Being a resident of Vermont, I thought it important to note the beginning of sugaring season (the making of maple syrup). Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the United States. And, many people are getting ready to tap their maple trees. Maple trees release their sap in the springtime, usually March to April. Trees are tapped by drilling a hole and inserting a spout to catch the sap in a bucket or pipeline. A new tap hole must be made each year. Most healthy trees heal their old tap wounds within three years. The sap "runs" when the temperatures fall below freezing at night and then thaws during the day. In Vermont, there are four grades of maple syrup that you can purchase: Fancy, Grade A Medium Amber, Grade A Dark Amber, and then there is Grade B which is the darkest, and in my opinion, the tastiest! A large group of sugarmaples is called a "sugarbush". And, the building that the maple syrup is produced is called a "sugarhouse". Forty gallons of sap is gathered to make one gallon of maple syrup. The sap is boiled down to make syrup (which is why you see all of the firewood in the photo). When the trees have made buds, the time to sugar has stopped. The syrup will become very bitter to taste.
8:37 PM
8:34 AM
We had a really great time over the weekend. On Saturday morning we went to see the house. I took some photos which you can see by clicking on my photo link. We are really looking forward to moving in and making it our home.
After checking in on the house, we drove over to Ma and Pa's house. Pa took us sledding for most of the afternoon, (also, see sledding adventure photos on my photo link) which was a bunch of fun. Afterwards he made us homemade pizza, which, by the way, there is none better. It is always delicious!
On Sunday Blake and I tried out our new snowshoes. We loved it. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and perfect for getting outside to enjoy some fresh air. Pa joined us a little later for some more sledding. I don't think I have been sledding in at least 10 years, and we all had such a great time.
Ma didn't get to enjoy the outdoor adventures, since she is fighting off the tail end of a cold. Hopefully next time she can go snowshoeing with us. Sunday night we were spoiled with some more good food... homemade lasagna. It was really tasty. Blake and I really enjoyed ourselves, and are looking forward to doing some more snowshoeing really soon!!
7:27 PM
On Saturday, Blake and I are planning on driving up to see our new house. The builder thought they were going to be making some good progress this week. Last weekend we went up and found that they had put in most of the insulation and installed the fireplace. This week they were going to be working on some plumbing, drywall and maybe some of the siding. We're hoping that things continue to move along and that it's finished on time. If not, I'm strongly considering camping out on the front lawn. Only kidding.
After checking on the house we are going to drive over to Glover, VT to visit Blake's mom and step dad (a.k.a. "ma and pa"). Pa just bought this really cool sled http://hammerheadsled.com/ so we're going to go take it for a test run. We also plan on doing some snowshoeing, so we can make good use of this ridiculous amount of snow that we have right now. I hope to come back with some great photos to share. Have a great weekend!!
8:22 PM
I'm not really sure what is happening to me... This all started when I joined a gym back in September. I have never belonged to a gym before. I have always found alternative methods of exercise. When I joined, I set up goals, and stayed motivated with new challenges. I was pretty much hooked right from the beginning. I liked feeling stronger, and I liked making a new "personal best." I liked the feeling of being a little sore the next day. But now... often times I feel I must beat the person that is on either the treadmill or the elliptical next to me. This is great for getting a good workout, I've just never seen this side of myself before. There was one guy in particular who always seemed to be on the elliptical at the same time as me. I always had to go faster than him, then he would speed up, and on it went. On the treadmill, I am never satisfied until I am running faster than the person next to me. Yesterday on the elliptical, as I was having one of these little "competitions" the guy next to me was totally supporting his upper body on the bars. So, I'm thinking to myself, "yeah buddy, I can move my legs really fast too if I'm resting half of my weight on the bar!! Wimp!!" Obviously I am not always the winner of my own competition. I don't know if these people are aware I am so intent on outdoing them. Honestly, I hope not. It will be good when Spring arrives. I can go for a run outside, and take an occasional day off from the gym. But, for now, at least I'm getting good exercise. Maybe tomorrow these guys will be at the gym: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NINJQ5LRh-0
7:25 AM
As much as I am looking forward to giving up the city life for the country life, I will miss living only a few short blocks from Great Harvest Bread Company. Although this is a (gasp!) chain, I don't think we've ever bought a loaf of bread and been disappointed. They bake their bread from scratch every day, no mixes or frozen doughs. They also mill their own whole wheat fresh every day. One of the things I love most about this place is that right when you walk in, someone offers you a slice of bread. You get to pick from any of the breads they are offering that particular day, and they give you a pretty generous slice. Often times, the loaf of bread you buy is still nice and warm from the oven. Mmmm... I love warm bread. I love the smell, the taste, and I even love creating my own. Some of our favorite Great Harvest flavors include: Pumpkin Swirl, Farmer's White, Dakota Wheat, Apple Cheddar, Santa Fe Cornbread and Cinnamon Swirl. Is your mouth watering yet? http://greatharvest.com
8:34 AM
Ok, so Blake has had these concert tickets for "The Pink Floyd Experience" for a couple of months now. I have to admit, I wasn't really too keyed up about it. I like Pink Floyd, don't get me wrong, but I felt I was going to this concert mainly for Blake. That's just what couples do. Then, when I find a nice ballet I'd like to attend, he just can't say no. Only kidding. Anyway, last night as we were having dinner before the show I asked "So, what's the deal, this band just sings Pink Floyd songs, or what?" He informed me that this is a group of musicians who try to bring the audience the complete Pink Floyd experience: the music, the sound and the lights. This is, in fact, a very talented group of musicians. They are extremely talented with an awesome lead vocalist. And, a great light show to boot! One of my favorite parts of the show was this giant, air-filled, remote-controlled pig that they released into the audience. It just flew around above our heads for the last part of the show. To my surprise, it was a really fun evening, and we both really enjoyed the show. http://www.thepinkfloydexperience.net/
8:48 AM
What a relaxing Saturday morning...NOT!! This neighbor, who lives across the street was dubbed "the psycho" shortly after we moved in. She's always outside screaming. Screaming at her husband, screaming at her kid... always screaming. This morning, as I was sitting here dreaming up a nice little story for my blog, I heard someone come inside downstairs and start pounding on the doors. At first I didn't go down, thinking something was going on with the neighbors downstairs. But, the pounding continued. So, down I went, opened the door and this woman is standing there pointing her finger at me and yelling "My car is stuck!! Is that your truck over there? You need to move it right now, I'm going to be late for work!! There's a parking ban in Burlington, I'm going to call the cops!! You need to move it right NOW!!" I calmly replied, why don't you just relax, and ask me to move my vehicle? Of course, this pissed her right off and she started yelling again. I went upstairs and got Blake and explained to him what had happened. I said, there's no point in trying to talk with this woman, she's just crazy!! I was just going to go down and move the truck, but then I started to get angry. How dare this woman come INSIDE my house and start screaming at me? Blake went outside, she immediately started screaming at him, threatening to call the cops, and stating that she was going to sue him. Blake's like "okay, whatever..." (you wierdo). Then, she starts yelling to him about the parking ban. Blake says "what about all of these other cars that are parked in the street?" She says "they're not in my way!!" Oh yeah, she also called him an atheist because of this "Alien" symbol he has on his truck. This whole time she is making a complete scene in front of the entire neighborhood in the presence of her 8 year old daughter. The cops came, of course she just claimed to be a "poor woman in distress". Blake moved his truck so a neighbor could help get her out of her driveway. The police officer explained that the parking ban is not in effect, and that it is perfectly okay for his truck to be parked there. I think she was just pissed because she was stuck in her driveway. Blake wasn't actually blocking her in any way. This whole experience has made me very grateful that we are... MOVING!! Now, back to my relaxing Saturday...
10:52 AM
Sheeba wants to be famous, so I promised her I would put her picture on my blog. This is her new fleece bed that she got for Christmas. It's a whopping 14 degrees outside, but it feels like 3 degrees with the wind chill. I'd like to be curled up in a fleece bed, too!!
For Christmas Sheeba also got some homegrown catnip - grown by Blake's boss and his wife. She goes nuts for this stuff. She knows where we keep it, so every time you open this particular cupboard, she jumps in and starts looking for it. I told Blake that when she runs out, we're going to have to contact her dealer for some more or things might start to get ugly.
The snow looks so pretty outside. I'm planning on taking some more photos this weekend, which I will post. I ran a couple of errands today, and I will say it is a bit of a challenge getting around. The snowbanks are so high that it is difficult to see around them, and they also make the streets much narrower than usual. But, everyone seems to be in good spirits, despite the recent challenges. Everyone stay warm!!!
9:33 AM
Brrr!! Yesterday we got 25 inches of snow all in one day. As you can imagine, many of the area businesses shut down early and the roads were an absolute mess. Blake (being the wonderful fiance that he is) let me drive his truck to work and he drove my car. Well, he barely made it home. There are "parking bans" here in Burlington which means that when the weather is bad, you are not allowed to park in the street. It took the neighbor across the street over 6 hours to get his cars moved from the street into the driveway. Blake helped him shovel, then pretty much the whole neighborhood was trying to help. At 11:00pm when I went to bed, they were still at it. Thankfully we didn't have any romantic Valentine's Day plans other than staying home and making a nice dinner. Although, on the news there were some people dining downtown who had skied to their dinner destination.
I am enjoying being home today, and decided to make a pot of stew. I got the recipe from one of my Moosewood Collective cookbooks, and it's pretty tasty stuff.
Tilghman Island Stew
3 T vegetable oil
2 c chopped onion
1 T minced garlic
4 bay leaves
2 t dried thyme
1 c sliced celery
2 T Old Bay Seasoning
1 1/2 c canned tomatoes with juice (14.5 ounce can)
4 c peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
6 c water or vegetable stock
4 c chopped kale
2 c stemmed and halved green beans
2 c fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 c chopped red bell pepper
2 c sliced zucchini
1 T soy sauce
2 T lemon juice
salt and pepper
Garnish: grated cheddar cheese and chopped parsley or scallions
Note: After chopping the sweet potatoes, immerse them in water right away to prevent discoloration. Drain before adding to the stew.
In a soup pot, warm the oil briefly on medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaves and thyme, then cover and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 c water to prevent sticking, if necessary. Add the celery and Old Bay Seasoning and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and water or vegetable stock. Increase the heat to a moderate boil. Stir in the kale and green beans. When the stew returns to a simmer, stir in the corn and cook until the green beans are just tender. Add the bell peppers and zucchini and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until all of the vegetables are tender. Stir in the soy sauce and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
Serve topped with grated cheese and fresh parsley or scallions.
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