Maple Syrup

In our neck of the woods, it is now the season...the sap is starting to flow!!

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Maple Syrup...what a wonderful product...you can put it on your pancakes and waffles, make salad dressing with it and bake with it!!  In most of my Mom's muffin recipes, she has substituted equal parts of white sugar for maple syrup and they always taste great!! It's a much healthier sweet than white sugar...it has lots of great minerals in there! (I'll share a muffin recipe another day)

Usually around spring break is when the sap starts to flow, the sugar bushes are open for school visits and to the public. Our spring break this year was super warm and I would assume really got the sap running!

There are a couple of Sugar Bushes close by to us that we have visited with Little Miss's class as well as, a family. Depending on which one we visit, there is a free self guided tour, or a paid one that takes you through the history of Maple Syrup with all these different little stations. Each place has somewhere you can sit and eat pancakes with their syrup and order other breakfast items. It's a nice Saturday morning out!

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I had this salad at a friend's place quite some time ago and thought I'd share it with you!!


Corinne's Maple Pecan Salad


Pecans:
Heat 1 cup of pecans in a large, non-stick fry pan on medium heat for a couple of minutes...add 2-3 tbsp of maple syrup over pecans and make sure all are coated...continue to heat until syrup evaporates (pecans will have a powdery look to them). Cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

Salad:
Spring mix, clean as much as you need
Dried sweetened cranberries, 1/2 to 1 cup depending on size of salad
Grated Asiago cheese, add enough to taste

Dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup oil (I like to use Grapeseed oil)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste

Wait to add the dressing until you are ready to serve to keep the greens crisp!

Enjoy!

More Please!!

My Mom came for a visit this past weekend and whipped up a homemade salad dressing for dinner one night...it was SO YUMMY!!  We ate it 3 nights in a row!  Call it pregnancy hormones if you want, but I licked my bowl clean couldn't get enough of it!!

On the 3rd night, I finally smartened up and had her show me how she made it...we adjusted as we went along, 'cause she usually just throws things together. She is one of those cooks that just makes it up as she goes or goes by 'it looks right' and tastes fantastic!!

So, it's no magic recipe, it's actually my Mom's, girlfriends caesar dressing, with our own 'changes'.  But for me it had so much flavour compared to my plain, old ranch. Plus it didn't have the raw egg that most homemade recipes do, which is fantastic for this pregnant Mama. It's not a hot one either...I remember my high school boyfriend's family recipe (super yummy as well), they LOVE garlic and it was a 'hot' one they always made...and I enjoyed it every time they made it...but this rendition is a little on the, maybe, sweeter side?? You'll have to try it yourself!!

 Like I said, call it pregnancy hormones, but I can see it being thrown together a couple times a week in this house!!

Home made Caesar Salad dressing

Here is what we did, you can adjust and add as your pallet tells you to!



Homemade Caesar Dressing
3/4 Mayonaise (we used Hellmans)

2 med. fresh crushed garlic
6 shots of Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp cider vinegar
2 tsp pure Maple Syrup (no Aunt Jemima in this recipe!)
4 shakes seasoned salt (we used Lawry's brand)
1 tbsp milk
1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese (we used the small hole on the grater and also used Asiago and liked it better, that nuttier flavour in the cheese)
Croutons (I like the 'lightly buttered' kind instead of adding pretend garlic or herbed ones)
Your favourite greens

Just add all the ingredients in a small bowl or mug even and mix up...we waited until it tasted right and then added the cheese.  Toss the dressing with your greens, enough to cover your lettuce as you like and then add your croutons accordingly. You can sprinkle some extra cheese on top of each bowl if desired!

Enjoy!

Comfort Food!

Just something quick that you can whip up and enjoy with the cool weather we're having!!

I made this yesterday and it turned out quite yummy!  It didn't look exactly like the picture, but the flavour was there!

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I think I had more pasta then what his 'box' had, because mine seemed a little drier than what his looks like...like his, I only used the salt, pepper and minced garlic...oh...and one of the times I salted, I used Lawry's Season Salt, just to see if it would add to the flavour. Plus, I am guilty for adding a bit of sugar to the tomatoe/beef part to help with the acidity a bit (my father in law will like that!  ;D).

Over all, it was definitely comfort food and I did have left overs to freeze for another day!

This is one I'd make again!

ENJOY!!

What comfort foods are you making?? Share them with my for a future blog!
muskokangirl@gmail.com

Peaches!

Peaches have finally arrived to the Niagara Region!  I have been away for a couple of weeks up north and now I'm home to find that the fruit stands everywhere have peaches!!
I think this is my favourite item that grows in Niagara...I think we usually get a good 4 weeks of all the different types of peaches before they are done. It usually doesn't matter what kind they are, they are just all delicious!!

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One type that you should try are the White Flesh Peaches...they have lighter flesh and taste, more like a honey taste to me...they are lovely. They usually look like this...

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So I brought home our 1st basket yesterday and we've already gobbled half of them...this is the little fruit stand that I like to buy from, it is closest to our house and they are always good!

I have been thinking about Peach muffins that my boss used to make at the cafe I worked at in highschool...it was a basic muffin recipe and then she would use what ever fruit was in season, plums, peaches, you name it...she always had delicious treats to serve!! I will try to locate it and share it with you!

I just found this recipe and think we may need to try it!!

Peaches and Cream Popsicles

What kinds of treats do you make with your peaches??!! Email me your favourites!!
muskokabailey@gmail.com