Justamere Tree Farm Blog

Holiday Baking with Pure Maple Syrup and Sugar.

                     Maple, Cranberry, and Pecan Shortbread Cookies(can cut recipe in 1/2)
Makes 30-40 cookies, Preheat oven 350 degrees, Bake for 18-20 minutes until lightly browned.
Cut dough into ½ inch slices and arrange on baking sheet.       
      1. 3 sticks (11/2 cups unsalted butter softened)
      2. 1/3 cup Justameres Maple Sugar or ½ cup white sugar
      3.1/4 cup Justameres Pure Maple Syrup(no substitution)
      4. 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
      5. 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour or can substitute with white flour
      6. 1/2 tsp. Salt
      7. 1 cup dried cranberries
      8. 1 cup pecan pieces, toasted
Directions
      Mix  together butter, Maple Sugar, and Maple Syrup. Add vanilla and stir to combine. Add and stir in  flour, salt, cranberries, and pecans. Shape dough into two logs and chill until firm,1-2 hours.
If you can not do this all in one day, it is a great recipe for that reason,  because you can keep in the refrigerator over night and bake the next day.
Also the dough freezes well so keep in a log in the freezer and you will be prepared to provide holiday visitors with freshly baked goodies at a moments notice. Enjoy!

                           

Last Farmers Market and Justameres x-mas Trees

I had my last Farmers Market of the year yesterday. Here I am in the picture all bundled up   It was windy and quite cold but people came to store up on maple cream, maple sugar and maple syrup. Also people bought gift items for the Holidays. It is really catching on the idea to buy local when possible. It is so great to see people appreciate good wholesome and locally grown food. I stocked up on a few items myself. We will return to the market in May which is less than 6 months away. Seems forever tho to think about it.
We sold the last of the firewood today, so that is a good feeling and now we can utilize that area where the firewood was. As you see in a picture down below we had a lot of firewood for sale this year
We are busy getting ready for the x-mas season. We sell our trees at Hampton Ponds Plaza in Westfield and also we are going to open up our farm this year locally for choose and cut on the week-ends. We have mostly Fraser Fir trees which are very popular amongst  people because they stay green for a long time and needle retention is great. Also it is a soft needle tree which makes for handling much easier. Once people experience our Fraser Fir Trees they come back each year for more of the same.
We hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with good food shared with family and friends.
I will pass along my maple shortbread recipe next time. Till then...

                               

Girl with a broom and woman with chick

With November here, the oaks and beeches are hanging onto their leaves as long as possible while all the other trees are naked.
My garlic is all planted and most of the garden is put to bed. Here is a picture of me planting the garlic. We are still eating our fall greens which taste especially good this time of year.                        

This past week end, we did our last craft show for this year in Rehoboth, MA. I still have 2 more farmers markets in Amherst, MA. People will be preparing their Thanksgiving meals around what locally produced vegetables are for sale at the market.
Maple Syrup is great to have around for holiday meals. It is great in pumpkin pies, glaze for the turkey or ham, added to bisques, squash cavities with butter, and butternut squash blended with cinnamon, butter and maple syrup.
Maple syrup has flavor which can replace most sweeteners in a recipe. Give it a try and you will be pleasantly surprised.
I have a cold slaw recipe that I would like to share with you.

Cold Slaw Recipe- Mix these ingredients                                                                                                                    1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
                    1/3 cup vegetable oil
                    1/4 cup sugar or less(Maple sugar or syrup can work here)
                    Add some celery seed or FRESH celery for flavor(greens or stem)
        Add to- 1 cup chopped maple walnuts
                             1 cup dried cranberries
                             1/4 cup sliced red onion
                             2 cups finely sliced red cabbage
                             2 cups finely sliced green cabbage
               Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours before serving. Stir and drain off all liquid before
               Serving. Enjoy the beauty and flavor of this salad. 
I have included a picture of another satisfied customer and friend. Here she is with her 25 year old broom from Justamere Tree Farm, still good as new (the broom that is!) Also here I am holding a favorite chicken of ours. We love our chickens.