Maple Syrup---It's not just for breakfast

Pancakes, waffles, ice cream, 
Does this look similar to your list for what you would put maple syrup on?

Coffee, salad, rum, granola, carrots, baking, yogurt, bacon, roasts, potatoes, and the list goes on.
This is my list.

How is it, in a country so abundant with maple syrup, it is still considered a novelty and not a prominent part of our cooking and eating lifestyle. Instead we buy sugar, agave syrup or some other product that does not and cannot reflect its real price. Maple syrup is relatively more expensive than the alternative white sugar at the grocery store but in an era when more people are turning to local foods we are so lucky to have this beautiful, delicious product coming from our own Canadian Maple trees.

As I learn more about the nature that surrounds us and their nutritional capabilities I am continuously surprised. We are surrounded in this country by alternatives to what we have become accustomed to. Instead of oranges why not pick a branch of cedar for cedar tea, which contains vitamin C. Perhaps with some maple syrup as sweetener. Instead of paying for iron supplements why not chow down on some delicious boiled or fried stinging nettle. Maybe with a nice maple syrup vinaigrette.

On top of being delicious, there are studies that show its medicinal and nutritional properties to justify eating it. Maybe not in the quantity I've been eating it, but that's a minor detail.  Though syrup contains the same amount of calories per tbsp as white sugar, it also is considered a good source for calcium, iron and thiamin. Some people even say that there are cancer and diabetes fighting properties in maple syrup.

Why the interest in maple syrup?
In the last few weeks friends of mine have started marketing and selling their maple syrup in Toronto and Ottawa.

Its called Alska maple syrup and is probably the best on the market. If you're interested in seeing the work of Gene and Gab in Toronto, check out Lennie's in Cabbagetown, Fresh and Wild at King and Spadina (tasting here Dec. 3, 4-7), Essence of Life in Kensington Market, Pusateri's on Church St., Jamie Kennedy's Gilead Cafe at King and Parliament. If you're in Ottawa, try Herb and Spice in Westboro and look for it in health food stores elsewhere. I know there are nine stores but don't have all the locations written down.

Stay tuned for more locations, recipes, the syrup making process and more!