Maplewood Granola

Welcome a new member to my baked good family. Maplewood Granola resembles its older sibling, Honey & Nut Granola (formerly know as Granola), in several ingredients (oats, walnuts, and sunflower seeds) but has a personality all of its own. A faint and pleasing maple flavor combined with toasted almonds and coconut are this granola's distinct characteristics. A delicate flavor is the only way to describe it.

PS - Maplewood Granola is named after the beautiful state park located in the rolling, maple covered hills near the town of Pelican Rapids, Minnesota. Come to the farmers' market in Pelican Rapids this June for Maplewood Granola's first presentation.

Snow Days

What is this? It is the product of our March 31st snow day. Never in my life have I had a day I could actually call a "snow day" like most people. When I was school age, storm days meant nothing more than a day where Dad might be stuck at home, unless of course he took the tractor to the office, which on occasion happened. Of course there was the excitement of seeing the snow falling, but school continued on in my homeschool. Don't feel too badly for me. Mom would usually try to make the day a little more special by giving us time to bake, do handwork, or just read a fun book. Come spring the bonus of finishing school earlier than other kids was enough to make the sacrifice of vacation on snow days seem like nothing. Now as I am older I still can't get away from my work since my business is based out of home. Yet that doesn't drive away that feeling that we should be doing something fun on stormy days. Thus the evening of March 31st found my family not only estimating the inches of snow we had gotten that day but also savoring mouth fulls of an apple tart.