Maple season has begun!!!

Here is the evaporator at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln MA. And look! It's steaming! I don't know what it is about maple season, but it makes me want to jump up and down with joy. We'll be back at Drumlin Farm in a couple of weeks for their Farmer's Breakfast fundraising event. They serve pancakes covered in their own maple syrup as well as sausage and potatoes, also from the farm. And coffee and other breakfast drinks, too. I can't wait!

We just came to wander around a bit today. Besides the maple sap boiling, we also found some adorable baby goats.

Drumlin Farm, Lincoln MA

Drumlin Farm

208 South Great Road, Lincoln MA 01773

http://www.massaudubon.org/drumlin

We got a glimpse of spring in the seedling-filled greenhouse at Drumlin Farm this weekend. For the third year in a row, we (me and twelve of my relatives) went to their annual Farmer's Breakfast. After feasting on pancakes covered in their own maple syrup, as well as potatoes and sausage also from their farm, we walked around to visit the animals and see if anyone had babies yet this spring.

We lucked out and found a bunch of new baby goats. They were so cute! It was naptime for everyone, apparently, while we walked through the barn. Here are a couple of kids curled up and being periodically licked by their momma. There was also a large pig with about a month to go to deliver her litter. We'll have to go back and see them once they're born. Last year there was a barn full of adorable polka-dotted pigs.

On the way out, we visited the sugarhouse and watched them making maple syrup. They had samples of straight maple sap, which for some reason I had expected to be at least slightly sticky, but it was only just the faintest bit sweet. And, they also samples of the in-process batch of maple syrup--about 1/4 of the way done. I had to dive in and intercept my daughter's multiple attempts at extra samples. She is a big maple syrup fan.

All in all, another fun spring pancake breakfast. On deck for later this month is the open house at Dave's Sugarhouse, in Ashby, MA. That's not until the 26th, though, so I'll have to figure something out for this coming weekend.

Drumlin Farm, Lincoln MA

Drumlin Farm

208 South Great Road, Lincoln MA 01773

http://www.massaudubon.org/drumlin

Today was the last pick up for Drumlin Farm's winter vegetable CSA. So sad. This is the first time I've belonged to a winter CSA and it's been nice having fresh local vegetables all winter. I don't know if I can wait until June when Springdell Farm's summer vegetable CSA begins.

How can they grow vegetables in the winter in New England? Well, they don't. At least for this one--Drumlin Farm also has winter greens CSA (which was full, so I couldn't join this year) and I believe that they grow them in a greenhouse. At least, I wandered into the greenhouse a few weeks ago and noticed some salad greens ready for picking so I figure that's probably where they come from.

Anyway, the winter vegetable CSA is mainly root vegetables and squash, with some kale, onions, and garlic thrown in at the beginning of the season (it started in December). These are grown during the summer/fall growing season and they store them under optimal conditions, doling out two weeks' worth at a time for those of us without root cellars. You only pick up every other week, which is convenient, as opposed to every week like during the summer/fall. We ate a lot of root vegetable soups and stews this year. And yesterday, another shareholder donated her daikon to me (lucky for me she doesn't like it). I've been craving Korean food lately, so I'm going to make a big batch of radish kimchi. Yum!

Next month Drumlin Farm will hold its annual Sap-to-Syrup Farmer's Breakfast (Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm--contact the farm to reserve your spot). It's a pancake breakfast featuring their own potatoes, sausage, and maple syrup. This is the third year in a row that I've gone to this breakfast and it's been delicious and fun every time. You can go on tours of the farm and learn the origins of maple sugaring, and you can also visit the sugar house to learn about and watch the maple syrup being made. And, of course, you can buy some maple syrup to bring home with you.

Just as a heads-up, starting in a couple of weeks, maple sugar houses all around New England will open their doors for pancake breakfasts for the few shorts weeks they're producing maple syrup. Try to check at least one of them out this year--in my book, there are few things finer than New England sugaring season. If you're interested, you can find information from the Massachusetts Maple Producer's Association, the New Hampshire Maple Producers, the Vermont Maple Foundation/Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association, the Maple Syrup Producers Association of Connecticut, and the Maine Maple Producers Association. Sorry Rhode Island, I couldn't find information about your maple syrup.