March=Maple

Today’s post may be a bit local but we need some maple sweetness to help with these cold New England temperatures.  And if you love to buy local, 'tis the season to take a back road trek. Make time for a visit to one of the many Massachusetts sugarhouses. Here’s where you can find the skinny on the locations and hours.

Okay, so many of us New Englanders have been there, done that with the sugarhouse demonstration of the maple sugar process. You're looking for something more.  There’s tremendous local effort put into celebrating this season and it’s not a long stretch.  Don’t miss out on this fun activity happening locally in this month of March.  You can find maple events taking place on the back roads of rural New England villages and towns.  Here in Massachusetts, there’s a Maple Recipe Contest and many other festivities to keep all things sweet. Interested in which Massachusetts craft brewers use maple syrup? You can click on this pdf. 

We use maple syrup in many recipes from marinades to barbeque sauce to vegetables or baked goods. Here’s an easy recipe to try with maple syrup. If you aren’t making your own homemade salad dressings, this simple concoction should convince you it is well worth it. We never buy bottled dressings. In this simple recipe, maple syrup takes the place of sugar plus it gives the greens a distinctive flavor. Click on this archived post - this maple syrup dressing goes back to May 2010 but it’s one you can use now.

With spring flowers and gardens in a standstill, try your hand in the kitchen with maple syrup. Make your own homemade dressings so when fresh greens from your garden or local farm stand become available, you’ll be a salad dressing pro. 

March = Maple (Sugar Maples and maple syrup) to sweeten our food and beverages while we wait for spring.  As Tom Stoppard reminds us, “A healthy attitude is contagious but don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier.”  Spread the news about March = Maple. Pack up the wagon. It's syrup time again.

© Image of an Acer saccharum  (Sugar Maple) less a sap bucket by Ann Bilowz

If you like this blog, hope you check in for your daily share's worth of inspiration, design, and garden tips; always original, not cookie cutter and copied. Just like our design work, we strive for unique! Like our Facebook follow on Twitter or subscribe to the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Contact me direct at Annie You can follow with visuals on Pinterest and find us on LinkedIn and Houzz, too. Don’t forget Google+ where you can find us under Ann Bilowz and Bilowz Associates Inc.