I can personally attest that this caramel sauce made with all-natural maple syrup, is delicious.

How to use Maple Caramel Sauce

I love to use this maple caramel sauce:

• on cinnamon rolls,
• in a cup of tea,
• drizzled over cookies or ice cream, and
• (my favorite) added generously to a latte.

Not much better than a Salted Maple Caramel Latte if you ask me.

Salted Maple Caramel Sauce

Dive in and make some of this today… your world will be better for it.

I wouldn’t joke about something so good…

Ingredients for Salted Maple Caramel Sauce

1 cup maple syrup

2 TB butter

 1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 tsp Redmond salt

Directions for making Salted Maple Caramel Sauce

1. Boil maple syrup in a medium-sized saucepan with pretty tall sides (it will bubble up a LOT) until a candy thermometer reads 225. (Don’t let it reach the softball stage.)
2. Turn off the heat and add in butter, stirring until it’s all melted.
3. Add cream and salt and stir, just until all mixed.
4. Store in a glass jar in fridge for many weeks.

Notes about Salted Maple Caramel Sauce

• A good candy thermometer is necessary to get this right, but they’re not expensive and they’re handy to have in the kitchen. This is a good one.
• If you choose a pot that’s not quite big enough and your maple syrup bubbles treacherously close to the top of your pan (trust me, it happens quickly!), don’t panic. Have a piece of butter ready to toss in your pot. The bubbles will instantly recede. It’s a simple sugarmaking trick (more about how to make your own maple syrup here) that works every time.
• This caramel sauce is delicious on cinnamon rolls, in a cup of tea, drizzled over cookies, ice cream, yogurt, and (my favorite) added generously to a latte. Not much better than a Salted Maple Caramel Latte if you ask me… iced and hot, both delicious. 

The post Caramel Sauce (Easy Recipe With Maple Syrup) first appeared on Souly Rested.

Yes, You Can Make Coffee Ice Cream

And maybe this ice cream will be obsessed with YOU. Either way, you need this. 

It’s crazy the hold my growing up years still have on my thoughts around food. In the 80s and 90s, high-school and college-age Michelle was told, again and again, that fat was the enemy. So the guilt still creeps in when I dive into a bowl of this deliciousness, because it’s just too creamy delicious for my mind to not categorize it as “junk food.” But the fat and sugar is the good stuff guys, so if you’re a girl of the low-fat era, let me reassure you, your body needs the good fat. 

Or maybe it’s just because I’m used to the guilt I feel when eating store-purchased ice cream that’s loaded with ingredients I can’t pronounce—all those fillers and chemicals. We dive into the problems with processed ice cream in this episode of the Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy podcast: Is Antifreeze in Ice Cream? (ep. 132)

But just look at these ingredients, folks. So simple. So real. So good.

Coffee Ice Cream Ingredients

3/4 cup maple syrup

4 shots espresso, chilled

1 1/2 cups whole milk

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 TB vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

Coffee Ice Cream Instructions

1. Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
2. Place your frozen bowl, paddle, and lid on your ice cream maker & turn it on.
3. Pour your mixed ingredients into the moving, frozen bowl.
4. Let ice cream maker process for about 20-25 minutes, until the ice cream hardens up some. (It will still be soft serve consistency but you’ll notice the churning sound changes and becomes more belabored sounding.)
5. Add any optional ingredients you may want (cacao nibs and chocolate chips are both delicious) during the last few minutes of churning.

Notes

• This brand is the only espresso I use. It’s it’s mold free, toxin free, and shade-grown. These things all make for not only smooth, delicious coffee and espresso but zero bitterness and zero crash or icky feelings afterwards that coffee used to give me.
• If you want a caffeine-free, medicinal option, you can add 4 shots of double rich tea that tastes like coffee.
• If you don’t have maple syrup (first of all, I highly recommend you grab some right here and save with code SOULYRESTED), you can use 1 cup of raw cane sugar or refined sugar in place of the maple syrup in this recipe.
• Find out more about the best sugar to use in this Guide to Choosing a Sugar.
• The ice cream is on the soft side when it’s done. If you prefer it firmer, just freeze it in a freezer-safe container for an hour or so. Sometimes homemade ice cream turns pretty hard when you do this and needs to set out at room temperature for 10 minutes or so before it’s “scoop-able,” but that’s easy enough. 
• Don’t want to invest in a fancy espresso maker? This little stove top one does a great job.
• If you’re adding an ingredient in step 5, probably about 1 cup will be a good amount. 
• I sometimes substitute carob chips for chocolate chips. Carob chips taste similar to chocolate but they are actually a legume, which is anti-inflammatory, and helps with gut health. Unlike chocolate, which actually inhibits the amount of calcium your body is able to absorb, carob aids your body in digesting calcium (which, of course, this ice cream is full of).
• If you don’t have heavy cream on hand, combine 1 1/2 cups whole milk with 1/2 cup melted butter… Heat butter, add in milk when almost all melted and combine while heating together. Add maple syrup and vanilla to hot milk then add that mixture, little by little, while whisking, into cold milk. Then pour immediately into ice cream machine. This isn’t quite as delicious and it doesn’t store well (it hardens up to the point you can’t scoop it out) but in a pinch, it works.
• Another option is to simply use 4 cups of whole milk if you don’t have heavy cream.
• This set of stainless steel containers, with a sealed lid, is perfect for ice cream storage. The largest one will hold all of your finished ice cream and, if you choose to enjoy some soft serve and freeze the rest, the middle or small size will hold the left overs.
• My favorite way to enjoy this ice cream is plopped on top of a mint chocolate chip cookie baked in a mini cast iron pan, and straight out of the oven.
• Want a protein-packed dessert? Add 2 scoops of unflavored protein powder. Or feel free to choose a fun flavor of protein powder to compliment the coffee, like chocolate, salted caramel, snickerdoodle, or vanilla. Find all the flavor options in the best protein powder on the market, with zero junk, by clicking the protein powder linked below. (Trust me, you need this, it’s amazing.)

The tools I use to make this amazing Coffee Ice Cream

Talk to me!

If you have any questions, leave a comment below. And please tag me on ig @souly.rested if you try this delicious ice cream!

Want more?

My Maple Ice Cream Recipe

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

My Favorite Tools in my farmhouse kitchen

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. I Cor. 10:31

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Let’s make Italian dressing together

Join me as I whip some up this morning. I also break down the details of each ingredient, why I chose that particular one and where I source them as well. Or just skip to 9:45 to see me put it all together.

What’s Italian dressing made of?

Honestly, Italian dressing is simply made from basic pantry ingredients. You’ll need oil, vinegar, something to give it just a little “kick” (I love garlic), something to sweeten it (read notes below for lots of all-natural sweetener options), and some salt and pepper.

Why don’t vinegar and oil mix in Italian dressing?

It can drive you a little batty, if you let it, but it’s totally normal that Italian dressing “separates” quickly and has to be mixed every time you’re going to use it.  The reason goes back to high school chemistry class… Vinegar molecules sit closer together, and the substance is more dense than the molecules of oil. So the heavier, denser vinegar will always settle to the bottom of your jar. There’s lots more behind it, actually, but, hey, I never paid close attention in Chemistry class.

Suffice it to say, it’s no biggie and nothing that a little shake of the jar won’t “fix.”

Which salad dressing is the healthiest?

Feel free to make this recipe your own, and definitely use what you have in your pantry. This recipe is very forgiving and will be delicious with whatever similar ingredients you have on hand, such as olive oil instead of my avocado, or honey instead of my maple.

Italian Dressing Recipe

Ingredients for homemade Italian Dressing

• 1 1/2 cups avocado oil
• 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cups water
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 TB maple syrup (use code SOULYRESTED to save $)
• 3 tsp salt (use code SOULYRESTED to save $)
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast (see notes)

Directions for making Italian Dressing

• Feel free to use parmesan cheese or omit cheese altogether. I always substitute nutritional yeast in place of processed parmesan. Go here for more about that swap: 6 kitchen swaps I’ve made over the years.
• As always, feel free to play with the ingredients and quantities to make this dressing exactly the way your family loves it. That’s the best part of homemade kitchen staples!
• Feel free to use different oils or all-natural sugars, depending on what you have on hand or what your family prefers. Go here for great insights in all the best all-natural sugars.
• No fancy lid is needed, but if you’d like to up your dressing game and use the lid I show in my Italian Dressing Recipe Video, you’ll love this spout lid for mason jars.
• Not sure what sugar you want to use? Go here for a break down of all the best options.
• Use Redmond Real Salt in this recipe and add more than 64 trace minerals to your Italian salad dressing! Use code SOULYRESTED to save & stock up on some of this amazing salt today. I buy it in the bulk size because it stores so easily and keeps forever.
• I source many of these ingredients from Azure Standard. Go here to find out how this independent food supply chain is fixing a broken food system and connecting food suppliers directly to consumers.

Ingredients in my Italian Dressing Recipe

Talk to me about your homemade Italian dressing!

If you have any questions, leave a comment below. And please tag me on ig to show me your DIY Italian dressing @souly.rested.

And be sure to Download my FREE Pantry Checklist and all the discounts on the best ingredients

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I was rendering lard and had more cracklins than usual.

The same day I had quite a craving for kamut chocolate chip cookies.

Naturally, I started fantasizing about adding some cracklins into said cookies. The rest is history… and every bacon lover’s dream.

While I use fresh milled Kamut usually for these cookies (find out here how to use fresh flour in any recipe), here I’m sharing a simpler recipe. But feel free to add bacon to any chocolate chip cookies made with fresh flour too.

Print

Cookies Made with Bacon

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter at room temperature (I use lard)
• 1 1/2 cups maple sugar or brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 2 1/2 tsp maple or vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3-3 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet mini chips
• 1/4 cup cut up bits of cooked bacon or I use cracklins, when I have them

Instructions

• In a large bowl, beat lard and sugars. Mix in eggs, vanilla, and maple syrup.
• Combine 3 cups flour, mint, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl, then beat the flour mixture into the rest.
• Stir in chips and bacon (or cracklins).
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place teaspoonfuls of dough on cookie sheets. No need to space out much, these cookies don’t spread when they bake. But you will need to flatten them with a floured cup bottom or a fork if you prefer them to be flatter instead of thick and round. The lard will hold its shape in a thicker mound if you don’t flatten them. (Both ways makes for a delicious cookie, so don’t stress over this.)
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, switching trays from top to bottom racks halfway through. The cookies may appear a bit underdone, but their edges should just begin to turn golden brown.

Notes

• I render my lard and freeze it in butter-shaped molds so it’s super easy to use in place on butter in any recipe. Go here for more details about baking with lard.
• Go here for details on how to make your own maple sugar.
• If you’re using butter instead of lard, you will probably want to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before working with it. Add an additional 1⁄4 cup of flour if the dough doesn’t seem quite thick enough after refrigeration. (Before chilling, if I’m using butter in this recipe, my dough is always too gooey, but I resist the urge to keep adding flour because I have made these cookies too cake-like by doing that in the past.)
• If you’re using butter you may find you want to cook the cookies a few minutes longer and cool them completely on cookie sheets, where they’ll flatten, and their centers will harden slightly while on the tray. After they’ve cooled, they’re chewy and moist.
• This recipe has a little more extract than usual; I find I need the little extra “umpf” when baking with lard… I will admit lard does not pack the same taste punch as butter (I LOVE butter yall) but feel free to only add 1 tsp of extract if you’re making these with butter.
• Mini chocolate chips are optional, of course, well I mean to most folks. I don’t see them as optional, cause I love the extra small bits of chocolate in every cookie. Plus, I love having both the milk and semi-sweet tastes of chocolate.
• I recommend either using medium-cooked bacon or be sure to cut crisp bacon into tiny pieces. You don’t want hard chunks in your cookies.
• While any salt will work just fine in this recipe, Redmonds salt is truly the best. It’s mined over 400 feet below ground, right here in the U.S. so it’s naturally protected from pollutants (not something you can say about salt mined from the ocean) and more than 60 trace minerals. If you want to try it out, use my code SWEETSALT to save 15% off your entire order, anytime.

Can you buy lard for making chocolate chip cookies?

You can absolutely source good lard, either as fat that you can render down yourself, or as already rendered lard. Here are some tips:

1. These regenerative farmers raise the best lard you can find: Check it out.
2. If you live in New England and would like to purchase a whole or half a pig, I would love to chat about how our family farm can help you load your freezer next fall (with amazing pig fat as well as delicious pasture-raised meat). We keep a waiting list, and I am always happy to meet new customers and expand our plans for next year, to make sure your family enjoys high-quality meat next year (if I can’t help you today). To message me, hop over to instagram or send an email to michelle(dot)visser(at)outlook(dot)com.
3. Find local pig farmers and ask around until you can hopefully find one who either sells lard they have rendered or maybe the raw fat which you can then render yourself. (Or just store away until you use it, in the case of caul fat.)
4. Go to eatwild.com and search for a pig farm near you.
5. Order online. Seriously. You can purchase this amazing fat, ready to use, and skipped to your door:

Caul fat

Lard made from back fat

Lard made from the inner, leaf fat 

 

Items I use to make these amazing cookies:

The post Cookies Made with Bacon first appeared on Souly Rested.

When I decided to stop buying ice cream at the store, I started using my ice cream maker (I love this machine) to whip up all kinds of frozen, creamy alternatives to Breyers, with zero refined sugar or any additives or preservative chemicals. I was hesitant if the mint chocolate chip would meet my high expectations. Oh boy, does it ever!

Sidenote, you’ll love my Maple Ice Cream recipe too, I’m sure of it.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream With Maple Syrup

Ingredients

4 cups fresh mint leaves (or 2 cups dried mint)

2 cups milk

3/4 cup maple syrup (i highly recommend this syrup)

1 tsp vanilla extract (this is the only one I buy)

1/2 tsp salt (I use this salt)

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup cacao nibs, ground up (this is where I get mine) — see notes

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Blend all but the last 3 ingredients together on high speed until the mint leaf bits are tiny. Add heavy cream and blend a little more.
2. Pour your mint cream into an ice cream maker and process, about 20 minutes.
3. Add cacao nibs and chocolate chips during the last few minutes of churning.

Notes

• If you don’t have maple syrup (first of all, I highly recommend you grab some right here and save with code SOULYRESTED), you can use 1 cup of raw cane sugar or refined sugar in place of the maple syrup in this recipe.
• Find out more about the best sugar to use in this Guide to Choosing a Sugar.
• The ice cream is on the soft side when it’s done. If you prefer it firmer, just freeze it in a freezer-safe container for an hour or so. Sometimes homemade ice cream turns pretty hard when you do this and needs to set out at room temperature for 10 minutes or so before it’s “scoop-able,” but that’s not the case with this ice cream. It scoops perfectly, right out of the freezer.
• No fresh or dried mint on hand? Use 2-3 tsp mint extract. (Find out how to make your own mint extract here.)
• I use a vacuum-seal blender which makes the fresh mint retain its gorgeous green color in the ice cream, if I’m using fresh mint. (The pictures in the freezer container and on the cookie are made with dried mint, so the green is less vibrant.) A standard blender causes the ingredients to loose some nutrients when pulverized at the high speed of the blender and the introduction of all that air when blending makes the mint unable to hold its green color. But no worries, tan-colored mint ice cream is just as delicious.
• I add the cacao nibs for the added nutritional bonus, and they add a dark chocolate flavor and crunchy texture (they’re also amazing drizzled into a cup of healthy hot chocolate), but feel free to use 1 cup of regular old chocolate chips too.
• I sometimes substitute carob chips for chocolate chips. Carob chips taste similar to chocolate but they are actually a legume, which is anti-inflammatory, and helps with gut health. Unlike chocolate, which actually inhibits the amount of calcium your body is able to absorb, carob aids your body in digesting calcium (which, of course, this ice cream is full of).
• If you don’t have heavy cream on hand, combine 1 1/2 cups whole milk with 1/2 cup melted butter… Heat butter, add in milk when almost all melted and combine while heating together. Add maple syrup and vanilla to hot milk then add that mixture, little by little, while whisking, into cold milk. Then pour immediately into ice cream machine. This isn’t quite a delicious and it doesn’t store well (it hardens up to the point you can’t scoop it out) but in a pinch, it works.
• Another option is to simply use 4 cups of whole milk if you don’t have heavy cream.
• This set of stainless steel containers, with a sealed lid, is perfect for ice cream storage. The largest one will hold all of your finished ice cream and, if you choose to enjoy some soft serve and freeze the rest, the middle or small size will hold the left overs.
• My favorite way to enjoy this ice cream is plopped on top of a mint chocolate chip cookie baked in a mini cast iron pan, and straight out of the oven.

My Ice Cream Tools of the Trade

Talk to me!

If you have any questions, leave a comment below. And please tag me on ig @souly.rested if you try this delicious ice cream!

More For You:

My Maple Ice Cream Recipe

Maple Peanut Butter (another favorite to make with my vacuum-seal blender)

My Favorite Tools in my farmhouse kitchen

Follow My Podcast for Real Food encouragement

Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea 6:3

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How to Make a Meat Rub

I got to work, researching tasty options and pulling lots of goodness out of my pantry.

I knew I wanted it to be a maple meat rub, because, well, we are sugarmakers and I’m always substituting maple syrup for sugar. Plus, I did write the book on maple.

While we’re pig farmers and primarily eat pasture-raised pork (you’d never believe how much variety there is in pork… it’s not just ham and bacon guys!), I definitely wanted this homemade meat rub to be yummy on every cut, of every type of meat, from pork to chicken to beef.

This homemade meat rub checks all the boxes, y’all, and I’m in love.

How long should a rub stay on meat before cooking?

Ideally, if you have the time, try to cover your meat in the meat rub an hour or so before you’re going to cook it. The idea is to give the delicious tastes in the rub some time to linger on the meat and penetrate into it before cooking. 

On the other hand, we’re usually all pressed for time, right? I can testify that I often don’t think of the rub until right before the meat needs to go in the oven or the smoker. I can also testify it still tastes delicious.

Join me as I mix this meat rub together (right before dinner is due to go in the smoker I might add):

Does a dry rub need sugar and salt?

Meat rubs can be as unique as the cooks themselves, but often you’ll find meat rubs have spices and sugar in them. That tends to form a wonderful crust of flavor around the meat as it cooks (you can see the amazing meat rub crust around our ham roast in the video above). 

I haven’t bought refined sugar in years (find out why in my Complete Guide to Sugars) but we love lots of natural, complex sugars. My two favorite in this rub are maple sugar and/or coconut sugar. But, trust me, whatever sugars you have on hand will work beautifully.

Homemade Maple Meat Rub

With just 7 simple ingredients, you can mix up your own homemade meat rub that the family will love. It stores well for a long time, so feel free to make a bulk batch, so it’s always on hand.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup maple sugar (find out How to Make Maple Sugar)

2 tablespoons garlic powder

4 teaspoons onion powder

2 tablespoons coarse salt (this is the best! Use code SOULYRESTED)

2 teaspoons cinnamon (this is what I use)

4 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons pepper

DIRECTIONS

Mix all 7 ingredients together well.

Store in a mason jar, with a sealed lid.

Coat your meat prior to cooking by slathering a very thin layer of mustard on your meat, on all sides, followed by the meat rub.

On average, use 2 TB of rub per pound of meat.

NOTES for Making a Meat Rub

• This rub is especially amazing on Pork Rib Roast.

• Coat this homemade meat rub on any cut or option of meat, prior to cooking. It’s delicious on all cuts of pork and I recently got this 5-star review from a reader when she served steak for dinner with this rub… “MAJOR hit!! My husband and nephew are creating new rating scales called delicioso units. ”

• These sealed mason jar lids are my favorite way to store not only meat rubs, but all my homemade seasonings, homegrown herbs, and my favorite teas. Grab a 4-pack and it’s even better than getting one free!

• You may be tempted to substitute any old salt in this recipe, but know that kosher salt takes any meat rub to the next level. btw, it’s not called “kosher” because it’s been blessed by a rabbi. Instead, the name simply refers to the size of its coarse grains, which make it perfect for rubs. This one is the best, it’s mined in the U.S., and it’s great for making your own Everything Seasoning too. Use code SOULYRESTED to save 15% off your entire order. All the time.

Items I use to Make Homemade Meat Rubs

Talk to me!

If you have any questions, leave a comment below. And please tag me on ig to show me your amazing meat rubs you create @souly.rested.

Other articles you’ll love:

5 Reasons I Don’t Buy Meat at the Grocery Store

How to Bake With Lard (& Why You Should)

The Ultimate Guide to Cooking a Pork Loin Roast

How to Cook Pork Steaks

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3: 12-13

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Find out why SoulyRested was considered to be one of the Top 20 Must-Read Homesteading Blogs of 2018 and then one of the Top Homesteading Blogs of 2021 as well.

Glance at my Resource Page if you’d like to get a glimpse of all the supplies I use and recommend for everything from gardening, to homeschooling, to chicken care, to nature journaling, to maple syrup making.

 

 

I’d love to connect!

To find me in some other neck of the woods, just click any (or every!) icon below:

The post How to Make a Meat Rub first appeared on Souly Rested.

Or if you’d rather not make it yourself, grab some of the organic Not Coffee tea right here and support a wonderful, small, family business. Be sure to use code SOULYRESTED to save 10%!

I never thought I liked coffee or cats, but today I’m sitting on my back deck sipping this iced “not” coffee playing with 4 barn kitties who have stollen my heart and well, I’m about as happy as can be.

So I’ll admit it here (but maybe never in real life) I’m a cat lady who love coffee. (what??)

The second I took my last sip I knew I had to document and share this recipe.

Cause this Chocolate Maple Iced Coffee is going to rock your world and change the way you get through hot summer days. Heck, the kids are gonna love it too. And it’s loaded with good-for-you stuff. Absolutely nothing you can’t pronounce. Zero caffeine (well, except for the small amount of naturally occurring caffeine you add if you choose to add cacao (but fyi this drink is delicious without the chocolate vibes too.)

Maple Chocolate Iced “Coffee”

Ingredients

16 oz prepared Tea that Tastes Like Coffee (code SOULYRESTED saves $$)

2-3 TB Maple Syrup (code SOULYRESTED saves $$)

1/2-1 TB of cacao

1/2 tsp maca root powder (totally optional, see notes)

6-8 ice cubes

3 generous scoops of maple ice cream

Directions

1. Steep 1 TB of this Tea that Tastes Like Coffee in 16 oz of hot water for 2 minutes. (Or make your own homemade healthy tea that tastes like coffee.)
2. Stir in maple syrup, cacao, and (optional) maca root powder.
3. Add 6-8 ice cubes and stir well.
4. Add 2 generous scoops of maple ice cream and stir again.
5. Top with 1 more scoop of maple ice cream and enjoy.

Yield: 2 cups of amazingness and at least 10 minutes of pure sipping pleasure on a hot summer day.

Recipe Notes

• If you don’t have maple ice cream, first of all why not? It’s super easy and you will never want to buy junky ice cream with ingredients you can’t pronounce again. But I digress.. feel free to use whatever ice cream you have on hand or just add a few more ice cubes. Chocolate Maple Iced Coffee is delicious without the ice cream twist.
• If you want to skip the cacao (or use cocoa powder) that’s also totally fine. Maple Iced Coffee is still a good bet.
• If you want the coffee jolt, of course I’m sure you know this recipe would be heavenly with the real McCoy.
• Maca is totally optional, but I add maca root powder to a lot of things, because it is reported to improve energy levels, help with cognitive function, and even may protect skin from UV damage. Plus its nutty, butterscotch-like taste is an added bonus to this already amazing drink.

Other articles you’ll love:

Teas for Tea Fanatics

Is Tea a Healthy Choice?

How to Make (Deliciously Addicting!) Mint Lilac Tea

Fermented Tea… What is it? and the 5 Best Flavors

“He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” Psalm 107:9

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Find out why SoulyRested was considered to be one of the Top 20 Must-Read Homesteading Blogs of 2018 and then one of the Top Homesteading Blogs of 2021 as well.

Glance at my Resource Page if you’d like to get a glimpse of all the supplies I use and recommend for everything from gardening, to homeschooling, to chicken care, to nature journaling, to maple syrup making.

 

 

I’d love to connect!

To find me in some other neck of the woods, just click any (or every!) icon below:

The post Maple Chocolate Iced “Coffee” first appeared on Souly Rested.

Truth is, there are many options for making maple candy. But they all share two things in common. Keep reading for the full scoop…

Hi, I’m Michelle. A backyard sugarmaker in New England, and author of Sweet Maple.

Please consider helping me support sugarmaking education worldwide with every purchase of the SoulyRested Swag. You’ll find the latest designs right here (like the one I’m wearing here) .

There are many ways to make this deliciousness

All varieties of maple candy are delicious. And they are all made up of ONE ingredient. Yep, one.

And guess what? You can not only pronounce it, but know exactly where it came from and how good it is for you: 100% maple syrup.

Seriously, there’s no better candy, guys.

This post contains affiliate links. Go here to read the full (ultra fun) legal disclosure about that.

Get the Full Scoop

For the full scoop on the amazing science behind all-natural sugar and all the options and varieties of maple candies you can make, see my book, Sweet Maple.

If you can’t find it at your local book store, great news! You can purchase it right here and still support your local bookstore. (Pretty cool, huh?)

Of course you can grab a copy on Amazon too, if that’s your jam.

If you do grab a copy of my book be sure to go here to claim all the bonuses I’ve gathered for you to say thank you!

How to Make Two Popular Kinds of Maple Candy

I walk you through the details on how to make my two favorite ways to make maple candy in this video:

I call them Maple Stained Glass and Maple Crumbles. My favorite way to use maple candies? I keep them in a jar by my loose leaf teas and use them to sweeten my morning cup of hot tea.

Making maple stained glass hard candy

Making maple crumbles candy

Heat a quart of maple syrup to 244°F in a large pot on the stove.

When it reaches 244°F remove it from the heat and let it cool to 175°F. Beat it with a wooden spoon until it turns a nice cream color, then pour it into greased molds. If you do this just right (which I seldom do, there are just too many variables that have to be perfect) you’ll have a wonderful soft molded candy.

BUT if you let it go slightly above 244 or let it cool to lower than 175 or stir it too long or not long enough you will have a hard sugar that hardens too quickly to pour into molds. Just pour it onto prepared cookie sheets and break it into pieces as it cools.

Store your maple crumbles in a sealed mason jar. I use this lid and jars like these.

Give an amazing gift

I love giving these candies as gifts. I have a page of printable gift cards in my subscriber library if you’d like to have a sweet note to attach to your gifts to let folks know the amazingness you made them and great ways to use the candies. Just subscribe here and print it out right away.

Other Recipes You’ll Love:

• Making Maple Mango Granola
• Making Maple Peanut Butter
• Making Homemade Gatorade
• Making Maple Kombucha
• Making Maple Cream
• Making Maple Sugar

And I list my favorite tools in my homestead kitchen right here.

p.s. Remember, order a copy of my book Sweet Maple for all the details on making the best maple confections and maple-infused baked goods, bread, and even savory meals. Go here for a peak inside, reviews, and all the bonuses.

p.s.s. If you need to order syrup, my friend’s XXL size of maple syrup right here would make lots of wonderful candy, and it’s the best bulk-serving price I’ve found anywhere. Order $50 worth or more & use coupon code SOULYRESTED to enjoy a free tub of maple cotton candy! 

My people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord. Jeremiah 31:14

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Find out why SoulyRested was considered to be one of the Top 20 Must-Read Homesteading Blogs of 2018 and then one of the Top Homesteading Blogs of 2019 as well.

Glance at my Resource Page if you’d like to get a glimpse of all the supplies I use and recommend for everything from gardening, to homeschooling, to chicken care, to nature journaling, to maple syrup making.

 

 

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The post How to Make Maple Candy first appeared on Souly Rested.

I was writing my book and reaching out to sugarmakers across the country, asking what they loved to do most with their syrup. Numerous people told me they love making maple granola. Maple Granola? Why had I never thought of this? I knew immediately I wanted to know how to do this wonderful thing.

I already knew how important gut health is. That was one reason I had been making our family’s own kombucha for years. (Kombucha is a delicious, carbonated fruit drink made by fermenting tea. Read more about that in these articles. And learn how to make your own.)

In addition to enjoying kombucha, snacking on high-fiber foods like oats, nuts, and seeds increases gut health.

And granola fills you up with good stuff, slowing down the emptying of your stomach and increasing digestion time, which means you feel fuller for longer.

This post contains affiliate links. Go here to read the full (ultra fun) legal disclosure about that.

Could you help me with this?

Hi, I’m Michelle. A backyard sugarmaker in New England, and author of Sweet Maple.

Please consider helping me support sugarmaking education worldwide with every purchase of the SoulyRested Swag. You’ll find the latest designs right here (like the one I’m wearing here) .

There are lots of great reasons to snack on granola

• Granola can improve gut health. I’ve already covered this point (above), but I didn’t want to leave it off this list. Granola has been found to increase levels of healthy gut bacteria. In fact, studies have shown what we all already knew–granola is a much better choice than refined breakfast cereals.
• Granola can offer numerous antioxidants. Ingredients such as coconut, chia seeds, and Brazil nuts are good sources of antioxidants.
• Granola is a source of good fat. The fat you’ll find in homemade granola is the good stuff. I’m talking about the heart-healthy, unsaturated fats in nuts and the good-for-you omega-3 fats in seeds.
• Granola can improve blood pressure. High-fiber ingredients like oats and flax seeds can reduce blood pressure, according to scientific studies like this one.
• Granola can reduce bad cholesterol levels. Oats are another good source of fiber that helps reduce bad cholesterol levels.
• Granola can reduce blood sugar levels. It seems counterintuitive, but dried fruit–as well as whole grains, nuts, and seeds–may help control blood sugar.

Why make your own granola?

Even the ingredient list on healthy-leaning brands can contain some ingredients you need a dictionary to pronounce.

Store-bought granola may be loaded with way more sugar than you bargain for. And just because you scan the label for high-fructose corn syrup, extra unnecessary sugar can go by healthier-sounding names as well, like evaporated cane juice, molasses, brown rice syrup, and oat syrup solids—those are all added sugars.

On the other hand, when you’re making your own granola and when you know every ingredient in your granola, you can minimize added sugar and fat.

Of course, nuts and seed are still full of calories, so don’t get caught in the trap of thinking it’s okay to eat too much, since you can argue that is is, after all, good for you.

Maple Mango Granola

Ingredients:

• 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 ½ cup raw nuts and/or seeds (I used 1 cup sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup walnut pieces,  and 1/4 cup honey roasted peanuts)
• 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (I use this one. Use code SOULYRESTED for 15% off.)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (this is the best)
• 2 scoops (6 TB) protein powder (optional, see notes)
• ½ cup oil (I use this one)
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I like this one)
• ⅔ cup dried fruit, chopped if large (I used dried mangos w a little bit cranberries)

Storing Your Homemade Granola

I store my granola in a glass jars with these airtight lids, which happen to be the same lids I love using for my second ferment kombucha. Bonus, the nifty handle makes both my granola and kombucha super easy to grab and take on the run, which i happen to do often.

While I’ve kept my Maple Mango Granola for months without any problem, you may want to freeze your granola if you won’t be using it all within a few weeks.

More Food You Can Make (Better) Yourself:

DIY Everything Bagel Seasoning

DIY Taco Seasoning

DIY Giant Cookie

DIY Kombucha (Why making it is better & cheaper than buying it)

DIY Sourdough Pizza Crust

Pizza Crust (without sourdough)

Uncaffeinated tea that tastes like coffee (seriously!)

DIY Peanut Butter

And I list my favorite tools in my homestead kitchen right here.

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3: 12-13

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Find out why SoulyRested was considered to be one of the Top 20 Must-Read Homesteading Blogs of 2018 and then one of the Top Homesteading Blogs of 2019 as well.

Glance at my Resource Page if you’d like to get a glimpse of all the supplies I use and recommend for everything from gardening, to homeschooling, to chicken care, to nature journaling, to maple syrup making.

 

 

I’d love to connect!

To find me in some other neck of the woods, just click any (or every!) icon below:

The post Maple Mango Granola first appeared on Souly Rested.

I love it even more now that we’ve figured out how to make sourdough bread without any discard. Today I’m sharing my exact recipe and the technique I follow every week to make two loaves of sourdough bread right here in our farmhouse kitchen.

Go here if you’d like to know how to double your sourdough bread recipe.

This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure here.

I do make other bread, now and then… especially my Maple Sandwich Bread, which I’m kinda in love with. I had tons of fun as a guest chef at the Xhibition Kitchen in Boston last month, where they asked me to demonstrate this favorite recipe from my newly-released, #1 in Food Science, book, Sweet Maple.

Isn’t Sourdough too Complicated?

While sandwich bread is a little simpler to make, and doesn’t require any daily maintenance, there’s something about the gorgeous crumb of a well-made sourdough loaf.

And that slightly sour taste… And that amazingly, lightly crisp crust… And the fact that this deliciousness is fermented amazingness–capturing good bacteria and yeast from the air, just like my homemade kombucha that I love so much.

This post contains affiliate links. Go here to read the full (ultra fun) legal disclosure about that.

On one hand, yes, sourdough bread is more of a commitment than my sandwich bread recipe (you can find that in my book, btw, Sweet Maple, available on Amazon or, even better, grab a copy here and support local businesses with your purchase.)

But I’ve decided sourdough bread is very much worth the effort.

Plus, it’s really not complicated. The fact is, I have unmeaningly neglected my sourdough for a week or more at a time. It’s sitting right there on my counter and I totally forget to feed it. Every time it’s been totally fine. I’ll discard any hard crust that’s formed, rescue the drops of good dough-y-ness left and feed it well.

And on baking day I just make sure to choose a day that I know I’ll be around home. I can be out in the garden, doing farm chores, or just pulling up a chair by the kitchen fire, with my laptop in hand doing work in my favorite office ever. I just need to remember to check in on the bread process at the right times throughout the day. It only takes 5-10 minutes of my time a few times throughout the day, and voila we have amazing, fresh, good-for-our-gut bread for dinner (and all week long).

btw, if you would like to know what items I would not want to have to live without here in my farmhouse kitchen (like my most-favorite-ever ceramic bread pan) you’ll want to check out this list of my favorite kitchen items.

Do You Need a Starter?

Yes, you need a sourdough starter before you can make sourdough bread. While it’s super easy to make this yourself, you can buy one as well.

A sourdough starter is simply flour and water that you give a little bit of attention. (2:1 flour and filtered tap water.. or any water that is free of chlorine, which can kill a starter.)  When it’s well cared for, it makes bubbles. In fact, this is how you will know your starter is ready to use–a lot of beautiful bubbles will fill your starter, probably by day 7-10 if you’re using white flour. Day 2-3 with wheat flour, because wheat ferments faster. (btw, feel free to start with wheat then switch over to white; no problem.)

It’s those wonderful bubbles that magically make your bread rise.

Once you have a starter, you never have to make one again.

I will tell you that I care for my starter a little differently than most people do. I hate the idea of throwing away a cup or more starter every day–which is the way most folks recommend you do it. But it just seemed so wasteful. Yes, I know there are numerous recipes that call for a cup or two of sourdough, but I’d rather build up my starter a few days ahead when I want extra, so I have enough when I want to do those things, than throw away starter aimlessly and often. (Building up my starter simply means I feed it lots of flour and water–at a 2:1 ratio–a few days before I want to use it.)

So I keep my starter in a plain ole, wide-mouth quart jar, covered with a small piece of fabric (to keep unwanted bugs out). Then, on an average day, I simply feed my starter a little flour and filtered water and stir it well with a narrow wooden spoon. I don’t measure my amounts of flour and water, just add enough of each to keep the starter a nice, thick, pancake-batter thickness. No it doesn’t grow quickly, but I find it’s just the right amount when it’s time to make bread once a week, which is 2 cups of starter (since I double the recipe below) and a nice layer of starter left behind.

How Do I Make Sourdough Bread (with no discard)

What I do once a day

Daily you want to feed your starter… add filtered water, then add flour until the starter is the consistency of heavy cake batter… Just keep in mind that you’re better with too much flour than too much water. Well, in my opinion at least. This way you’ll have less holes in your bread, (in the “crumb”) and a very nice slice of bread.

And you’ll find it easier to get your bread to rise if your starter is thicker, not watery. Also, if it’s too watery it doesn’t have enough body to double.

And don’t sweat it if you forget to feed it one day… or 3 or 4. It will survive a lot of neglect. You just may not have a nice bubbly starter ready for your next loaf of bread.

Two nights before bread-baking day, feel free to add more flour and water if it’s not looking like you’ll have enough bubbly starter for the recipe.

What I do the night before

It sounds more complicated than it is to say that making sourdough bread is a 2-day process because honestly the first day’s effort is almost non-existent. You mix a few things together in a bowl. That’s it.

In a large bowl, add these ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm, filtered water 

1 cup sourdough starter 

3 cups of flour

I double this each week, to make the 2 loaves you see below. I recently shared the full details on how to double your sourdough bread recipe too.

With this recipe doubled, I make one long loaf in my favorite bread pan and one round artisan loaf in a dutch oven.

Mix & let set overnight in bowl on your kitchen counter that you’ve covered over with a towel.

You don’t even have to mix it super well. It doesn’t need to be like true dough.

But you do need to be sure to leave enough starter to be a thick layer on the bottom of your jar. I take this opportunity every week to switch my sourdough starter over to a new, clean, wide-mouth Mason jar. I’ve let it sit in the same jar a few weeks at a time but always regretted how difficult it was to clean the caked-on mess.

What I do on baking morning

In the morning, you’ll find your dough is filling up much more of the bowl. You may also find it’s gotten a little “crusty” in spots on the top. If so, you can lay a wet towel on the dough for 10-20 minutes to soften it up. It doesn’t always “work” and that’s totally fine. There’s no problem with using the dough with a few little crusty spots in it.

Add these ingredients:

1 tb sugar (I use maple sugar or this pure cane sugar)

2 1/2 tsp salt (this salt is my favorite)

1 cup of flour (I like this flour but I get my wheat berries here)

Add up to 1 more cup of flour if needed. Knead just until all combined and nice texture; not too sticky.

You can use any sugar and any flour you would like, btw. I’ve gotten more picky about my sugars and flour over the years. I will use all-natural maple sugar or this pure cane sugar (I buy it at my local Aldis) and mill my own flour, which I often use in a 1:1 ratio with this flour. I love my grain mill. It does an amazing job and looks gorgeous on my counter. See my grain mil right here, or you can check it out on Amazon too.

But sourdough with fresh flour is a whole new ballgame, so definitely check out my tips: Sourdough with Fresh Milled Flour

If you want to use fresh milled flour you will have the most nutritious bread possible. I’ve priced around and tried different varieties. I am most happy with the wheat berries that happen to also be the most economical; that doesn’t happen often in life!

I order these wheat berries for bread, and these wheat berries for baking pastries and cookies and such.

But fresh milled flour is never necessary for amazing sour dough bread. In fact, any flour and any sugar you have on hand will be just fine.

Roll dough lightly in flour if still a tad sticky, then place in bowl twice it’s size, that you’ve prepared with a thin layer of oil (I spray on olive oil using this wonderful tool), and cover bowl with a towel (or plastic wrap that you spray underneath, so the rising dough won’t stick to it). Unlike other homemade breads, there’s no need to set your bowl in a draft-free area.

Granted, in colder areas, like my drafty old kitchen, it will take longer to rise–up to 3-4 hours–but it will have more of that delicious sourdough flavor the longer it takes to rise.

But you could do things differently

My oldest daughter (the Mechanical Engineer), Logan, happens to be quite an engineer of bread too, and she likes to do everything up to this point the day before she’ll be baking her bread. Then this rise she’ll let go even longer and slower, overnight in the fridge.

She also isn’t a fan of having her sourdough on her small counter area in her small kitchen, so Logan keeps her dough in the fridge until the day before she wants to start a new loaf. Then she feeds it a cup or more of flour with enough water to make a nice consistency (more watery than my pancake-batter consistency I go for) early that morning, before going to work, and again the same amount at night, and it’s ready to be used the next day.

I call my slow-and-steady starter the country starter and her fast-and-quick version the city starter. (She does live and work in Boston, so it’s appropriate.)

What I do on baking afternoon

When it’s about 1.5x in size, it’s time to divide your dough. (Sourdough doesn’t double. Or if it does, it’s probably overproofed.)

Simply jiggle the dough out of the bowl and onto your counter (believe it or not, there shouldn’t be a need for flour on your counter, but dust some on if you find you need it). I divide my double-batch of dough into two pieces, one about 1/4 of the overall amount and one about 3/4.

But if you’re just doing a single loaf, no need to divide your dough.

Turn bowl over and plop dough onto counter. Divide. Then gently flatten both sections of dough separately, using light finger or knuckle pressure. Create two “balls” by pulling a top “corner” in, pressing down, and rotating your circle of dough 90 degrees. Keep doing this until your dough is no longer stretchy, about 10-12 pulls/turns. You now have a nice ball of dough, which will lead to a firmer, airy loaf of bread.

Turn the balls over and lightly dust w flour. Cover each with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes. (This is called a “bench rest.”)

After 10 minutes, smooch each into rectangle the right length for your pan (or just a square for an artisan loaf that will be baked in a dutch oven).

If you’re more of a visual person, see the whole bread-making process right here in my instagram highlights.

I then make a kind of “house” shape then roll the dough, from the pointed “roof,” down, firmly pressing the dough together with each roll. I will pinch the seam and/or pull the log or circle of dough along the counter to try to eliminate a seam.

For an artisan loaf, I spray a medium-sized pyrex bowl with oil. (I love this oil sprayer that allows me to use pure olive oil instead of chemical-laden aerosol cooking spray.)

Then cover in a dusting of flour. For the long loaf, I get out the right sized parchment paper. (Yes, I reuse my parchment paper again and again.)

Meanwhile preheat your bread pan(s) at 425. (For me, this is a cast iron dutch oven and this ceramic loaf pan that I happen to be in love with.)

I place my ball into its prepared bowl, seem side up. And I place my long log on parchment paper inside of the lid of my ceramic bread baker. (While the bottom of the pan is preheating.) I cover the bowl and lid with a kitchen towel and set them both in a draft-free area for about 1/2 hour.

I know it’s done rising when a gentle finger poke doesn’t bounce back. 

Place your ball of dough on parchment paper, sized to fit your dutch oven, and score. (See below for more about scoring.)

Then, using the paper to lift it easily, plop the ball of dough in your preheated dutch oven, and place lid on pan.

Lift the long loaf out of the lid it’s been rising in, place it (on its parchment paper) into the hot bread pan, and cover with top.

Bake both on center rack at 425 for 20 minutes. Then remove lids and leave an additional 10 minutes or so, until crust is done. 

Watch Every Step of the Process

I documented my process, from starter to bread, one day on my instagram stories and saved the whole bread-making process right here if you’d like to watch.

While you’re there please say “hi” and follow my page. I find instagram to be my favorite “hang out,” and would love to see you there.

The Only Hard Step in the Process

Then comes possibly the hardest step of the entire process…

Wait.

Don’t give into your temptation to cut into that wonderful smelling loaf right away. If you do, you will have doughy, squishy bread. Wait 20 minutes and you’ll be greeted with a firm yet airy piece of bread that you will be quite certain is a taste directly from heaven.

Your Questions About Making Sourdough Bread (without discard)

Yesterday, when I was making our loaves for the week ahead, I had this crazy idea that I would invite folks on instagram to join in and be a part of the process as the day unfolded. I wasn’t expecting it to be such a popular thing! So I saved the stories to a sourdough highlight for you to check them out anytime, and then I pulled this article together to give everyone answers to all the questions I was flooded with. Such as…

Why bench rest the dough?

A few of you asked if the bench rest is really necessary. I’m not an expert by any means, but from what I’ve read, this little nap gives the gluten in the dough time to catch it’s breath, so to speak, and recover, which means it can reform the protein chains that are the overall structure of your bread.

Why don’t I need to add yeast?

Crazy enough, sour dough starter captures natural yeast from the air in your home.

Will my sourdough starter get moldy?

A sourdough starter should never develop mold. I’ve had mine for years and never had a problem with mold. If you do see mold in your starter, from what I understand the cause can only be one of two things: a not-clean container or spoon was used to start your starter or your flour source may be contaminated

Why is it sour tasting?

2. I didn’t perfect this recipe.

Kayla, my homesteader-at-heart-since-she-was-a-little-girl spent years perfecting this. I only took over the efforts this winter when she announced she would be spending the long New England winter on the Gulf of Mexico with Hayley and Jordyn, her sister who was interning at the Texas State Aquarium.

While I had no control over the quietness in the house this winter, I had total control of the sourdough operation. And I was shocked at how much I loved it. (The bread making. Not so much the quietness.)

And don’t forget I list out all my favorite kitchen items right here–you know, the ones I’d hate to have to do without, and yes, my ceramic bread pan is #1 on my list.

 

Want more sourdough?

Sourdough Pizza Crust

Sourdough Bread Bowls

Go here to find out my favorite sourdough “tool” of all time, as well as all the items I wouldn’t want to be without in my farmhouse kitchen.

And other links you’ll love:

How to make real butter.

A review of my three favorite cookbooks of all time.

Make your own giant cookie that the kids will love.

How a homesteader makes French toast.

Products I LOVE that can turn every kitchen into a homestead-kind-of kitchen.

 

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Aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands. I Thessalonians 4:11

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Pin this for later!

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Find out why SoulyRested was considered to be one of the Top 20 Must-Read Homesteading Blogs of 2018 and then one of the Top Homesteading Blogs of 2019 as well.

 

 

I’d love to connect!

To find me in some other neck of the woods, just click any (or every!) icon below:

 

 

 

The post How I make sourdough bread without discard first appeared on Souly Rested.