learning experience. Bees are fascinating creatures- the more I learn the more amazing they become!
