Third Annual Locavore Dinner

locavore dinner setting

On a lovely late summer Sunday, Cheenius and Mr.Dr. Cheenius graciously hosted a group of enthusiastic locavores for the third annual Locavore Dinner. The first two dinners (recapped here and here) were incredible successes with our small group of ethical-foodie friends and we eagerly anticipated a third dinner. We were not disappointed!

locavore dinner scoring

The Locavore Dinner is not just a potluck; it’s a competition. Dishes were scored for localness again this year, but the math was simplified, due to Cheenius and her garden always winning the most-local awards:

  • 1 point if an ingredient came from within 100 miles
  • 2 points if an ingredient came from within 50 miles
  • 3 points if an ingredient came from Charlottesville/Albemarle County

In addition to Most Local, two Best Tasting awards were also up for grabs.

As in years past, entries were mostly veggie-based, with the notable exception of Mr. HP’s sausage, which we thought was a shoo-in for Most Local (gaming the system again–see our entry from last year)… until we saw that the point system would not grant full credit to an item from just over the Albemarle County line in Nelson.

locavore dinner appetizers

For appetizers, we enjoyed Annie’s bruschetta (made from local tomatoes purchased at Integral Yoga), truffled goat cheese from Caromont Farm, homemade homegrown tomato jam that I received as an instructor gift when I gave an entomophagy presentation to a local environmental group, deviled eggs from Cheenius’ own chickens, and bread purchased from the Charlottesville City Market and MarieBette Bakery.

locavore dinner dishes

The main event featured Mr. HP’s sausage from Rock Barn; roasted potatoes with rosemary, both from Cheenius’ garden; and Roger’s sweet carrot and apple dish, with carrots and apples from Charlottesville City Market.

Dessert was Melissa’s delicious crumble starring Saunders Brothers peaches, which I voted for as Best Tasting; she was edged out by Mr. HP, who voted for himself four times to secure the victory. My tomato jam with MarieBette bread was the controversial winner of Most Local. Yay math! Prizes included a jar of honey from Cheenius’ bees, a felted wool pouch from a City Market artisan, and a special t-shirt from Cheenius’ childhood with a theme quite unrelated to this event.

locavore dinner japanese soda

No award was given for least local, but Jay would have won easily with his contribution of Japanese octopus-flavored soda. It was surprisingly inoffensive.

As we ate and caroused, we sipped local beer, wine, and cider. The Charlottesville area has no shortage of local alcohol. See: Brew Ridge Trail, Monticello Wine Trail, and the Virginia Cider and Apple Trail. We also have a few distilleries, none of which I have visited yet, but as I take my job of reporting on local culinary happenings very seriously, I will have to check them out soon.

The Locavore Dinner just gets better and better, thanks to the Cheeniuses’ generosity and gorgeous venue, and the participants’ creativity and conviviality. Can’t wait for Year Four!

locavore dinner setting

A day of local hiking, eating, and drinking in Roanoke, VA

We’re trying to hasten the passing of winter by doing little road trips to explore the local food and beer in some towns near home, including Fredericksburg, VA, and now Roanoke, VA. The Roanoke area is home to several breweries, has a growing local food scene, and with its location in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is close to some fantastic hiking. Here are our picks for hiking, beer, and food in Roanoke.

Hiking near Roanoke

McAfee Knob

The excellent site for Virginia hiking, HikingUpward, shows a few great options for hiking a short drive from Roanoke, but I knew I wanted to do McAfee Knob. The photo op at the top is incredible: a rocky ledge overhanging wide views of the Catawba Valley far below framed by ridge after ridge of blue mountains. The downside of this hike is its popularity: because it’s a killer view so close to Roanoke, it’s very busy. Our solution: hike it on a day that’s so cold, nobody else would want to go. We got up early on a blustery below-zero morning and saw only a few other hardy/crazy groups on the trail. It’s an easy 8-ish mile out-and-back.

mcafee knob

Breweries in and near Roanoke

We loved Soaring Ridge Brewery near downtown Roanoke. The tasting room is in a big warehouse, but the raised bar and cornhole area in the middle makes the space feel less cold and industrial. There was a BBQ food truck outside when we were there and a stage for live music. The garage doors lining the side of the tasting room can open for nice weather (not the case when we were there) and YOU CAN BRING YOUR DOG INSIDE. Oh, and the beer is great. They offer 6 beer flights, and their beers range from a white ale up to a porter; our favorite was a delicious grapefruit IPA.

roanoke - 13 soaring ridge beer list roanoke soaring ridge brewing

The feel at Big Lick Brewery, across from the newspaper building downtown (where you can see the presses running in the window if your timing is right), is dark and cozy, with limited open hours, and now that I’m exploring their website I see that THEY ARE ALSO DOG-FRIENDLY. Get with it, Charlottesville breweries! Anyway, for such a small operation, they have an impressive array of beers. Our only complaint was paying $10 for a teeny tiny crabcake from the food purveyor of the day.

big lick brewing company big lick brewing company big lick beer list

Can you believe it–Parkway Brewing Co also ALLOWS DOGS. The tasting room is big and bright, with a stage for live music, and the best assortment of branded clothing I’ve seen at a brewery. A taco truck was parked outside when we were there. We got flights and were not surprised (since we’d had them before) that our favorites were the Majestic Mullet Krispy Kolsch, Get Bent IPA and Factory Girl Session IPA.

roanoke parkway brewing roanoke parkway brewing roanoke parkway brewing

Local Food in Roanoke

We had lunch at Local Roots farm-to-table restaurant, which I found by googling “roanoke local food.” It’s in Grandin Village, a cool little collection of shops and restaurants that from May to October has a community market featuring local, sustainable food, and live music. The restaurant sources ingredients from neighboring communities along the Blue Ridge; the list of farms they work with is impressive, but unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of it. The staff was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and we both really enjoyed our dishes.

roanoke local roots restaurant roanoke local roots restaurant

Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op is across the street from Local Roots; there’s also one in downtown Roanoke. Anytime I see a food co-op I have to check it out. (See what I mean?) They sell local, organic, seasonal produce; local dairy items including milk and butter from our favorite Homestead Creamery in Wirtz, VA; pastured beef from Polyface Farms in Swoope, VA, and organic enriched-environment (NOT free range/pasture raised) chicken from Red Wheelbarrow in Harrisonburg, VA; local and regional beer; and all the natural body products, bulk foods, pet foods, etc you’d expect to see at a natural foods store.

roanoke co-op natural foods roanoke co-op produce section roanoke co-op red wheelbarrow roanoke co-op polyface farms meat

We have a couple more breweries on the list to hit for next visit, including Flying Mouse Brewery in Troutville, and Roanoke Railhouse Brewery in downtown Roanoke. What other breweries, local food spots, and hikes near Roanoke should we check out?

A local running, eating, and drinking afternoon in Fredericksburg, VA

Happy New Year!

Today we spent the afternoon in Fredericksburg, VA, going for a run, stopping at a couple local beer establishments, and walking the dog along the downtown shopping corridor. Many shops were open, and people were out and about enjoying the sunshine, but the restaurant I really wanted to try, Foode, closed at 2, so we didn’t get to try it. Here’s what Foode is all about, from their website:

We have fantastic, organically- grown vegetables from Washington’s Birthplace, heirloom produce from Spotsylvania County, organic beef, free-range chickens, and hormone free eggs from Gladys, VA, along with other great ingredients from across Virginia that we proudly serve every day at our restaurant. We’re happy to report that, on any given day, we source between 85% to 90% of the food we serve at FOODE from the local farms and merchants we are honored to work with.

I hope to try it next time I’m in Fredericksburg! We had a good food afternoon regardless, and got in a little local beer tour. If you have a few hours to kill in Fredericksburg, consider this as a possible itinerary:

  1. Go for a run to work up a calorie deficit. We did a four-mile out-and-back on the Belmont-Ferry Farm Trail just north of downtown. The paved path features a couple decent climbs (we are used to running in Charlottesville, after all), a river view, and a stretch of dirt/crushed gravel surface.
  2. Refuel with lunch and craft beer at Spencer Devon Brewing, just off the main downtown shopping avenue, Caroline St. Both food and beer are made with local and seasonal ingredients. After enjoying our sandwiches, a Pale Ale, and a Pilsner, we got a growler to take home for later. eating local tastes better
  3. Continue the beer tour with a stop at Adventure Brewing. It’s a big, open space with sports on TV and board games along the wall, and when we were there a food truck was parked outside. We had flights of seasonals and standards of the wheat, IPA, and Pale Ale varieties… but I really want to try this one coming out in just a few days! adventure brewing flight

Let us know in the comments if there are special local spots we should hit next time we’re in town!

Don’t chuck that shuck!

Did you know oyster shells can, and should be, recycled? I recently learned that the Virginia Oyster Shell Recycling Program is active in Charlottesville. Why is this a thing, you ask? Read on…

The wild Eastern Oyster, or Virginia Oyster, in the Chesapeake Bay is in trouble, due to pollution, over-harvesting, and loss of habitat. The population is estimated to be 2% of the historical peak; that not only hurts the local coastal economies, but impacts the Bay ecosystem.

Why are oysters good for the Bay?

Oysters serve two important functions in the Bay. They are little water filters, straining particulates and nutrients from up to 60 gallons of water a day. Removing particulates, such as suspended sediment and algae, clears cloudy water and aids the growth of aquatic grasses, a habitat of young fish and crabs. Nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen from fertilizers are washed from farmland into waterways and eventually into the Bay, where they can cause algal blooms or dead zones, blocking sunlight and sucking oxygen out of the water. Secondly, oysters tend to grow in stacks, creating reef habitats for fish, crabs, grasses, and the oysters themselves: young oysters attach to the oyster shell reefs to grow and mature. Offshore reefs help buffer the shore from waves, limiting erosion, and as the shells decompose their calcium carbonate helps to regulate the pH of the water.

oysters cleaning water

image source

How does recycling oyster shells help?

To help revive the oyster population in the Bay, the Virginia Oyster Shell Recycling Program (VOSRP) collects shucked oyster shells from participating restaurants around the state, cleans them, seeds them with baby oysters, and returns them to oyster sanctuaries in the Bay to help build up the important reef habitats. The program was started by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Rice Rivers Center in 2013 with the help of several Richmond government and environmental groups and a few local restaurants. It’s now active in Charlottesville, Hampton, and Newport News, and is working to expand into other Virginia cities.

Instead of sending oyster shells to the landfill, restaurants dump shells into VOSRP-provided buckets, which are picked up by volunteers and emptied into a central receptacle, where they await transport east.

oyster shells

buckets of oyster shells

oyster shell container dumpster full of oyster shells

Which restaurants in Charlottesville are recycling oyster shells?

Currently in Charlottesville, Rocksalt, Public Fish and Oyster HouseFossett’s at Keswick Hall, Boar’s Head Inn, and Blue Light Grill are participating in the VSORP. Patronize those restaurants to show your support for oyster shell recycling! And if you visit another local restaurant serving oysters, ask them if they know about the VSORP.

oyster facts

Read more about Bay oysters and the VSORP:

http://www.vcu.edu/rice/education/vosrp.html

http://www.vmn-rivanna.org/2015/10/19/call-for-volunteers-virginia-oyster-shell-recycling-program/

http://cbf.typepad.com/bay_daily/2014/01/saving-shells-saving-the-bay.html

http://www.bayjournal.com/blog/post/moving_12000_pounds_of_oyster_shells

http://www.richmondoutside.com/2014/01/six-tons-of-oyster-shells-moved-for-chesapeake-bay-restoration/

http://www.bayjournal.com/article/large_scale_oyster_restoration_under_way_in_6_tributaries

Yoder’s Country Market, Madison VA

Yoder's Country Market

Coming home from a recent work trip to DC, I stopped (as I am wont to do) at one of the big Mennonite country stores on Rt 29 north of Charlottesville. Yoder’s Country Market moved into a huge new location earlier this year, now with more than twice the space for baked goods, bulk items, groceries, gifts and gadgets. I hadn’t been to the new location and was wowed by the variety of local products available, including meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, beverages, prepared foods, and body/health/home goods. It’s a great stop on a road trip for a snack, or to pick up some groceries on your way home.

Here’s a quick tour of some of the happy meats and local products Yoder’s carries:

Local trout from Madison Rainbow Trout, which is also sold at the Charlottesville City Market!

Madison rainbow trout

Natural chicken from Sunrise Farms, producers of grass-fed beef, and free-range chicken (and eggs), turkey, and pork. They also sell non-GMO feed and honey at their farm store in Stuarts Draft.

Sunrise Farms chicken

Happy beef from Wolf Creek Farm: born at the farm, raised on pasture only, antibiotic and hormone free, and not exposed to chemicals in fertilizers or pesticides.

Wolf Creek Farm beef

Salsas, tzatziki, dill dip, and pesto from The Farm at Red Hill, a small organic produce farm in North Garden:

Salsa, pesto, dips from The Farm at Red Hill

A huge selection of local honey of all sorts of types and flavors, including their own Yoder’s honey:

Local honeys

Gray Ghost Craft Soda, all natural, caffeine-free sodas in creative flavors (cotton candy?) from Madison.

Gray Ghost Craft Soda from Madison

Sugar scrub made with essential oils, from Raindrops in Virginia, a Charlottesville company:

local sugar scrub

And, of course, bulk goods as far as the eye can see.

so many bulk goods

Bulk goods

Yoder’s is worth a stop on a trip through Madison on Rt 29 whether you need car snacks or want to stock up on local meats and other goodies. I’ll be back on my next DC trip later this month!

Yoder's Country Market

Second Annual Locavore Dinner

Last year’s Locavore Dinner was such a stellar success that the public demanded a Second Annual Locavore Dinner, which was celebrated at a local lake late in the summer. Again, there was a complicated/clever/rigged scoring system created by Cheenius, and again, Cheenius won. Hmm. Scoring went as follows:

4 pts. if you grew/raised it yourself
3 pts. if it came from within a 50 mile radius of your household
2 pts. if it came from within a 100 mile radius of your household
1 pt. if it came from VA.

Freebies: you don’t have to count herbs, oil, vinegar, salt, or pepper.

Estimate each ingredient’s proportion of the whole and multiply by the point value, so the total for the entire dish is out of a maximum of 4 points.

And show your math.

The rules were promptly amended thusly by the non-Cheenius attendees: if you don’t (want to) show your math, you must submit a haiku.

Cheenius won again this year for Most Local with a potato strata created primarily of ingredients grown in her own garden; the Tiny Twosome won Best Tasting with an amazing biscuit-based peach cobbler; and, in the absence of other voters, I hereby declare myself the winner of the haiku competition with a heartfelt poem that is not fit to print on this site.

Thanks to the Cheeniuses for getting us organized and hosting another successful Locavore Dinner! Let’s do it again next year!


Locavore Dinner in Photos

The gorgeous setting, complete with local flowers from a City Market vendor and beeswax candles made by Cheenius herself:

table by the lake

We enjoyed local beverages from Blue Mountain Brewery, Champion Brewing Company, Bold Rock Hard Cider, Barboursville Vineyards, and Prince Michel Vineyard.

local beverages

Nadia’s bacon-wrapped cheese-stuffed jalapeños were a close second in the Best Tasting category.

bacon-wrapped jalapenos

Mr.Dr. Cheenius made an addictive fruit dip with Caromont Farm goat cheese and honey from the Cheeniuses’ own bees. Apples and peaches came from Carter Mountain Orchard.

goat cheese dip

Mr. HP and I brought local beef purchased from JM Stock Provisions, thinking we weren’t just providing a delicious dish, but also crafting brilliant a strategy: our dish had a single ingredient (plus freebies salt and pepper) sourced from within 50 miles of our home. That’s a solid 3-point entry, with no math required!

local flank steaksslicing the steaks

Can you tell we were a mostly vegetable-based group? The winning potato strata, Ewe-nique‘s egg muffins (with sausage!), Annie’s veggie kebabs, and Melissa’s marinated green bean salad were all delicious.

sausage muffins and veggie kebabsa very local plate

Drumroll… the winning dish, a peach cobbler. It was fantastic.

peach cobbler

peach cobbler

To celebrate local food, you need local spirits. Cheenius, ever resourceful, curious, and talented, shared some homemade mead and blackberry wine with us. They were… not so good. But A for effort, Cheenius!

homemade mead and blackberry wine

Winners chose prizes from a variety of environmentally-themed goodies: magazines, books, the best honey around, and local Gearharts chocolate.

the locavore prizes

And finally, where better to pass around samples of Soylent than at a gathering of folks interested in eating REAL food? Mr.Dr. Cheenius ordered it out of curiosity and mixed up a batch at the end of the evening. It could have been that we were all too full from feasting, but it was fairly unanimous among those who tasted it: Soylent is terrible. I thought it tasted like pancake batter, if the pancakes were made of cardboard.

soylent: not local food

For more of Cheenius’ wacky adventures, see:
Cheenius’ adventures in homemade wine
A visit to Vermont’s Shelburne Farms
Cheenius fights the law: Urban Chicken Keepers vs County Planning Commission
Cheenius in Missoula: The Good Food Store
Cheenius and the Mushrooms, Part I

Tips for feeding bugs to your family

I mentioned a special surprise dessert in my satay post.

chocolate-dipped crickets

You may recall from my birthday gathering last fall that a chocolate shop in Charlottesville sells chocolate-dipped worms, crickets, and scorpions. Mr HP and I thought it would be fun to surprise the family, which includes a brave 4-year-old girl and a slightly timid 7-year-old boy, with some crickets. Mr HP and I made a big show of savoring our cricket treats, but alas, nobody else would try one. The other adults wimped out completely, and after careful consideration, our niece asked to take hers home “to eat later.” (We have not yet received confirmation that it actually happened.)

my niece vs the crickets

Our nephew asked to take his home too, and then burst into hysterical tears. He was so torn between wanting to do this thing that seemed really interesting and cool, and his general fear of bugs. It was kind of adorable.

The bugs were packed up and conversation moved on.

Five minutes later, through his sobs, he declared he was ready to eat the bug and proceeded to stand in front of us all, bravely pop it in his mouth, tentatively chew, and then triumphantly open his mouth for inspection. He said it tasted like chocolate.

Success!

Fast-forward one week, and my sister and her husband were visiting. Since the adults of Family Weekend #1 passed on the chocolate crickets, we presented them on a dessert plate to the adults of Family Weekend #2. My brother-in-law didn’t hesitate, eating one with zero fanfare. My sister, however, wavered. She stalled with questions (“do I eat it cricket-side up or cricket-side down?”) and made all sorts of dismayed sounds while alllllmost pulling the trigger. Finally she did it… and said it tasted like chocolate.

Success!

What is the moral of this story?

Feeding your family bugs is fun for everyone. Chocolate helps the process. Read this post to learn more about why eating bugs is a good thing to start practicing. If you haven’t tried a chocolate-dipped bug and have them available to you (ahem C’villans), you should try one, and tell us how it goes in the comments!

Malaysian satay recipe

My mother-in-law spent two years in Malaysia with the Peace Corps in the 60s. During that time she was exposed to all sorts of wonderful food, and fortunately for our family, she brought many cooking skills and recipes home with her.

One of our favorite dishes she introduced us to is satay: meat marinated, skewered, grilled, and served with a dipping sauce. Preparation is long and involved, so it’s a special occasion dish, best saved for when it can be tackled as a team effort. This past weekend was just such an occasion: the family was all together!

I bought several pounds of steak and chicken breasts from JM Stock, a local, sustainable butcher in Charlottesville, my brother-in-law provided the marinade and sides, and he and Mr. HP supplied the skewering labor and grilling prowess.

Typically we use flank steak for satay, but JM Stock recommended a bavette steak, which I hadn’t heard of before, and it worked perfectly.

bavette steak

The beef and chicken is cut into thin strips and threaded onto skewers, basted with coconut milk, and grilled, then served with a peanut dipping sauce and accoutrements such as rice squares, cucumber salad, and pineapple cubes.

beef and chicken skewers ready for the grill

 

basting the chicken

cucumber salad and rice squares

beef skewers

SO GOOD. Thanks, family!

RECIPES

SATAY

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 lbs. thinly sliced meats (flank steak, chicken breasts, tofu)
  • skewers
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • Large ziplock bags

Marinade:

  • 2 T curry powder (Malaysian/Indian brown)
  • 1/2 t anise
  • 1/2 t coriander
  • 1/2 t ginger powder
  • 1/2 t cumin
  • 1/2 t turmeric
  • 1/2 t cayenne pepper
  • 3 T lemon juice
  • 1 t salt
  • 1/2 c vegetable oil
  • 1/2 c soy sauce
  • 4-5 large cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 T sugar

Method:

  1. Mix marinade ingredients; add to large ziplock bag with sliced meat and marinate for 1 day
  2. Thread marinated meat onto skewers
  3. Grill skewers, brushing them liberally with coconut milk while on the grill

PEANUT SAUCE

Ingredients:

  • 1 c peanuts
  • 1 large onion
  • 4-5 cloves garlic
  • 1 1/2 in piece ginger
  • 4-5 dried red chiles
  • 3 T vegetable oil
  • 2 t coriander
  • 1 t cumin
  • 1 t curry powder
  • 1 can light coconut milk
  • 3 T brown sugar
  • 2 T lemon juice
  • 2 T soy sauce

Method:

  1. Puree peanuts and set aside
  2. Puree onion, garlic, ginger, chiles and set aside
  3. Heat oil in saute pan over medium heat. Cook onion mixture until it smells of onions and garlic
  4. Stir in coriander, cumin, curry powder and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes
  5. Stir in coconut milk, peanut puree, brown sugar, lemon juice, soy sauce until combined

RICE

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 c short grain white rice
  • 2 1/2 c water

Method:

  1. Boil water
  2. Simmer rice, covered, for 25 minutes
  3. Press cooked rice into a glass dish; refrigerate at least 2 hours
  4. Cut chilled rice into cubes

CUCUMBER SALAD

Ingredients:

  • 3 cucumbers
  • 2 shallots
  • 4 T sugar
  • 4 T white wine vinegar

Method:

  1. Chop cucumbers and shallots
  2. Mix sugar and vinegar
  3. Marinate vegetables in mixture overnight

skewered meat with peanut sauce, pineapple, and rice

This post got too long so I’ll save the surprise dessert for another day.

Have you ever made satay? Let us know in the comments!

The Ole Country Store and Bakery in Culpeper VA

When you’ve travelled it a zillion times like I have, Route 29 between Charlottesville and DC is a pretty dull (if beautiful in spots – I’m looking at you, northern Greene County) drive. Next time you make the trek try breaking up the monotony with a stop at The Ole Country Store and Bakery in Culpeper. Not only can you pick up unique roadtrip snacks and random gifts and housewares, but you can stock up on local, pastured, steroid/antibiotic/hormone-free happy meat from Clark’s Old Peach Tree Farm, Summer Creek Farm, and Rider’s Backfield Farm.

Clark's Old Peach Tree Farm

Old Peach Tree Farm raises heritage breed pigs on the grasses, nuts, and berries of pasture and woodland, supplemented with non-GMO feed, and PUMPKINS in the fall, lucky pigs! The Clarks raise the pigs from birth to slaughter, which allows them to ensure a low-stress environment for the animals’ entire lifespan.

Summer Creek Farm

Summer Creek Farm raises lambs and beef cattle on pasture with some supplemental local grains; but upon request Summer Creek will feed only grass to animals for customers preferring completely grass-fed meat. They practice environmental stewardship by protecting waterways from animals and frequently rotating pastures.

Rider's Backfield Farm Beef

Rider’s Backfield Farm raises steers on pasture, with a small daily portion of natural grains during finishing. The pH of the cows’ rumen contents is carefully monitored to ensure no negative effects from the grain. The Riders pride themselves on “manag[ing] their beef gently and humanely and the farm(s) that they maintain.”

Local, pastured, clean meat

Meat case

Bins of meat

The Ole Country Store & Bakery

Support local family-run farms and pick up some pasture-raised, hormone-, steroid-, and antibiotic-free meat, while getting a unique shopping experience and relieving your Route 29 boredom at The Ole Country Store & Bakery.

See also: MooThru ice creamery in Remington VA, for the BEST ice cream, made from local hormone-free milk!

Highland County Maple Festival: “I’d Tap That!”

Guest post by Buzzy! Thanks, Buzzy! Where’s my maple donut??


Buzzy and Mr. Buzzy were finally able to realize a life-long dream:  attending the annual Highland County Maple Festival just an hour and a half away!  So many activities and events! I won’t go into the magic of the entertainment

Greene County Cloggers

Or the impressive junk food options

Funnel cakes and fried oreos

Or even the wonder of the Maple Queen and her Syrup princesses (we missed the crowning at the Maple Ball)…

Maple Queen and Syrup Princesses

Instead, we’ll focus on the fascinating process of getting sugar water from trees to something worthy of crowning your pancakes.

It starts with a sugar maple tree.  In Virginia they mainly grow above altitudes of 3,000 ft..  Some of the trees still in use for tapping are 200+ years old!

Tapped tree

With a good cycle of freezing and thawing, pressure grows in the tree to seal up the hole that the tap (called a spile) has made.  During the thaw, the sugar water comes out of the hole, too quickly for the tree to heal itself.  Don’t worry:  no trees are permanently injured in the making of maple syrup!

Spiles

The sugar water that gets collected varies in sugar content each year.  For 2015 it takes only 32 gallons of sugar water that you boil down to produce 1 gallon of maple syrup.  In other years it’s been much higher, and you can actually make syrup from lower altitude maples, but you’d need double the sugar water.

Heating the sugar water

Once you have maple syrup, then the options to celebrate are limitless.  We highly recommend the maple donuts.  Buzzy ate four!!

Maple donut

For you energy-conscious readers who are thinking:  wow, this is a ridiculously energy intensive process — you’re right!  Buzzy recommends you get your sugar from honey, where the bees do all the work evaporating nectar into honey.  Carbon footprint = 0.

This post brought to you by McBene Hill Honey.