You know when you’re really hungry and you walk into a room that has been perfumed with just the kind of food you want to eat? That’s what happened to me on Thursday night after work, trundling into Maple Roch and being consumed by the scent of the maple pulled chicken simmering in Mirjana’s crock pot.
Then more people arrived, and more food. Maple pulled pork (courtesy of Nick), maple pork patties with spicy maple mustard glaze, maple walnut cake, maple granola bread with maple butter, maple tarts and maple squares, maple banana bread, and a small vat of baked brie with seeds, dried fruit and maple syrup.
We also got to hear from Roch about some of the company’s new adventures, and try new products such as maple water, maple cotton candy and two kinds of syrup. After reading this post, if you decide that you simply can’t get enough maple, check out some of the Maple Roch recipes.
And we celebrated a birthday! Jean bravely lit the sparklers on her Maple Cake while Ken (aka birthday boy) stood at a safe distance. We sang boisterously and no fires resulted from the festivities.
As usual, not all of my photos turned out. As glorious as pulled pork and chicken are, unless they are photographed spilling lavishing from the confines of a bun (alas, a photo I neglected to take), the picture simply looks like a mass of mangled meat. So you’re going to have to imagine how good they were, because they were both amazing. Similarly, there are no images of my maple ice cream with sticky maple walnuts, which looked like a lumpy beige landscape but which was truly delectable.
Thank you to our wonderful hosts and to everyone who came out for our potluck extraordinaire!
May meetup! Likely the 3rd week in May. According to the draft outline, there was a desire for a “World Travels” gathering at the Summerland Ornamental Gardens. Yes?
Enjoy the photos. Hopefully I got everyone’s dishes right. Where there are recipes, I have included them.
Wendy’s Baked Brie with seeds, cranberries, apricot preserves (homemade!) and maple syrup. This was so decadent, I kept going back for more.
Our newest member Lorraine from Peachland is a goddess of piping! Behold her Maple Nut Cake with glorious springtime flowers. It tasted just as delicious as it looked.
Sandra’s Mini Maple Cheesecakes. Rich and moist and ever so lovely.
Denise made Maple Pork Patties with Spicy Maple Mustard Glaze. I think I ate four. Yum…
Chantelle’s Maple Syrup Butter Tart Squares. All the flavour of butter tarts with the extra delight of also being cakey in texture.
Thank you, Victoria for always showing us tricks to bring a little still-tasty health boost into our diets of cheese and whipped cream. Her Maple seed cookies were vegan and gluten free.
Lory’s Maple and Bacon Popcorn. Reily, we ate all the bacon on your behalf!
Another dish from Lory – Maple Baked Beans! Despite her delayed realization that the beans needed to be soaked overnight before cooking, she pulled off the recipe in record time. Soooo good.
Kim’s Maple Granola Maple Bread with Maple Butter. Maple. Butter. Butter with Maple syrup whipped mercilessly into it. Yes.
Maple syrup is a perfect match for Carrot Cake. Thank you, Lorraine B for showcasing this classic combination.
Jean’s Maple Cake with Maple Sugared Walnuts and Maple Buttercream, before we devoured much of it.
Kim’s Maple Butter Tarts, which unfortunately I didn’t get to try. You have to be quick at these meetups…
Mirjana’s Maple Coleslaw, which paired brilliantly with the pulled chicken. A must-make for summer BBQ season.
Maple Sugar Cookies, made by Dorthea. Gluten free and doused with a Maple-Whisky Glaze for good measure.
Sugar Shack Treats (made by Janice) – these would be perfect for an afternoon tea, with a cup of Earl Grey.
Ingredients 1
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
Preparation: Mix ingredients and place in a greased mold (9×9 inches). Cook in oven for 10 minutes, at 300 F.
Ingredients 2
- 1/2 cup maple sugar
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/3 cup chopped nuts
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 eggs
Preparation: Mix all ingredients and pour on previous mix. Cook in oven at 325F for about 40 minutes. Let cool and cut in squares.
Maple Glazed Banana Bread (made by Tracy?) – also known as my post-meetup breakfast!
Ingredients
Bread
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3-4 medium bananas (or 2 large bananas)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- Maple Glaze
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease one 9×5 pan or two 8×4 pans. In a small bowl, mash bananas, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in eggs and beat until mixed. To the wet ingredients, sift in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until just combined. Pour in mashed bananas, and mix until combined.
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes (for two 8×4 pans) or until cake tester comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs stuck to it. If using one 9×5 pan, bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Then lower the temp to 325 and bake for 15-20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Move to a wire cooling rack.
Glaze
Melt butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and cinnamon over low heat. Once melted together, pull off the heat. Sift in powdered sugar and whisk until fully combined. Allow to cool for 8-10 minutes so the glaze can thicken. Once the glaze has thickened, give it a quick stir and pour it over the bread. Allow the glaze to harden completely before cutting into slices.
There were two baked bean dishes, both slow cooker style (all those tender hours on low heat). Think of rich, tangy sauce, the flavour equivalent of a heavyweight boxer light who is on his feet.
The bready things were paired with the saucy and salady things. We lavishly dipped the jalapeño & cheddar cornbread and the bannock made with BACON.
And there was sangria and delicious white wine and lovely company and meeting new friends and the stunning view of Giant’s Head Mountain from Tracy’s porch.
