If you have any jewelweed plants in your vicinity, this is the perfect time of year to harvest their seeds. If you’ve never tried these treats before (they taste very similar to sunflower or pumpkin seeds), you’re in for a surprise. In more ways than one. : )

5 gallons of sap collected in 3 days

Strained out bits, bugs, and particles through cheesecloth

Boiled 85% down on our outdoor grill (Maybe next year, I’ll build a fire box…)

Finished the last on my stove so I could watch to make sure it didn’t burn or turn to candy.

This is what I’m left with.
Unbelievably yummy!

Pure joy.

I’ve always wanted to try making my own maple syrup. From past reading, I knew it was easy to do, didn’t require a lot of paraphernalia, and was relatively idiot proof.

So I decided this was the year. I took a 1-hour class, bought my equipment and picked out two beautiful old Maple trees right off my deck. I’m not looking to go into business–I just want to make enough for my family, so two trees ought to be plenty.

All I had to do was wait for the daytime temps to get above freezing with nighttime temps still below freezing. (For most areas, that’s somewhere between February and March.)

Step 1: Clean […]