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3/27/2025 0 Comments Back in the Saddle (March 6, 2025)
1/26/2025 1 Comment New Year 2025 - January Update
Farley and Oliver have been a big help as we prepare for this season, and we walk the lines almost every day. This is a good thing as we discovered a couple of trees that had fallen over on the original mainline, and several of the lateral lines that had been broken by deer running through them. This is the first year we have had deer issues, but the team tells me they are on top of it. I believe them, as they went out last night and ran the trails in the dark making sure the juvenile delinquent deer left the area.
With the help of my incredible wife, I promise to keep on top of the blogs this year! How sweet it is! (Thanks J.G.) Michael 2/22/2024 0 Comments 2024 Season Tapping has begun!We have had a very interested winter. In fact, we didn't experience true northern winter weather until this past month. The snow levels have been significantly lower than normal and the temperatures have been above normal many more days than not. As a result, we were able to get into the bush nearly a month sooner than normal. A few drops were recorded when Jennifer did our first tapping a couple weeks ago on February 6th (earliest tapping here ever!), but the trees are slow to wake up as we went into a deep freeze again just after that, so we haven't been collecting anything yet.
In other news, we welcomed a new boxer pup to the family this past winter. His name is Oliver and he has much to learn. Trail boss Farley has been showing him around the bush and getting to know his way around the sugar house. In the next few weeks, stay tuned for Maple updates and a short video update of all the Sugar House post-fire repairs! Thanks to many generous donations, we were able to complete most of these last fall. Happy mapleing! Michael & Jennifer Good morning!
How did the season wrap up? We did ok. Interesting this year as all our lines were on vacuum with the exception of one line of 10 taps, which were gravity fed to a barrel. The gravity line didn’t produce enough sap for 1 litre of syrup. The vacuum lines at least kept us average. So we have been able to fulfill all of our orders. We are now 5 weeks post fire and wrapping the season up. Syrup has all been bottled, and deliveries are still going out with most people having picked up their orders already, and a few to be shipped out today. Thank you everyone for your orders! We ran a fundraiser last week to help us rebuild the sugar house and had some amazing participation. As we finish cleaning up the equipment for the year, we will also be cleaning out the sugar house in preparation for the rebuild. The project will commence with putting plywood over the evaporator to protect it, replacing any and all melted electrical wire so that we may re-establish electrical to the building. Then removing all charred and compromised wood and steel. Replacing them with new materials. Rebuilding the cupola and facing with steel sheeting. A spark arrestor will be added to the chimney. There are a few improvements to the operation that we are intending to complete this summer, along with an expansion of the vacuum lines, and a transfer pump in the pump house to move sap up to the sugar house automatically. I will post here as we complete some of the projects and add video updates to the YouTube channel as well. Happy mapleing! Sincerely, Michael & Jennifer Welcome Back! We are not reinventing the wheel in this post. In fact, we are sharing an amazing recipe by American Chef Andrew Gruel. To put our twist on it, we are upgrading the Maple Syrup to "Michael's Smoke Infused Maple Syrup". Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Maple Butter 6 clices of bacon (center cut) par-cooked in an oven for 10 minutes at 350F 6 dry jumbo sea scallops avocado oil, salt, fresh cracked pepper (save until end) For the glaze: 1/2 cup Pure Maple Syrup 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth 4 tablespoons butter 1 lemon juiced and zested For complete instructions Visit: Andrew Gruel Turkey Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts with Maple Syrup
1 package turkey bacon 2 cans water chestnuts Michael's Smoke Infused Maple Syrup Wrap bacon slices (whole or half as needed) around each water chestnut. Hold in place with a toothpick. Place in baking dish and Bake @ 350F for 25-30 minutes until bacon is cooked. Remove from over, brush with Maple Syrup. Return to the oven for another 10min or until maple bubbles and becomes sticky! Remove from oven and Enjoy. But be careful - they're hot! Happy Mapleing, Michael photo credit: Karen Rankin Eating Well Looking for a new twist on an old favorite this summer?
Check out this fabulous salad that works great as a side dish or as a luncheon meal. Roasted Beet Salad with a Twist! Roasted garden beets, sliced Arugula or Spinach Layer with Local goat cheese Chopped walnuts Topped with broccoli sprouts Drizzle with Michael's Smoke Infused Maple Vinaigrette Smoke Infused Maple Vinaigrette 2 tbsp. Michael's Smoke Infused Maple Syrup 2 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil salt and pepper to taste Add to mason jar. Shake well. Pour over salad and Enjoy! Happy Mapleing, Michael Good morning! I was supposed to post this last night, but was so involved in bottling syrup that I didn’t get to it. We have announced the silent auction, https://www.michaelsmaple.ca/syrup-silent-auction.html Beginning May 1 you have the opportunity to bid on one of 10 Limited edition Michael’s Maple smoke infused maple syrup. The auction runs through Friday May 5th and we will be updating the top 10 bid list daily. So, as an added bonus, we are sharing 5 days of Smokey Maple recipes! We would also love to hear what recipes you enjoy making with your Maple Syrup! A shout out to my sister Miriam for helping kick off the recipe challenge with a drink suggestion. Jennifer has now perfected the Smoke infused Maple and we will be trying more recipes this week!
I will also be posting a recipe for another main dish, a salad, and what meal would be complete without a desert? Jump on the wagon and share your ideas! I am looking forward to hearing all the ways you use maple! Happy mapleing! Sincerely, Michael & Jennifer |
AuthorMichael & Jennifer - Your personal Maple Farmers Archives
March 2025
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