Skip to main content

Harvesting "Liquid Gold"

Image
By



Good morning everyone… it's been a busy weekend….Maine Maple Syrup weekend! ‘Tis the time to boil and boy did we boil! The kids and I pulled a wagon loaded with a trash can plus a 5 gal bucket of sap all in one run on Saturday. We set up the funky homemade sap evaporator and set to boiling. We boiled for two days and have rejoiced in the harvesting of our “liquid gold”. It seems to be a right of passage for us here in Maine. The snow is still all around our house as we live in the woods. The driveway is ankle deep in mud ,the songbirds are showing up at the feeder, ole man porky pine has taken up residence in one of the kids climbing trees and the sap is flowing….it’s these signs we get rejuvenated from. Knowing that winter has officially passed and spring is all around us. Most folks look for flowers….well ours will surface months from now….the sap gives us hope to hold us to the daffodils.

Another tradition we have here is pancake Sunday. Sawyer wanted to share with all you one of his favorite rccipes to go along with your choice of “liquid gold”…enjoy

Banana Cakes

Makes approx. twelve 4’ cakes

6 T. Butter
1 ½ c. flour
2 T. sugar
2 ½ t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
1 very ripe banana, peeled
1 c. milk
2 eggs
½ t. vanilla
liquid gold of your choice, for serving

Cut the butter into 3 equal parts. Melt two of the pieces in a pan and save the third part for cooking the pancakes. Mix in a bowl the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Mash the banana in a different bowl. Add the milk, eggs and vanilla to the banana. Then mix the dry mix to the banana mix. Batter should be a little lumpy. Spoon batter on griddle and cook until a few holes form on top of each pancake and flip. They should rise a little and turn golden brown. Serve hot with warm “liquid gold” syrup.
Enjoy!

Have a great day! Be well. Do good. Happy Sap Day!

Comments

Bill said…
Barry and Jen,
Just wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying reading your blog. Each entry gives me a little taste of life in Maine and a little insight into your warm and generous way of thinking. I'm glad that Sara is with you.
Fair winds to you,
Susan Andreatta
March 30, 2007 at 5:29 AM
Michele B said…
These pancakes are delicious! Try using a combination of wheat and white flour for a bit of crunch and more fiber. Yummmm!
April 4, 2007 at 8:45 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hail Mary

By
My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui...
28 comments
Read more

We are Nuts

By
Good morning everyone. Well I just had to say it before you did. Yes, we are truly nuts. Now we have gone and added one more adventure to our already full lives. As you can see she is some cunnin'. We have named her Colby. We had a sign... literally. We were in the car brainstorming names on the way to get her at WalMart (yes, you heard it right) and there at the Waterville exit was a sign for Colby College. Colby just happens to be dear Mary's alma mater. It is also the name of one of my favorite ledges in Jericho Bay, the Colby Pup. It just seemed to fit just like the way she came to us. Nothing about our Sunday was going to be different than any other except that I just happened to be helping a friend get her generator back in the barn while Jen and the kids met her new puppy Sherman. They fell in love... so easy to do. We called and there were had two pups from the same litter available... no commitments yet. We had been having the long family debate for weeks about the k...
11 comments
Read more

Galley Gadgets

By
Good morning everyone. As any of you who have sailed with me know I love gadgets. Creating new and easy ways of doing things is a fun challenge for me even if I am slow on the uptake. So here is a gadget I have tried before that I felt I should share with the universe. I am sure I am not the first person to think of this but, hey, this works slicker than greased owl droppings and it reeks just enough of red neck that the devil in me just has to laugh. We buy our peanut butter by the 9 lb. tub. The stuff we buy is that organic, all natural stuff with the hefty layer of oil on top when you open the lid. I have tried inverting the tub every few days to get the oil to work its way through but getting even consistency is still a challenge. Who hasn't got to the bottom of this kind of a peanut butter tub to find a layer of peanut butter cement? The mother of invention was not necessity. It was laziness as any of you who have tried to hand stir peanut butter will know. If you do not own a...
7 comments
Read more