NW OH | March 2017 | Issue 10

Salt Flavor for Everyday Life|March/April 2017|$3 A supplement of The Lima News

Letting the

light

shine through

KitchenAid stand mixer creates a stir In the kitchen with: Baked to Perfection

2 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

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Salt Flavor for Everyday Life thesaltmagazine.com Northwest Ohio March/April 2017

Publisher Editor Food Editor Layout Design Content Sales

Doug Olsson Lora Abernathy Andrea Chaffin Jayla Wallingford Adrienne McGee Sterrett Barb Staples

dolsson@civitasmedia.com labernathy@civitasmedia.com achaffin@civitasmedia.com jwallingford@civitasmedia.com amcgeesterrett@civitasmedia.com bstaples@civitasmedia.com

Contact Salt: editor@thesaltmagazine.com 3515 Elida Road, Lima OH 45807 419-223-1010 Salt is published six times a year by Civitas Media LLC and is available through The Lima News. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any material from this issue, in whole or in part, is prohibited. Salt is free to The Lima News subscribers and is also available for purchase at the office of The Lima News.

Please buy locally and recycle.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram @TheSaltMagazine.

Hide & Shake Find the shaker in this issue and be entered to win a $10 grocery card.

Visit our website, thesaltmagazine.com, and click on the Shaker Contest link at the top and enter your contact information. Your name, street number, street name, city and zip code are required. Only your name and city will be published. All entries must be received by March 16. Only online entries will be accepted.

In the December issue, the shaker was hidden in the photo on page 32.

Congratulations to our most recent winner, Deb Jenkins, of Celina.

You could be our next winner!

On the Cover An artist with Window Creations LLC performs work on a piece of stained glass.

Photo courtesy of Window Creations

Sandra (Sandy) Jean Monfort

4 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

Front Porch

Profile

Front Porch Profile offers a personal glimpse into the lives of notable people in our communities

By Lora Abernathy

Coleman Professionals Re-entry Coordinator/Open Gate Coordinator Have you ever met a celebrity?

Yes, I have. Singer and songwriter, Kathy Troccoli, and the singing group, Selah.

Roller skating or ice skating?

Yes. I have done both.

I have roller skated and have done a little bit of roller blading while in Lima. I have ice skated when I was a child living in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. I heard about the old ice rink in Lima, Pan Rec. I was not here in time to skate in Lima.

Can you go to sleep with the TV on in your room?

Yes I can, and yes I do.

Which character in a book is most like you?

I have no idea. Let me think. I would not call him a character. I would call him a person. I would say Peter, in the Bible.

Are you able to use chop sticks?

I can pick up chop sticks. I am not able to use them to eat. I would starve!

What do you love most about your community?

I love Lima. I believe in Lima.

I am proud of our Lima public school system, which offers so very much to so many children with a variety of needs. I love how our community keeps growing and improving and believing in Lima.

Salt CONTENTS

features

6 10 16 21 30

Behind the stained glass: Window Creations LLC Creating a stir: KitchenAid In the kitchen with: Baked to Perfection A modern quilt shop for modern quilters Tapping into a sweet and sticky hobby

columns

22

From this small apartment to this old house

By Amy Eddings

Staff LORA ABERNATHY Lora is the editor of Salt magazine and the director of editorial digital strategies for Civitas Media. She lives in Hillsboro with her husband, Gary, and is mom to a yellow Lab named Boris.

Reach her at 937-382-2574 or on Twitter @AbernathyLora.

ANDREA CHAFFIN Andrea is the food editor of Salt magazine and the editor of The Madison Press. She lives in London with her menagerie and family in a house with way too much cooking equipment.

She can be reached at 740-8521616, ext. 1619 or via Twitter @ AndeeWrites.

JAYLA WALLINGFORD Jayla is the designer of Salt magazine and is the manager of the special sections team for Civitas Media. She lives in Harveysburg with two cats, and offers free handouts to a slew of feline drifters. Reach her at jwallingford@civitasmedia.com.

ADRIENNE MCGEE STERRETT Adrienne is the lifestyle/special sections editor for The Lima News. She believes everyone has a life story worth sharing.

Reach her at 567-242-0510 or amcgeesterrett@civitasmedia. com.

AMY EDDINGS Amy is a contributor to Salt magazine. When she’s not writing, she’s canning, cooking, quilting and gardening.

Recipe Index

BLUEBERRY MAPLE MUFFINS........................................................30 CRANBERRY CHAMPAGNE FLOATS..............................................14 CRÈME BRÛLÉE FRENCH TOAST..................................................26 CRUNCHY BAKED SALMON...........................................................30 MOCHA MOUSSE.............................................................................14 PLUM CRUMB CAKE........................................................................14 PUMPKIN SCONES...........................................................................14 SALSA FRESCA.................................................................................14

SARAH ALLEN Sarah is a writer for Salt magazine. When she’s not writing, she can be found scrapbooking, reading or cooking.

Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017 | 5

Contributors

Behind the

Stained Glass

6 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

By Adrienne McGee Sterrett

C

at’s paw. Cathedral. Seedy.

These are but three types of textures and colors of glass — out of the near-infinite variation — and Reggie Buehrer is still inspired by them all.

Buehrer owns Window Creations LCC just west of Ottoville, a stained glass company that also manufactures related glass, wood and metal products.

“We liked the idea of glass,” he said of him and his wife, Penny. “I think it’s the greatest building material to work with.”

Ruminating on glass in his office — which featured stained glass windows of several different styles — it’s clear Buehrer is still taken by the beauty of the art.

Photos courtesy of Window Creations LLC

Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017 | 7

“It’s so diverse,” he said. “The fact that we can control the light and the color and the transluscency is just amazing to me.”

And glass as a building material — mind blowing. Glass countertops with LED backlighting. Glass mosaiac tiles. Traditional stained glass windows. Non-traditional stained glass, with backlighting if there is no natural light. Glass staircases. Nearly all-glass buildings. And he can make glass look like granite. Or wood.

And a new process at Window Creations called Painting by Leonardo can transfer a photo to a piece of glass. He said his company is the first in the country to buy a machine for this process.

“We’re extremely progressive here,” he said.

“The neat thing about this is I can give greater precision — higher quality — for less money. …

If you can print it, I can paint it.”

The spectrum of old school to new school is all represented — sometimes in the same project.

“That’s what I like about glass. I think it’s the (best) medium to work in as an artist,” Buehrer said.

Window Creations began in 1989 about 15 miles west of the current location. Buehrer grew up in a family business in power equipment. But box stores began making an impact in the 1980s, and he and his wife began brainstorming about what type of business they would rather be in.

“We didn’t know what that business looked like,” he said. Their parameters included it had to be something unique, necessary and lasting.

“We didn’t want one on every corner,” he said.

His wife happened to watch a show on TV about stained glass at that time, and it triggered something in them. So they visited the library to research the topic.

“We got five books. All five books,” he said with a laugh.

Window Creations was started with $500 on a credit card when he and his wife were in their 20s. Buehrer bought some basic glass tools and got after it.

“Which isn’t the way that an ideal business plan should be started,” he said, smiling again.

But he was quick to explain that they were business minded from the beginning. They did not approach it as arts and crafts. This was not merely to make decorative baubles. This was to offer needed services to historic buildings in the area, especially.

“We just saw a need. We wanted to do something a little bit different,” he said.

Buehrer, who calls himself a craftsman/artist, enjoys Victorian windows in particular.

“I drew all the windows for years,” he said, explaining the process: A window begins as a pen and pencil miniature drawing on paper.

The artist then adds color and scales it up to full size. The full-size pattern is cut out of paper, and those paper pieces are used to cut the glass.

Once the pieces are cut, a worker paints them and they are fired in a 1,275-degree kiln two to seven times, depending on the shading and effects desired.

8 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

The pieces, after firing, are laid out on a wooden workbench in the proper arrangement. Then a worker adds the lead, which is long lengths of pliable H-shaped metal that has channels in which the glass is held securely. Once the lead is installed, a worker solders all the joints, adds cement grouting and finishes with “whiting powder,” which polishes and dries the cement. Without the whiting powder, which looks like chalkdust, the window would leak.

The only change in this classic process is the fact that artists at Window Creations now draw and color the window design using computers.

Each project passes through a dozen sets of hands. Some of those hands belong to the Buehrer family members — his wife, two sons, a daughter, a son-in-law and a daughter-in-law. There are about 20 employees.

“Everybody specializes in separate areas so they get really good,” he said. “It’s definitely not an assembly line.”

The repair process is even more detail oriented. Old windows are disassembled under water to keep the lead dust down, add lubrication to make the process easier, and clean the glass all at once. The water is filtered and never leaves the plant in an EPA-approved process, Buehrer said.

Recently, workers were attending to a window that was 120 years old. Before taking it apart, they laid a large sheet of paper over it and did a “rub,” noting the structural joints and patterns.

Sister windows waited on huge shelves in that area, holding the bits of masking tape used to mark broken panels that need replaced. Or, perhaps the panel is intact — but a poor replacement has been done in the past and the colors don’t match well.

One window’s replacement panel was a vastly different purple than the original, with entirely too much opaque swirling through it.

“It’s a challenge at times to match glass,” Buehrer said. “I kind of compare it to going to Advance Auto Parts and trying to find a Model T part.”

Buehrer deals most often with Kokomo Opalescent Glass Co., of Kokomo, Indiana.

KOG has been in business since the late 1800s, and is a source that dates to the

original construction of some of the churches and windows in our area.

“And they still have a lot of the old recipes,” he said.

He is grateful for that Kokomo plant and grateful it’s merely a drive away. He knows of two glass plants in California that closed in 2016 alone, because of EPA regulations, leaving only five or six manufacturers in the country now.

Is there a science behind glass matching?

No, that’s art.

It’s as simple — or dif-

Jordan Gross and Jason Buehrer work together on a project.

WINDOW CREATIONS LLC 21438 U.S. 224, Fort Jennings, OH 45844 419-453-2004 bstudios.net facebook.com/windowcreationsllc twitter.com/WindowCreation Reggie Buehrer ficult, depending on how you look at such things — as picking up a broken panel and walking over to the sheet glass storage area in the plant. The waist-high sheet glass is stored on its edge in divided bins, separated by color and type. Have a purple panel in need of replacing? Head to the purple area and start comparing. And don’t forget to hold it up to the light to see how translucent it is. It looks incredibly different in the rack versus in the sunshine.

Consider the oldest church in your town. Now consider it without its stained glass. The first churches in this area were constructed around their glass, a way to focus its worshippers and give glory. These are not simply windows; these are a glimpse at another realm.

According to Window Creations, stained glass can begin to show deterioration between 60 and 100 years of age. Be watchful for windows that are bowed instead of being vertical, solder joints or leading weakening, broken glass panels and leaks. The company offers inspection services.

“We have thousands of different textures and colors of glass,” Buehrer said.

Cat’s paw? It’s kind of bumpy, like a cat has been walking on it. Cathedral? Transparent color that looks black in the rack but glows in the sun. Seedy? It has tiny bubbles in it.

Window Creations also manufactures and repairs the wood frames around the glass. If the glass needs repaired, it stands to reason the frame needs repaired as well. It also offers specially vented aluminum frames and clear exterior glass as a protective “storm window” over the stained glass if desired.

The frames are bent by machine and welded in-house to be sure the dimensions are exactly as ordered.

“Some of the frames we made last year were 35 feet tall,” he said. “We buy glass by the semi load now.”

An addition to the plant is giving more elbow room for the Leonardo machine — which can process pieces of glass up to 8-by-10 feet — and CNC machines for cutting as well as various grinders and polishers. A classic art medium meets manufacturing.

“We’re having a lot of fun,” he said. “Challenging, though, at times. (Change) is never easy.”

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Creating a stir 10 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

By Amy Eddings The KitchenAid stand mixer is an object that inspires a certain feeling of admiration and craving in people for whom form is as important as function. Its heavy, rounded form, reminiscent of a 1950’s Chevy pickup truck or a Volkswagon Beetle, hints at pleasure and power. It inspires visions of cake batter blended with thoroughness and speed, or breads and rolls kneaded to airy lightness, all done while the baker looks on, hands freed from the dough, freed to fiddle with levers and a dough hook attachment.

“It’s the only small appliance I know that has inspired tattoos,” said Ken Hossler. He is the plant lead at KitchenAid’s 476,200 square-foot plant in Greenville, the county seat of Darke County, where KitchenAid churns out stand mixers, mixer attachments and blenders.

You’re forgiven for being surprised that the manufacturing and distribution center for this global brand, owned by the appliance giant Whirlpool, remains rooted in a rural Ohio town. After

KitchenAid Experience, KitchenAid’s retail store, is located in downtown Greenville, about a 10-minute drive from the factory.

Photos by Amy Eddings

Readers Write

I share my issue with a friend, then mail it to my son, Phillip, and his girlfriend in Cincinnati.

Phillip’s girlfriend, Annie, is from New Jersey. Both Annie and her parents have discovered how wonderful the state of Ohio is, especially our food. They enjoy our restaurants, festivals and even our recipes. So, you can understand why they enjoy Salt.

Thanks again.

— June Jackson, Lima

I enjoyed (the December 2016) Salt magazine. I even made a bow for a wreath after reading the article and watching the YouTube video. Keep up the good work.

— Karen Grothouse CEO Spherion of Lima Inc.

Visit our website, thesaltmagazine.com, and click on the Recipe Submission link at the top to be entered. Include a photo of your dish, too, if you’ve got one. All entries must be received by March 16.

Every submitted recipe will be entered in a drawing for a $25 grocery card.

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Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017 | 11

Send us your favorite recipe.

We may feature it in an upcoming issue.

12 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

months of rhetoric on the recently concluded presidential race, you’d think there were no manufacturers left in these United States.

“Whirlpool’s strategy has always been to be competitive in the United States and to ride the storm of the mass movement of taking things to China and taking things to Mexico,” Hossler said.

The first stand mixer was made around 1914 by the Hobart Corporation for industrial use. You’d be hard-pressed to find a commercial kitchen or bakery without one.

The company started working on prototypes for home use, giving them to the wives of factory executives to beta-test. According to company lore, one of them declared it to be “the best kitchen aid I’ve ever had,” and a brand was born.

They were initially marketed to farmers’ wives, and one look at an early mixer shows you why. They were built for big kitchens and big families. A model from 1924 is nearly three feet tall, its cylindrical, bulky motor stacked above the bowl like the skyscrapers that were just beginning to make their mark on city skylines of the time.

“Women sold them door-to-door,” said Lisa A. Hileman, a spokeswoman for Whirlpool. “Can you imagine?”

Vintage mixers are everywhere, on display in the main hallway of the plant and at the museum in the basement of the KitchenAid Experience retail center in downtown Greenville. But what brings out customers’ sighs, and wallets, are the new ones in a rainbow of hues.

“The amount of colors that we have gives us a ‘complexitive’ advantage,” said Hossler, refering to an in-house term used at the factory. “It’s our competive edge, but it’s also a lot of complexity. Producing so many colors is probably the biggest challenge we have.”

Colors range from the iconic Empire Red to Contour Silver, which matches the popular stainless steel look in modern appliances, to the newest color, Hot Sauce, a brilliant redorange. It was the color of the new Artisan Mini Stand Mixer that Jim Sommer was using during a cooking demonstration at the retail store downtown.

“It’s 25 percent lighter and 20 percent smaller,” Sommer said. “You’ll see it’s just as powerful as the five-quart mixer.” He said it’s perfect for people like him, a retired school

Women used to sell stand mixers like this one door to door. This “Model H” is on display in KitchenAid’s museum in the basement of its KitchenAid Experience retail store.

teacher, who have downsized into smaller kitchens with less space.

“I want to get me one of those,” said Delores Beisner, one of 14 people, mostly women, who had gathered to watch Sommer make scones.

She said she liked the color. Beisner, a

“It’s the only small appliance I know that has inspired tattoos.”

— Ken Hossler, KitchenAid plant lead

Greenville native, said she usually attends one of the three cooking demonstrations that are held weekly at the retail store.

“Saturdays are guest chefs,” she said.

“That’s very busy.”

Busier still is KitchenAid’s sidewalk sale, held every year to coincide with Annie Oakley Days, Greenville’s tribute to the legendary sharpshooter. It’s held the third weekend in July.

“The line goes around the corner, it’s two blocks long of people waiting to get into the store,” Hossler said. “And there’s one group, they camp out overnight. The same group, every year, because I’ve met ‘em! They want the latest gadget.”

Think of them like pilgrims to Greenville, to stand in awe before objects of beauty that promise ease, and style, in the kitchen.

“It’s a wonderful place,” Beisner said.

Volunteer Jim Sommer leads a cooking class at the KitchenAid Experience. He used some of KitchenAid’s newest products to create scones and a smoothie.

423 S. Broadway St., Greenville, OH 45331 888-886-8318 kitchenaid.com/experience-retail-center Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Closed on Easter, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Cooking demonstrations are 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

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Walk-ins welcome. Appointments are required for groups of eight or more. Enclosed shoes are required and safety glasses are provided. You must be 12 years of age or older.

KitchenAid plant lead Ken Hossler shows off the company’s newest stand mixer, the Artisan Mini, painted in one of KitchenAid’s new colors, Hot Sauce.

Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017 | 13

KITCHENAID EXPERIENCE RETAIL CENTER

KitchenAid Recipes

14 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

PUMPKIN SCONES

* This would be a great way to use any leftover cans of pumpkin you may still have on hand from your holiday baking.

Servings: 8 Time: 35 minutes, 15 active Ingredients: 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 3 teaspoons cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup cold butter (1 stick), cut into 1/4inch cubes 1 egg 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling) 1/3 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoons dried cranberries Sanding sugar, for sprinkling on top of scones Directions: Preheat oven to 400 F. In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, pie spice, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, pumpkin, milk and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.

Stir in cranberries.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead 10 times.

Pat into an 8-inch circle and cut into 8 wedges. Separate the wedges and place them on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sugar or sanding sugar.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

SALSA FRESCA

Ingredients: 1/2 small white or red onion 3 radishes 3 fresh jalapeno peppers (or 1/4 habanero

pepper, or a combination) seeded or whole if you like it hot 1/2 cup fresh cilantro 3-4 tomatoes 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon salt Directions: Run through the KitchenAid Food Grinder starting with onion, radishes, peppers and cilantro, finishing up with tomato last so the juice will wash out the food grinder.

Stir in the lime juice and salt. Serve immediately.

(Adapted from “Joy of Cooking.”)

Servings: 6-8 Ingredients: 6 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1 1/2 cups water Champagne or sparkling wine Directions: In a 3-quart saucepan over mediumlow heat, cook the cranberries, sugar and water for 5-10 minutes or until most of the berries have burst.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and process on the smoothie setting. Chill overnight. Freeze your KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment overnight.

Attach your Ice Cream Maker Attachment to your mixer and process the cranberry mixture for about 20 to 25 minutes or until it’s the consistency of soft-serve.

Transfer the sorbet to a loaf pan and freeze overnight or until hard.

To serve, place a scoop of the cranberry sorbet in a coupe glass or champagne flute. Top with champagne or sparkling wine.

(Recipe from Allie Roomberg of bakingamoment.com.)

4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces Cake Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 cup sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 1/2 cup superfine brown rice flour 1/2 cup almond flour 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup whole milk 2 tablespoons hazelnuts, chopped Directions: Preheat oven to 350 F. To make the plum filling, toss all the plum filling ingredients together in a bowl.

Set aside until ready to assemble the cake.

To make the crumble, place all crumble ingredients in bowl and work together between your fingers until you get a sandy consistency. Set aside along with the plum filling until ready to assemble the cake.

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the flat beater. Cream together over medium speed until light and pale, about 5 minutes.

Add the egg and egg yolk and mix to combine. Add the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Add the milk and continue mixing until smooth.

Grease a square cake pan with butter and line with parchment. Spoon the cake batter into the pan and smooth evenly. Top with plum filling and crumble. Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts on top of the crumble.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until brown.

Let the cake cool in the pan for a few minutes and unmold.

(Recipe from Aran Goyoaga of cannellevanille.com.)

PLUM CRUMB CAKE

MOCHA MOUSSE

CRANBERRY CHAMPAGNE FLOATS

Servings: 6-8 Plum Filling Ingredients: 4 plums, pit removed and sliced 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon Crumble Ingredients: 1/2 cup superfine brown rice flour 1/4 cup almond flour 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt

Ingredients: 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 3/4 cups powdered sugar 1/3 cups cocoa Directions: Place coffee granules and vanilla in bowl. Stir to dissolve completely. Add remaining ingredients and stir together.

Attach bowl and wire whip to mixer.

Gradually move to Speed 10 and whip until stiff peaks form.

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Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017 | 17

Photo by Adrienne McGee Sterrett

Alex and Stacey Benavidez stand outside their storefront located at 944 E. Fifth St. in Delphos.

Photo by Craig J. Orosz

In the kitchen with: Baked to Perfection 18 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

By Adrienne McGee Sterrett You know the idea: If the pastry looks beautiful, it probably won’t taste very good.

Baked to Perfection thoroughly stomps that adage into pieces — and the whole area knows it’s the place to go if you want delicious and beautiful baked goods.

Alex Benavidez and his wife, Stacey, on a recent afternoon were busy doing a wedding cake consultation with a client, making buckeyes for sale and, unglamorously, being sure there were enough vegetables chopped.

They like busy, but they don’t love harried. Harried takes a toll.

Baked to Perfection moved locations last year. Alex and Stacey formerly operated a restaurant, but that closed Memorial Day weekend.

The business is now located in Suever’s Town House, a carryout at 944 E. Fifth St. That’s just a few blocks east of their old location.

“As it turns out, this is probably the best thing we’ve ever done,” Alex said.

Alex is from Texas, No. 10 of 13 children. He was always interested in art and cooking and credits his mentors along the way.

“And I’ll never forget it. That’s one of the saddest days I ever had,” he said, remembering his late art teacher who insisted his parents get him in art class and keep him there. She died soon after.

BAKED TO PERFECTION 944 E. Fifth St., Delphos, OH 45833 asbenavidez@yahoo.com 419-741-7063 Hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays; 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays.

The Benavidezes are present Wednesdays through Sundays. Baked goods are always available. You should call ahead on sandwiches and pizza (real food) orders so you don’t have to sit there for 30 minutes while your pizza cooks. You should also call ahead of special baked goods orders – like if you want to buy an entire pie. Follow Baked to Perfection on Facebook for the latest updates and events.

Baked to Perfection’s popularity: Stacey answered the phone and took the information of a customer interested in booking a wedding cake. The business has started a book for 2018.

Alex on fondant: “I love working with it, but I don’t love eating it.”

Photo courtesy of Baked to Perfection

Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017 | 19

“We couldn’t afford it,” he said, but his parents sacrificed for their only “creative” child. He was in college in Texas, majoring in art, when he realized he needed a family break. He traveled to a sister, with whom he was very close, in Van Wert after his sophomore year in college.

“And I never went back,” he said.

His father died on his 21st birthday, and he took up residence with his sister in Van Wert. He worked at a box store there and bakery.

“I was the resident artist everywhere I went,” he said with a smile, explaining he picked up bread baking and cake decorating at the bakery quite easily. He credits his art background.

Alex on children’s He met the woman who would become his wife at the birthdays: Wal-Mart job, and they married in 1993 — with one catch. Stacey was not interested in moving away from Even for young children, the area. Her family was in Delphos, and that’s where customers almost always she would stay. He was more than agreeable to that do tiered cakes now. Only and settled into family life, starting a family of their about 20 percent of orders for own right away, and even giving a “regular job” at a children are for sheet cakes.

Van Wert factory a try.

“Some people don’t bat The factory job wasn’t a career, but it launched his. an eye paying $150 for a On a whim, he brought in a birthday cake for a friend birthday cake.” at Federal Mogul — and, literally, the rest is history.

“I was bringing in cakes every three or four days,” he said. He made cakes for seven or eight weddings in the families of the managers as well.

The friend for whom he baked the first birthday cake had a connection to the former Grant’s Catering in Paulding. Before he knew it, he was put in touch with the owner, the late Linda Grant, and he was baking 12 to 14 wedding cakes every weekend. And this was out of their home, while he was doing other smaller jobs like painting or stained glass restoration to make ends meet. He admitted to being nervous to dive entirely into baking.

“I don’t know how many people could be with their spouse 24-7 and not kill them,” Stacey said with a smile. “You have to have a strong marriage.”

It’s obvious they do. They work as a team.

“Alex, did you get his flavors and everything?” she asked, mid stride, about a customer’s order.

They’re there to check each other, to do whatever work is needed. It’s 20-plus years of working together, and it’s smooth as can be.

In October 2008, the Benavidezes decided to leave the catering company and open their own restaurant. The building had formerly been a restaurant called NuMaud’s but needed much renovation, which they supplied. The rent was good, he said, and everything was on the up. Aside from going an entire year upon opening without a day off.

“Our kids were raised at the restaurant,” Alex said, explaining they were proud to instill a work ethic, and the kids were thrilled to be able to work hard to buy the kind of cars they wanted to drive.

At the height, there were 11 employees. There were regular meals available, as well as cake baking that happened there and a pastry counter they kept full. They tried to cut back in smaller ways, closing two days a week and reducing times to breakfast and lunch only, but it was still difficult.

“It was so crazy,” he said. “You were losing interest in what you’d loved doing.”

So when the building’s owner decided to sell — and negotiations broke down with the Benavidezes, who felt their long-term loyalty would have value — Baked to Perfection decided to undergo yet another transformation and operate at their friend Herb Suever’s carryout.

20 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

They’ve learned his business — they make the pizzas, subs and salads, even adding a new sandwich to the lineup: the Canal Club.

It’s a good seller, Alex said, proud of the contribution.

“My wife and I, we can visit our kids at school if we want to,” he said. “Our lives … we are much more rested, Alex on Pinterest: I guess you would say. … People really were angry Sure, it can be done. But when we closed the restaurant. I feel a little guilty.” you’re not going to like the But Baked to Perfection still offers much of the pricetag. He said people same. There are small, wheeled refrigerated cases in this area do not want in the carryout beside where vehicles pull through. to pay for him to work Customers can literally point to whatever baked an entire week on one item they’d like without leaving their cars. Baked cake, which is what some to Perfection offers cinnamon rolls, cookies, scones, muffins, brownies, fresh-brewed fair-trade coffee, of those designs would cake, pies, buckeyes and custom orders. require.

“We did hundreds, literally hundreds, of pies for pick up” at Thanksgiving and Christmas, Alex said. He was making a double batch of buckeyes — 200 total — on a recent Wednesday and expected them to be sold out by that weekend.

The business does corporate orders for area businesses as well as brownies for Temple Beth Israel-Shaare Zedek for its annual Super Bowl sack lunch sale, not to mention the orders from average customers for a pie or two and birthday and wedding cakes.

Call ahead to order.

Alex on parenting: “We want to make sure we can sell our prodHe and Stacey have four uct fresh,” he said. children — one in high school, To pick up a pre-ordered baked good or a one grown and working and two brewed-to-order coffee, use the carryout lane at Columbus College of Art and to the left.

Design. “I did not want them to “People are still learning about how we work now,” he said. “Little by little, people are become artists. … Being a parent just finding out.” who loves art, you introduce them And with the ding-ding of a car, they’re off to everything you know and go again to help a customer. with it.”

“I do my best for what we can do, and I feel like we do a really good job,” Alex said.

Baked to Perfection trivia: Their son works at Brown Bag Delicatessen in German Village, Columbus. The chocolate chip cookies being served there weren’t wonderful, so his son called Alex and got his chocolate chip cookie recipe. Baked to Perfection cookies are now being served at that deli.

Alex is amazed at life’s twists, as this is where they would eat as a family during visits to the city when the kids were young.

Alex on portions: “We’ve always gone a little bit larger than the normal because you eat with your eyes, you know what I mean?”

Alex’s perfect birthday: “I don’t want a cake.

I don’t want anything. I just want to be with my friends and family.”

Alex on mixers: “We burned up so many KitchenAid mixers making icing.” He blames how stiff he likes his icing for decorating purposes.

Professional-quality machines now do fine.

Photo by Craig J. Orosz

A modern quilt shop for modern quilters

By Amy Eddings

held once a month. Check Fresh Modern Fabric’s Facebook page for details.

Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017 | 21

Alice Essinger has her hands full. Right now, it’s full of fabric. She stands at the cutting table of her shop, Fresh Modern Fabric in Bluffton, and rolls out a yard of brown fabric, cutting it deftly with a rotary cutter.

“It’s pretty steady,” said Essinger, 39.

“Overall, I have a hard time keeping up.”

Her hands, it seems, are also full of business, but her clean, bright second-floor store is devoid of customers on this weekday afternoon. In fact, it’s empty most days.

That’s because Fresh Modern Fabric is, first and foremost, a web-based fabric shop.

She started selling fabric on the artsy-crafty retailing website Etsy six years ago. Her brick-and-mortar store, which opened two years ago, exists primarily to support that online enterprise. One Saturday a month, she hosts an open house. It’s only then that the Bluffton shop’s aisles are filled with shoppers.

They come for the bright, playful pattern collections from trendy fabric houses and designers like Katarina Roccella, Robert Kaufman and Alexia Abegg, and from studios such as Moda and Cotton+Steel.

Walking into her shop is, for a quilter, like walking into a bakery. Everything looks delicious. Bolts of colorful cloth delight the eye. There are metallic fabrics offering a sophisticated sheen. There are fabrics from Japan, with rich, bold patterns that look like origami paper. There are fabric bundles from Moda in squares, called “layer cakes” and thick strips, called “jelly rolls.” Precut and packaged together in patterns designed to complement one another, they attract quilters with their beauty and the promise of an easier, faster project.

The aesthetic and the virtual nature of her store put Essinger and Fresh Modern Fabric firmly in the camp of modern quilting, a movement that started to find its voice and its footing in the 2000s through the work of quilters like Denyse Schmidt and Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle.

“Modern quilters use a lot of solids,” explained Essinger. “They like to use an irregular framework. They may use blocks, but they’re not going to use them neatly in

net when she couldn’t find the fabric her mentors were using.

“A lot of times when you’d look at what people were doing on blogs, I’d see what fabric they were using and I thought, ‘Oh, I’d like to use that fabric too, that’s really cute,’ ” she said. “But by the time they bought it and made something with it, the fabric line [was] kinda old. So it would be hard to find the fabric that they were using.”

She often found them on Etsy. And that’s when it hit her: she, too, could sell fabrics online. The idea resonated with Essinger, who, with husband David, had two young children (her daughter is now 9; her son, 6).

Essinger, a librarian, was looking for a new line of work.

“It was an 8-to-5 job, it wasn’t flexible, it didn’t work for me as a new mother,” she said. “I took a part-time library job and did that while I started up this business, so for several years, I was trying to balance both.

Photo by Amy Eddings Eventually I was so busy selling fabric that Alice Essinger, founder and owner of Fresh Modern I’m doing this full time now.”

Fabric, at her shop in Bluffton.

She keeps busy doing what Moda and rows, they’re going to scatter them around other fabric houses don’t have the time to and have one in this corner, one in that cordo: cut fabric and ship it to quilters across ner, maybe have a lot of negative space.” the country.

“Traditional quilters will use a lot of tra“I think Moda keeps busy enough sendditional blocks and a repeating pattern, but ing bolts out,” said Essinger of the service modern quilters will turn things like that on she provides. “They don’t have time to cut it their head,” she added. up into a half yard or a fat quarter.”

Social media was, and remains, a key asMeeting the needs of those at the forepect of the movement. While quilters once front of the new quilting movement keeps learned from their ancestors and connected Essinger so busy herself, she rarely quilts with others at quilting bees or classes at the anymore. local fabric store, modern quilters learn and “I still buy fabric, I still buy patterns, I network online. just don’t have the time,” she said softly, That’s how Essinger got started, with an embarrassed laugh. “If I’m following the Fresh Modern Quilts going to do something now, it’s group on Flickr, which birthed going to have to be a small another virtual quilting comproject.” munity, the Modern Quilt This time, she won’t Guild, in 2009. Essinger have any trouble also followed blogs sourcing the very FRESH MODERN FABRIC for design inspiralatest fabric.

103 1/2 Vine St., second floor, tion and quilting Bluffton, OH 45817 help. And she freshmodernfabric.etsy.com turned to facebook.com/freshmodernfabric the infreshmodernfabric@gmail.com Hours are varied. An open house is typically ter-

22 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

this old house

From this small apartment to

Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017 | 23

NYC couple opens B&B in rural Ohio

24 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

By Amy Eddings I’ve read that real estate agents know they’ve made a sale when the woman of the household connects emotionally with a property.

The agent who showed us through the big, rambling “painted lady” Victorian on Main Street in Ada must have seen dollar signs flash before her eyes.

As she escorted us into the entryway with its big, grand oak staircase, stained glass window on the landing and graceful carved oak moldings, I burst into tears.

“I have to live here!” I said, clapping my hands to my cheeks, stunned with joy.

A bold statement, given that it meant prying myself and my husband out of our little 600 square-foot rental apartment in Brooklyn, and losing ourselves in a 117-year-old, 3,000 squarefoot home. It also meant me leaving a high-profile job as a public radio host in Manhattan.

But my husband, Mark, and I were ready for a change and an adventure, one that would return us to the Midwest, where we were from, bring us closer to our families, and slow our lives down.

Change? Yes. Adventure?

You bet. Slowing down? Not so much.

That’s because I saw, in that moment in the entry hall, that this house was going to be for others, and not just us. I wanted to share its beauty and history.

It led us to open our new home as a bed and breakfast.

We called it “Easter House,” a twist on “Easter egg house,” which is how old-timers referred to the place, painted, as it has been, in shades of pink,

“I saw, in that moment in the entry hall, that this house was going to be for others, and not just us.” purple and, when we bought it, pistachio green.

The decision to open a B&B was an easy one. I like cooking, especially breakfasts: crème brûlée French toast, pecan pancakes, even breakfast tacos of fresh fried corn tortillas, scrambled eggs, melted Swiss cheese and avocado. Mark and I, both journalists, enjoy meeting people and hearing their stories. Ohio Northern University is in Ada, drawing visiting scholars, prospective students and their parents, all potential guests.

And there’s Ada itself, which charmed us with its small town Main Street. It’s home to the Wilson Football Factory, the sole supplier of footballs to the NFL. And Hardin County Amish country is a 30-minute drive away past farms and woodlands.

While we encourage our guests to relax, we ourselves have been going full-steam since moving into Easter House in 2014.

We renovated the kitchen first. There was precious little counter space or cupboards.

I’d need a lot of both, especially for hosting large events like a bridal shower or a book club’s annual Christmas party.

For three months, as the

Photos by Levi Morman and courtesy of Amy Eddings

contractors labored, we lived without an oven or a sink. A local church let me use its oven.

We set up a microwave and a hot plate in the living room and carried dirty dishes down to the slop sink in the basement for washing.

We opened in January 2016.

B&Bs have now come to include larger, multi-room inns but they got their start in the 1990s in people’s homes. That’s how we operate. We live in the house, not off the property. We’re small, offering two guest rooms on our second floor.

Our first guests were a lovely

couple from Hudson, Ohio, who had read about our relocation in Guideposts magazine and wanted to be our first guests.

They later framed a dollar bill and sent it to us, a symbol of our business’ beginnings.

Such kindness is typical. A harp maker from Illinois insisted on a visit to my sister’s home across town once she learned my brother-in-law owned a harp. She tuned it and gave an impromptu lesson to my niece.

A couple from Texas helped me weed the garden. An ONU student and her mom played poker with us late into the night.

The dining room.

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26 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

Josh Dye, owner of Dye Painting, works on the attic at Easter House.

“B&B people are special people,” a former bed and breakfast owner had told me, and she is right.

When we opened, guests shared a bathroom down the hall. We knew that arrangement may have discouraged people from staying with us, so we launched a second renovation last winter to add another bathroom. Now, both guest bedrooms have their own en suite baths.

We also improved the attic, which became more of a cathedral when workers took down the 1990s-era drop ceiling. Behind the panels, a steeply-pitched ceiling soared

15 feet up. There was a massive, vintage billiards table in the attic when we moved in, and now we think we know why. The couple who built the house in 1900, Lewis and Delilah Brewer, likely used the third floor for entertaining — a Victorian’s version of a man cave.

Episodes like that make me feel like I’m living in a novel, with this old house as a main character, weathering ups and downs like the people who live and lived within its walls. Mark and I, and our guests, are adding our subplots to the story, one that we hope will be told for another 117 years.

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CRÈME BRÛLÉE FRENCH TOAST with plastic wrap, and let soak in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight. Flip bread slices over once while they soak. This can be halfway through the soaking, or about an hour before baking.

Heat oven to 375 F. In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar and butter. Pour mixture onto another large, rimmed baking sheet, using a spatula if necessary to spread into an even layer.

Transfer soaked bread to sugared baking sheet, placing slices on top of the brown sugar mixture. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and sugar is bubbling.

Serve immediately while still hot, with the crunchy, brown sugar side up. Spoon some of the pan syrup over the top.

(Recipe from Melissa Clark, The New York Times, cooking.nytimes.com.)

Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017 | 27

Time: 20 minutes Servings: 6-8 Ingredients: 5 large eggs plus 2 yolks (or 6 whole eggs) 2 1/4 cups whole milk 1/2 cup heavy cream (or use more milk) 3 tablespoons orange juice 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 loaf challah bread, sliced 1 inch thick, preferably stale (about 1 pound) or 1 loaf Texas toast bread, again, preferably stale 1 cup light brown sugar, packed 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Directions: In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, orange juice, vanilla, nutmeg and salt.

Spread bread out in 1 layer on a large rimmed baking sheet (about 11-by-17 inches). Pour custard over bread, cover

28 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

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Out & About ALLEN COUNTY

HANCOCK COUNTY

March 10-12 Lima Noon Optimist Home & Garden Show, Allen County Fairgrounds, 2750 Harding Highway, Lima. Visit limaoptimist.com.

March 5, 9-11 “Other Desert Cities,” Fort Findlay Playhouse, 300 W. Sandusky St., Findlay. Call 419-423-7168 or visit fortfindlayplayhouse.org.

March 10-12, 17-19 “Proof,” Encore Theatre, 991 N. Shore Drive, Lima.

Call 419-223-8866, email encore@mw.twcbc.com or visit amiltellers.org.

March 10 Comedy Night featuring Ron Sweet and Marc Price, Alexandria’s, 132 E. Crawford St., Findlay.

Call 419-422-4624 or visit artspartnership.com.

March 11 Lima Irish Parade, noon, downtown Lima. Call Kim Finn at 419-204-4042 or visit lima-allencvb. com.

March 10-11 Night at the Museum, 7 p.m. to 8 a.m., Hancock Historical Museum, 422 W. Sandusky St., Findlay.

Call 419-423-4433 or visit hancockhistoricalmuseum.org.

March 12 Lima Symphony Orchestra presents “Heroes and Villains,” 3 p.m., Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center, 7 Town Square, Lima. Call 419-224-1552 or visit limaciviccenter.com.

March 16 Keys to Building a Leadership Legacy of Value, 8:30 a.m., sponsored by the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce, The City Club, 144 S. Main St., Lima. Visit limachamber.com.

March 17-19 West Central Ohio Poultry and Craft Show, Allen County Fairgrounds, 2750 Harding Highway, Lima. Visit wcopc.com.

March 21 “Annie,” 7 p.m., Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center, 7 Town Square, Lima. Call 419-224-1552 or visit limaciviccenter.com.

March 25 An Evening with Chris Botti and the Lima Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m., Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center, 7 Town Square, Lima. Call 419-224-1552 or visit limaciviccenter. com.

AUGLAIZE COUNTY March 12 Heritage Trails Park District Spring Forward Hike and the Road to Fitness Spring Forward Canal Hike, 1-3 p.m., Noble Township Hall, 16586 County Road 66A, St. Marys. Call 781-816-7275.

March 12 Danú performs, 3 p.m., New Bremen High School’s James F. Dicke Auditorium, 901 E. Monroe St., New Bremen. Visit lockone.org.

March 11 Peking Acrobats, 7:30 p.m., Marathon Performing Arts Center, 200 W. Main Cross St., Findlay. Call 419-423-2787 or visit marathoncenterarts.org.

March 16 CommunityREAD 2017 featuring author Stephen Covey, Marathon Performing Arts Center, 200 W. Main Cross St., Findlay. Call 419-423-2787 or visit marathoncenterarts.org.

March 18 The Hunts, 8 p.m., Marathon Performing Arts Center, 200 W. Main Cross St., Findlay. Call 419423-2787 or visit marathoncenterarts.org.

March 19 “Jazz — Any Way You Like It,” presented by the University of Findlay Jazz Ensemble, 3 p.m.,Winebrenner Seminary, 950 N. Main St., Findlay. Visit visitfindlay.com.

March 19 “Of Dreams and Legends: Music of the Masters,” presented by the Ohio Northern University Symphonic Band, 4 p.m., ONU, 525 S. Main St., Ada. Call 419-772-1900.

March 27 Detroit Symphony Orchestra String Trio Concert, 8 p.m., Snyder Recital Hall - Presser Hall, Ohio Northern University, 525 S. Main St., Ada. Email music@onu.edu or visit onu.edu.

MERCER COUNTY March 19 St. Patrick’s Day 5K, 11:30 a.m., American Legion, St. Henry. Visit goodtimesraces.com.

March 31 Art Fair, St. Charles Center, Carthagena. Visit seemore.org.

March 31 River City Boys Jukebox Show, 2 and 7:30 p.m., The Overdrive, 3769 state Route 127, Celina. Call 419-925-9999, email contact@theoverdrive.com or visit theoverdrive.com.

VAN WERT COUNTY March 6 “Rain: A Tribute to The Beatles,” 7:30 p.m., Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio, 10700 state Route 118 S. Call 419-238-6722 or visit npacvw.org.

March 11 “Artrageous,” 7:30 p.m., Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio, 10700 state Route 118 S. Call 419-238-6722 or visit npacvw.org.

March 16-19, 23-26 “9 to 5,” Van Wert Civic Theater, 118 S. Race St., Van Wert. Call 419-238-9689 or visit vwct.org.

March 26 “William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play,” 3 p.m., Marathon Performing Arts Center, 200 W. Main Cross St., Findlay. Call 419-423-2787 or visit marathoncenterarts.org.

March 18 “Broadway and Beyond,” 7:30 p.m., Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio, 10700 state Route 118 S. Call 419-238-6722 or visit npacvw.org.

March 30 “Cat in the Hat,” 7 p.m., Marathon Performing Arts Center, 200 W. Main Cross St., Findlay. Call 419-423-2787 or visit marathoncenterarts.org.

March 18 4-H Craft Show, Van Wert County Fairgrounds, 1055 S. Washington St., Van Wert. Visit vanwertcountyfair.com.

HARDIN COUNTY March 11 Annual farm machinery consignment sale, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Hardin County Fairgrounds, 14134 Fairground Road #140, Kenton.

March 30-April 2 The 16th annual Southern Gospel Expo, featuring more than 25 groups and artists from across the country, Trinity Friends Church, 605 N. Franklin St., Van Wert. Visit visitvanwert.org.

Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017 | 29

March 18 Lima Beane Chorus Barbershop Harmony 2017, 2 and 7:30 p.m., Lima Senior High School, 1 Spartan Way, Lima. Call Terry at 419-306-0374 or visit limabeanechorus.org.

March 10-11 The Flourish Conference, Winebrenner Seminary, 950 N. Main St., Findlay. Visit theflourishconference.org.

Compiled by Lora Abernathy

Tapping into a

30 | Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017

By Sarah Allen

sweet and sticky hobby

For many, the last weeks of winter can be a dull time.

The festivities of Christmas have ended, and the new beginnings of spring are still a distant dream. It can be a lackluster time — that is, until maple syrup season.

That season begins during the transition from winter to spring, and it is a busy time for everyone who collects the sticky sweetness that can only come from nature and hard work.

Pat Quackenbush, a naturalist for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, described maple syrup production at its most basic as a boiling process. The sap collected from trees contains sugar and water, and the excess water needs to be boiled away.

At the start of each maple syrup season, Quackenbush said, there will be a higher sugar content. The start of the season, he said, “all comes down to weather.”

Quackenbush said when the temperatures fluctuate between “cold, hold, cold, hot,” then it is time to start collecting sap. Once the season begins, there is a “very short window” for sap collection, about four to six weeks.

When the leaves have started to bud, “it’s done,” he said.

And while making maple syrup may be an “age-old process,” Quackenbush said it is not without its intricacies.

Perfecting it can take “a lot of practice,” he said. “You’ve got to learn the hard way or have a great teacher.”

Quackenbush recommended attending maple syrup festivals or touring farms. He added that there are few solely maple syrup-based farms.

“Most maple syrup farmers are farmers,” he said.

They usually collect maple syrup as a way to supplement their income.

While attending those, he

said, you can “really get in there and see how it’s done.”

Quackenbush said most Ohio maple syrup festivals are held in March.

That is especially true, he said, of tapping the trees.

“It’s better if somebody shows you the first couple of times,” he said.

The spiles, commonly called taps, should not be placed too deeply into the tree. They should be tapped into the trees, not hammered, hence the term “taps.”

If a person is very careful, Quackenbush said, there is no reason one tree could not provide sap for five generations of a family.

One spile should be used for every 10 inches of the tree’s diameter. As an example, Quackenbush said that a tree 20 inches in diameter should have two spiles. Also, sugar makers should not take more than 10 percent of the tree’s sap.

“I always equate it to us giving blood,” Quackenbush said.

Taking some of the tree’s sap will do no harm, but if too much is taken, the tree will suffer.

It takes about 40 to 80 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, he said.

Once the sap is collected, it can be boiled over the stove.

All an amateur sugar maker needs is a big pot and a candy thermometer.

However, Quackenbush warned that there will be a lot of steam, which can cause significant wallpaper peeling.

Some people, he said, make homemade fireboxes outside.

That is especially helpful if there are more than just a few trees.

Once the sap has been boiled, the end result is something pure and simple.

“It’s an extremely natural product,” Quackenbush said.

In fact, he added that, in order for something to actually be called maple syrup, there must be no additives.

RECIPES CRUNCHY BAKED SALMON Ingredients: 1 1/3 cups French Fried Onions (canned) 1 teaspoon fresh dill, diced, or 1/2 teaspoon dried 1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon maple syrup 4 portions salmon fillet Directions: Preheat the oven to 375 F. Mix fried onions, dill, lemon rind and parsley in a Ziploc bag.

Roll with a rolling pin to crush onions.

Mix the mustard with the maple syrup and brush over the salmon, then pat the seasoned onion crumbs over the top. Bake on a foil-lined sheet for around 15 minutes, until opaque and easy to separate with a fork.

(Recipe from ODNR.) BLUEBERRY MAPLE MUFFINS Ingredients: 1/3 cup whole flaxseeds 1 cup whole-wheat flour 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons allpurpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 1/2 cup pure maple syrup 1 cup nonfat buttermilk, (substitute regular milk and add

1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar) 1/4 cup canola oil 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest 1 tablespoon orange juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries 1 tablespoon sugar Directions: Preheat oven to 400 F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.

Grind flaxseeds in a spice mill (such as a clean coffee grinder) or dry blender.

Transfer to a large bowl. Add whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; whisk to blend.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and maple syrup until smooth. Add buttermilk, oil, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla; whisk until blended.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients with a rubber spatula just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Sprinkle the tops with sugar.

Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown and spring back when touched lightly, 15 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen edges and turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly.

(Recipe from eatingwell.com.)

RESOURCES

Ohio Maple Producers Association: ohiomaple.org Ohio Department of Natural Resources: parks.ohiodnr.gov/ maplesyrup

EVENTS

Maple Madness Driving Trail, March 11-12: ohiomaple.org

Photo taken in Lima

by Levi Morman

And one more thought...

cold of winter to give it sweetness?”

— John Steinbeck

Salt | Northwest Ohio | March/April 2017 | 31

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the

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