MAPLE SAP RECIPES

Sweet Rice Salad
3 cups cooked rice or quinoa (or any other grain of choice)
1 apple, diced
8 dates, chopped
½ cup nuts (black walnuts or hickory, if you got ‘em!)
1 cup plain yogurt

1. Cook 1½ cups rice or other grain in 4 cups fresh maple sap until done.
2.  Let cool thoroughly with a lid on to prevent drying out.
3.  Mix apples, dates, nuts and yogurt thoroughly.
4. Chill.  May be served slightly warmed or cold.
Top with a little maple syrup if you prefer it a little sweeter.

Maple-Baked Beans

 These baked beans are slow-cooked in a crockpot for about 24 hours.  As the sap slowly cooks down it turns into a sweet, maple-flavored  gravy.
4 cups dried navy beans (or any bean)
10 cups fresh maple sap
1 Tbsp salt
2 medium onions, minced

1.  Soak beans in water overnight.
2.  In the morning drain, put beans in a crockpot and add 10 cups fresh maple sap.
3.  Turn crock pot on high and cook all day until beans are soft and tender.
4.  Add diced onions and a little more maple sap if they seem a bit dry or low on liquid at this point.
5.  Continue to cook with the lid off of the crockpot overnight.
I made 3 batches of these this year, as they freeze nicely and I serve them at barbecues and potlucks in the summer.