Anne McAlpine: March 19, 2020

I just wanted to introduce myself again: my name is Allison and I am Anne’s daughter. Since her fall, I will be writing mom’s column for the next couple of weeks until she gets back on her feet, literally. My family has decided that we need to create a human size bubble wrap sleeve for mom to put on whenever she leaves the house.

When thinking what I was going to write I thought about the time of year and immediately thought of maple syrup. Quebec is the largest producer in Canada of maple syrup. Only three of the 13 species of maple trees in Canada can be tapped for maple syrup. There are three grades of syrup: light, medium, and dark amber. In our house, my son, Dominic, can tell the difference in the grade of maple syrup he is drizzling over waffles or pancake. His preference is the medium amber.

The maple squash is a recipe from my mother-in-law. Not being a squash lover, I tried it to be polite, but it has since become a favourite of mine. I omit the powdered cloves and only use cinnamon as both Dominic and Sam love cinnamon.

Even though the maple cookie recipe calls for a cup of maple syrup, the taste is well worth it as they have a rich maple flavour and smell.

Dominic’s favourite vegetable has been broccoli; however, we are trying to introduce more types of vegetables into our diet. The current vegetable is Brussels sprouts. Not a favourite of my husband’s or mine, however we are dutifully eating them to be a good example for our son. The first time we simply steamed them and served them with butter and salt. We all ate them, but did not enjoy them. The next time I tried the maple syrup roasted Brussels sprouts with much more success. The sweetness of the maple syrup along with the crispiness of the roasted Brussels sprouts makes them tastier.