Homemade Maple Syrup

Homemade maple syrup:

Ingredients:




1 c brown sugar

¾ c water

1 tbsp of maple flavoring

Step 1: Combine sugar and water. Bring to a rolling boil

Step 2: Immediately lower temperature to simmer and simmer on low, uncovered for fifteen

Step 3: Add maple flavoring. We used 2 tbsp of maple flavoring per our taste buds.

The truth about the recipe:





I doubled this recipe and it made enough to fill an adorable little pitcher that is perfectly sized for little hands. (0.5 L in size…well to be truthful, it filled it almost to the lip for pouring)

Notes from the kitchen:

Monday, March 4, 2013

So, Jason’s first day in the field went something like this….other than glass in my foot, a broken tea cup, a broken coffee cup, soaked dog food, surprise visits from long lost friends….I cleaned the house, cooked, and it was absolutely….PEACEFUL! Totally a first for me I have been a military spouse all of my adult life and cannot wait for the day that Jason is out of the ARMY. I am enjoying having a man in the house by six each night, dinner on the table, and someone to snuggle with during movies….I like hearing his soft snores and feeling his chest against my back, his hands cradling my body…and truthfully….even though it’s only four in the afternoon and he wouldn’t be coming home until nearly six, if it were a normal work day, I already miss him. I know that tonight he won’t be present for dinner, I know that he won’t be here to tuck in the kids, or snuggle down and talk to me about the goings on in each of our days. I miss him. So simple and yet, so very, very complex. I missed him so much the last time he was in the field and even though I’ve done innumerable training detachments, field exercises, and deployments in my previous life…..all of which I did standing on my head and not sweating too awful much….the simple peace that Jason brings to our world makes me miss him all the more when he is absent from home. His quiet presence fills up the spaces in our lives and his quick wit and ready smile make the laughter and joy flow so easily from the hearts of Preston, Alex, and even myself. I find myself laughing deeper, longer, and fuller….so here’s my dirty secret and probably why I was a fat kid in a former life….I cook when I am stressed, I cook when I‘m sad, I cook when I‘m happy….sometimes I cook and have no real reason for it at all…maybe this cookbook adventure is a mistake, my jeans may hate me at the end of this journey…but truthfully….I am already soothed by the sounds of a low simmer on the stove and the scent of syrup wafting through my sunny, yellow kitchen. I just wish Caro mio were home to enjoy it with us.

Preston is standing beside me, chattering away…asking questions faster than I can answer and I swear it’s like I have two brains going at one time. I am answering questions, typing, and keeping a third eye on the syrup. Preston is questioning the smell, since I’ve not added the flavoring yet, it doesn’t quite smell like syrup but still manages to be pleasant enough to the senses. We decided to go ahead and try this maple syrup recipe because it only contains things that are either easy to acquire or ingredients that are already in your kitchen. For that reason alone it was worth a try, but still….you find me a better tasting syrup recipe that is cheaper and has less ingredients and I’ll tip my hat to you. Alexandra, my daughter, better known as K.k. thanks to my sweet, little nephew, Lane, wanders in and out of the kitchen. She sniffs the mixture on the stove and gives her approval and for the third time in a week puts in her now favorite movie, Julie & Julia. I’m not sure how much more I can watch this movie….but for those of you with kids, you know they will exhaust a dvd if they truly love it….since it’s funny and based in Paris and New York…two places that I’m dearly in love with…(More Paris than New York) I think I can keep dealing.

The kids are keeping an eye on the clock and notified me that their favorite syrup is almost ready for flavoring…..and they remind me that we are still on the hunt for a great cookbook….anyone got any good ideas?

K.k. wants Julia Child’s book Mastering the Art of French Cooking….but I don’t know if boning a duck, trussing a chicken, or lobster are dishes I want to attempt in a kitchen of pint sized gourmets….but clearly if we get brave we will all be wearing aprons and joining in a chorus of Bon Apetit!

-Morgana-

-K.k.’s Korner-





Well, I stirred the sugar and water together and it looked like brown water. I wanted to taste the sugar so much and mom said, “Well, Julia Child, dip a finger into the sugar bag and take a small lick off your finger.” So, I did. Brown sugar tastes delicious! I kept stirring the mix during the part where Preston added the maple flavoring. It was really fun to make homemade maple syrup with Mom and Preston. I wish Dad wasn’t in the field, so he could help….he and mom had to do this recipe three different times before they got it figured out the first time we used it. Mom got so mad at the syrup recipe she almost threw the whole pot out and Dad saved the syrup and we ate it with home made buttermilk pancakes…..

　



-Preston’s Point of View-





I stirred it, did the measuring of ingredients and added the flavor. It smelled like crap until the flavoring was added and it tasted yucky until the flavoring was put in….DON’T TASTE TEST UNTIL THE MAPLE FLAVORING IS PUT IN….you will hate it!!!! Now that it is in the fridge cooling down and getting ready for tomorrow for pancakes. I loved cooking with Mom while we do the blog. I still like mine and Jason’s snack….flour tortillas dipped in medium heat salsa…but I like making the blog with mom….I just hope the syrup turns out good.

Special Messages to the

Grandmas and Grandpas:

I had fun cooking in the kitchen with mom and I miss you guys so much. I hope I can see you all in July on my birthday. Love, Preston

　

Miss you Grammie Grams and Gramps and Grandma Judy and Grandpa Dennis….Love, K.K.