Syrup Sap Saga Continues

It turns out all three of the taps are working - yippee! At first, only two buckets had sap in them but yesterday, the third started running so that is lots more sap. It tastes like slightly sweetened water with a mineral twang. I have evaporated about 14 gallons and the syrup is starting to taste pretty yummy! There is a fine grainy, sand-like by-product that has to be sieved off before the syrup gets too thick so I have strained it a couple times now. A poor little honey bee flew into the kitchen the other day - I think he was a little confused - but the whole kitchen must smell like sweet, gooey sap that any honey bee would like!
I also made the Waldorf-Astoria Red Velvet recipe - without the red food coloring - and it was oh so delicious! It did actually have a slight dark red tinge to it - maybe because it did not have as much chocolate in it as the second recipe - and the beets' color was more prominent. I actually halved the recipe (it then fit into an 8" square pan) and used cake flower to make sure it was light and fluffy. Oh boy,could I eat Red Velvet all day long!!!
To tag on to what Bernadine has already said about gardening - I started seeds as well. Had to thin out some cabbage sprouts because I over-seeded but I just washed them off and put them is salad - a nice zip! I'll probably buy some tomato plants so I have some early fruit but I started my Romas in the house. I just used up the last of my harvest from last year in some awesome Red Italian Gravy - recipe from my MIL - the key is to use pork neck bones!
PS I tried to add pics but it would not download. Anyone have any ideas on how best to do that?

Box Elder syrup

When we lived in the suburbs, a friend and I got curious about how Maple syrup was made. We did some research and found out that you can collect the sap of Silver Maples to boil down for syrup as well as Sugar Maple. So, we bought the equipment and made some yummy syrup from her big Silver Maples.

22 years ago, when we moved out to the country, that was one of those things on my "must have" list - a Maple tree.There was a young Maple in the yard but it was not large enough yet to tap. Come to find out that a "noxious weed tree", the Box Elder of infamous Box Elder bug fame, is part of the Acer family.

I trudged out with my kids to tap all the Box Elders we could find (no trouble there!)and made lots of syrup. Yes, it tastes just like Maple syrup and has the same consistency. The problem is that it takes twice the sap!

This year, with the nights freezing and the days above 32, I got the bug to tap again. I found a really big Box Elder and put in three taps. I'll check daily to make sure I hit the sapwood - it is tricky when the tree gets to be larger than 12-18 inches in diameter.Geo is worried that the steam from the boiling will take the wallpaper off in the bathroom - a room that is around the corner and down the hall from the kitchen - that is how bad the steam is when it is cooking! But, it will be worth it and I need new wallpaper in there anyway;-)I'll keep you all posted!