"MapleSyrup" news and stories

Vermonters are rightly proud of their signature export: rich, sweet, sticky, 100% maple syrup. Imitators have never quite been able to replicate it. But one purveyor of imitation syrup has a new product on the shelves that's creating an extra-sticky situation in the Green Mountains. (Full disclosure: I'm a Vermonter born and raised. That's right, this is personal.)

Called Log Cabin All Natural Syrup, the new product is indeed a kind of syrup, and it may technically be "all natural" -- there are no artificial ingredients or preservatives in the stuff. It's also in a new container -- one that just so happens to look exactly like the jugs Vermont farmers have used for decades. But that's where the resemblance ends.

The long weekend's over, you're back on the job, and maybe you need some comfort food to take the edge off. Our suggestion, via blogger (cup)cake eater, is to treat yourself to a good old country breakfast, and put a batch of fluffy maple corn fritters on the griddle. Comfort food is the star in Joni Marie Newman's vegan cookbook Cozy Inside, and you can check out her fritters recipe here.

Want more corn? It's the height of the season, and we're going to be featuring corn for the rest of the week in recipes that take it off the cob and into a chowder, a relish, and some very spicy muffins.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool for a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Having trouble deciphering maple-syrup grades? Click here for a quick guide.

Photo: Scott W. Baker

Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the proprietress of LeNell's liquor store. She's owned her own whiskey label called Red Hook Rye and has been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.

The moving truck rolls into Brooklyn this week. The big international move to Mexico has been brutal to organize, but -- lucky me! -- I had the very cool cats called Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC) host a splendid Hasta Luego shindig in my honor.

One of the members, Elayne Duke, served up an original creation she called "Little Bit of Country," that's perfect for the chill coming in the air these days. Her cocktail pretty much sums me up: kick of bourbon, little sweetness, nice tartness, touch of spiciness and just enough bitter to balance it all out. My Granny sent me a fabulous leopard-print dress to wear that just had to have a pink feather boa for the party ... and I sported my cowboy boots for a "little bit of country."

'Martha Stewart's Cupcakes'
Recipes from the editors of Martha Stewart Living
Photographs by Con Poulos and others
Clarkson Potter -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

If there's one thing in the food blogosphere that provokes as strong a reaction as the words "Martha Stewart," it's "cupcake." So when we heard that Martha was busting out a brand-new book containing 175 of the suckers, we knew we had to get behind the scenes.

Martha's test kitchen cooks are both notoriously talented and fussy about their recipes, so we went straight to the top of the editorial food chain to find out which of the tome's 352 pages contained the best palm-sized cakes. (If you just can't wait, it's after the jump).

As with "Martha Stewart's Cookies," this is a thorough, imaginative and utterly vibrant paean to a beloved member of the baked goods family. The title truly does say it all: there's nothing but cupcakes as far as the eye can see. There's cupcake frosting, cupcake decorations, cupcakes for every season and occasion -- there's even a recipe for "Creepcakes" for, yes, Halloween. It's a candy-colored rebuke to the cupcake haters, those who view the craze as an infantile indulgence or see the diminutive desserts as the cloying, edible equivalent of those tiny dogs who travel around in handbags. Cupcakes, as done by Martha and her team, are a force to be reckoned with. The cover photo says it all: Cupcakes are here and they're not going anywhere, except maybe to your mouth.

See what we tested, what a top test-kitchen toque recommends and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.