Blue had the right idea licking his paper plate back in 2010.
It’s the most magical, delicious, sticky, snowy, sunny time of year: maple sugaring season, when night temperatures drop below freezing, but the days are balmy. That’s when the maple sap begins to run, the maple trees are tapped, the maple water gets boiled, and family-run Sugar Shacks begin to pop up to serve pancakes, corn fritters, and new maple syrup. 

In honor of our Sugar Shack tradition here in New England we bring you our Maple Celebration Box! This box features everything you need to make a proper Sugar Shack brunch (pancakes, cider donuts, corn fritters, johnnycakes, dill pickles, tempeh bacon, hot chocolate), a heat-and-serve maple-themed lunch, and a savory maple-tinged dinner (you won’t believe how many ways Chris uses maple to add depth and complexity to savory dishes).

Everyone who orders will also get a whole jar of New Leaf maple syrup and a tub of maple cotton candy, straight from the forests of Vermont. 

What’s inside the Maple Box?

On sale now. Available 3/9 to 3/30. Free delivery.

GIFT 1: IT ALL STARTS WITH MAPLE SYRUP

• Each box will get an entire 12oz bottle of New Leaf Tree Syrups maple made from the first sap of the season, sustainably tapped by our friend Michael in the forests of VT. Light in color with a delicate maple taste, this is super special stuff that you won’t find in grocery stores! Use it to drown your pancakes, corn fritters, and dill pickles, or capture the last snow from the sky and drizzle it with syrup.
• You’ll also get 1 tub of maple cotton candy made by Parker’s Real Maple using syrup from New Leaf Tree Syrups.
• (4-person boxes will get 1 bottle of syrup and 2 tubs of cotton candy)

MENU 1: SUGAR SHACK BRUNCH 

• Kit to make the best pancakes ever: A bag of buttermilk pancake mix (our recipe from back when we used to put on outdoor Sugar Shack brunches at the MIT food truck and HSQ restaurant, these pancakes are crisp on top, lofty in the middle).
  • Local Eggs
  • Buttermilk
  • Detailed recipe on how to mix batter and prepare your griddle or pan
• For your pancakes
  • High Lawn Farm sweet cream butter
  • Apple compote
  • Orange-cinnamon whipped cream (great for kids of all ages)
  • Chocolate-coffee whipped cream (great for adults)
• Pancake Battle: Rhode Island vs. Massachusetts: A bag of johnnycake mix (made with heirloom white corn ground on stone mills at Plimoth Grist Mill). Johnnycakes are a cornmeal pancake from Rhode Island with indigenous (Shawnee) roots that taste great with maple syrup. Some say they are even better than Clover pancakes. 
   
• Sugar Shack Sides, or “why is there a dill pickle in my syrup?”
  • Smoky tempeh bacon strips, ready to fry up 
  • Corn fritters (light airy balls of dough studded with fresh sweet corn – we fry, you heat and eat)
  • Dill pickle spears (classic part of a sugar shack meal, helps cut the richness of the maple)
     
• Cider Donuts! The most elusive Clover treat! Donuts were a classic part of VT “sugaring off” parties, where plain cider donuts would be used to temper the intense taste of the first syrup, the pickles, and the snow. We’ll send these to you already-made, and rolled in maple sugar.
   
• Something hot to sip on: Chris’ brand new house made hot chocolate mix (road tested by his kids, thumbs up!). Add to your favorite warm milk (dairy or nondairy) and stir to enjoy.

MENU 2: MAPLE LUNCH

Smoky Butternut Squash Soup (sour cream, chive, and maple) and Maple Fluffernutter Sandwiches

• Smoky butternut squash soup (inspired by a bacon-butternut soup, Chris builds smokiness through deep warming spices that play against the sweetness and slight acidity of the maple, chive, and sour cream garnish)
• Maple fluffernutter sandwiches (Clover pita, Teddy peanut butter, and Clem’s maple fluff are a match made in maple paradise)

MENU 3: MAPLE DINNER

Semolina Pasta with Maple Bacon, Kale, Garlic Butter, Pecorino and Maple Panko

• Organic semolina casarecce from Seven Hills Pasta Co in Melrose, MA (if you’ve had our pasta meals before, this is a lighter airier version but the same fun twisty shape)
• Garlic & herb compound butter (you’ll warm this in a pan, then toss pasta and other ingredients in butter)
• House-made mushroom “bacon” 
• Kale ribbons
• Pecorino cheese
• Toasted maple-panko for garnish

BONUS: A GIFT FOR THE TRAIL

• House-made maple trail mix (Clover granola, nuts, and fruit). Take it on your first spring hike of the year!

Want to try a variety of maple syrups blended with other tree syrups like beech and walnut? Add a Gift Set of New Leaf Tree Syrups to your Maple Box order! These are super special and we can’t wait for you to taste them.

Before you leave: 

If you’re hungry for more maple knowledge, check out Maple Moon: Sugaring as Abolition – an event hosted virtually by Herban Cura (NY) with Jalal Sabur, a farmer, educator, and food justice leader against incarceration who connects with the roots of early abolitionist movements by mapleing in the Hudson Valley each winter! I’ll be there!

Did you hear Scott from LMA started a knife sharpening company? Send him your knives and cook happier! 

We have started a waitlist for our Passover and Easter Meal Boxes! Fill it out here to indicate your interest in either or both, and tell us what types of food traditions you enjoy celebrating during these springtime holidays.