Getting Sappy Makes me Happy

I love maple syrup. My pancakes become rafts floating in a carmel colored pool of sweet sticky goodness. You can keep your jams and other fruit-flavored syrups. I'll take mine with maple, thank-you. Call me old-fashioned or plain. I don't mind. To me, nothing tastes as good on pancakes as pure Michigan Maple Syrup. Yum!

Another breakfast use for maple syrup that I enjoy is putting it on my oatmeal with a little brown sugar. You can probably call me old-fashioned for eating regular oatmeal, too.

Did you know maple syrup was the sweetener of choice for Michigan's Native Americans? They had figured out how to boil it down and concentrate the sweetness. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. So, in case you thought you could go out in your yard and tap a couple of your maples to save some money, you better think again. You need a large grove of sugar maple trees (called a sugar bush) to collect enough sap for making maple syrup.

Here are some maple syrup facts courtesy of the Michigan Maple Syrup Producers Association:

• Michigan produces about 80,000 gallons of maple syrup each year
• Michigan ranks 6th in the nation in maple syrup production
• Maple syrup is one of the few agricultural products where demand exceeds supply
• When trees bud out the sap becomes bitter, this is what makes production cease
• Pure Michigan maple syrup has 50 calories per tablespoon and is fat-free

Hartwick Pines is holding their annual Maple Syrup Day this Saturday, March 25. Read about it in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Read about a Milford family that makes their own maple syrup in a suburban setting.

Scalawags Whitefish and Chips - Best Fish Ever

Lansing should count itself lucky. They are home to the first Scalawags Whitefish and Chips restaurant south of Petoskey. If you have ever had the privilege of eating at one of the Scalawags restaurants, you know what I mean. The first location was Mackinaw City. The first time (and every time after) I ate there the fish tasted so good and fresh that you would have swore that the fish jumped out of the lake and landed in the fryer. I must confess that this testimony is coming from someone who really doesn't like fish.

No, really. I don't. This is the only place that I will go out to eat and order fish. Ask my wife, she will tell you that I am not a big fish fan. That is how good Scalawags whitefish tastes.

I try and eat at Scalawags at least once per year. That used to mean I would have to at least go as far north as Petsoskey. That is no longer true. I only need to steer my way over to the town I called home for a few years – Lansing. Well, okay, the restaurant is located in Okemos which is a suburb of Lansing.

Technicalities aside, if you are ever in Lansing, Petoskey, Cheboygan, Mackinaw City, or potentially Traverse City (no official word yet, but they might put one in there) you have to give Scalawags Whitefish and Chips a try. You can usually have dinner for two for under $20.

Check out Scalawags Whitefish and Chips at their website. They are one of the few restaurants I have seen that actually have prices for their menu items posted online. There are also sections with customer comments, maps to their various locations, and if you are interested in bringing Scalawags to your town – an application to purchase a franchise.

Paczki Day!

Today is Fat Tuesday, but in my world I refer to it as Paczki (pronounced poonch-key) Day. Whether you go for the authentic Polish versions or the doughnut-like version you are heading for some serious calories. A five-ounce paczki weighs in at over 400 calories with 25 grams of fat. When I used to work at a CPA firm in Lansing, the partners would spring for a ton of paczkis for the entire firm. The first year I worked there when they did that I must have ate about five of them by the end of my twelve hour day (tax season, you know).

Well, I am off in search of paczkis. I'll just be eating one this year. My stomach can't take it like it used to back in the day. :)

Pasties, the U.P. Treat

Most of us that reside in or used to reside in Michigan are familiar with the pasty. It is a staple of Michigan's Upper Peninsula popularized by Finnish miners working in the copper mines. When traveling the U.P. (or Yoop, as some refer to it) you can't pass through the tiniest of towns without seeing a sign offering up fresh homemade pasties. Until recently, there has never really been another food product to tag along with the pasty phenomenon. Wheat Carlson, from Munising, is working on changing that. He and his business partners have developed some pasty products that include – the Fudgie Pastie, a pillow shaped like a pasty, and “Toivo and Eino's Finnish Really Secret Pasty Sauce."

I have had pasties topped with gravy, sour cream, and once with nothing at all. Some folks prefer ketchup on their pasty, I haven't tried that one. I am looking forward to trying the pasty sauce. The sauce is thicker than ketchup and a bit spicy, but not hot. It is said to taste great on other foods such as french fries and hamburgers in addition to pasties.

You can order the pasty sauce online as well as t-shirts and other pasty-themed products at PastyPower.com.

It is Hot Cocoa Season Again

Hot Cocoa Season arrived today in case you weren’t aware. It is the 1st of December and a gentle snow is washing over the landscape. Christmas music is everywhere on the radio and nothing sounds as good as fixing a cup of hot cocoa and reading a good book. Sure, I’ve been drinking hot cocoa since the first chill hit the air in October, but that didn’t really count. The conditions must be just right for the official Hot Cocoa Season to begin. For one thing, there needs to be snow on the ground for the kids to play in. They will need a cup of hot chocolate to warm up with when they come back in the house dripping slush and shedding their layers of winter clothing.

I need to head out to the store today and pick up some more cocoa mix. I already went through my current supply. I suppose I could try out some different recipes for making your own cocoa mix that I have found on the internet. I am thinking about trying Laura’s Hot Cocoa Mix. Head on over to their site and check it out, maybe you will try it too.

Oh, don’t forget – if you truly want to celebrate opening day of Hot Cocoa Season you had better make sure you have a good supply of marshmallows and home baked cookies :)

Cheers!