The maple tree is so deeply rooted in Quebec and Ontario culture that we hold parties to celebrate its sweet gifts. It’s well-rooted in my life - past and present - too. The sugaring off parties of my childhood were some of the best times and best eating of my life. Sitting at picnic tables, up to my knees in snow, staring down a steaming plate of sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, and pancakes, all cooked over an open fire, and all swimming in shockingly deep puddles of warm maple syrup. And of course, there was maple taffy on snow. The air was crisp and clouds of primal-life-affirming wood smoke and steam billowed from fires and vats of simmering sap; the sun was bright, and chickadees darti
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