By Mid-maple season. The sap has been running for ten days and the trees are giving well this year — better than last year, which was a poor season by our standards (late winter, inconsistent freeze-thaw). I have been boiling every two days, spending most of my mornings in the sugarhouse watching the evaporator and checking the temperature and thinking, which is what maple season is for: the work gives your hands something to do and sets your mind free.
What I have been thinking about: the woman from the Historical Society who identified Amos Plante in the photograph. I wrote her back and thanked her and asked if she knew anything else about the farms adjacent to ours in the 1930s. She wrote back promptly. She is the kind of researcher who finds questions more interesting than answers, which I respect. She is coming to see the account books in April, after the sap season, when the sugarhouse is empty and I can show her the full run of them.
Helen has been in the kitchen while I have been in the sugarhouse, which is the traditional division of maple season labor in this family. She makes the candy and the sugar when I bring the finished syrup to the house. She also feeds me, which during maple season means: large breakfasts, because I am up before six and working in the cold and I need it. This week's breakfasts included eggs with maple-glazed bacon — I brush the bacon with a thin coat of syrup and put it under the broiler for two minutes at the end, which caramelizes it into something that has no business being as good as it is. Helen eats one piece and says it is too sweet. She then eats a second piece. I say nothing about the second piece.
Frost has been running the property line every morning while I set the buckets. He takes his job as sugarhouse supervisor seriously. He is eight and a half and still fast. Good dog. He will be good in old age too. I know this about him the way I know it about the trees.
Helen has been feeding me well this season, and the maple-glazed bacon has become a kind of ritual — but some mornings call for something that holds longer than a few strips under the broiler. A frittata does that. It comes together fast, it feeds you through to midday, and if you brush the bacon with a little syrup before it goes in, you carry the whole spirit of maple season right into the pan with you.
Bacon Cheese Frittata
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional, for brushing bacon)
Instructions
- Prep the bacon. Cook bacon in a 10-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat until crisp. If using maple syrup, brush strips lightly before the final minute of cooking. Remove, drain on paper towels, and crumble. Reserve 1 tablespoon drippings or use butter.
- Heat the oven. Preheat broiler to high with a rack set 6 inches from the element.
- Whisk the eggs. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until fully combined. Stir in half the cheese, the crumbled bacon, and the green onions.
- Start on the stovetop. Melt butter in the skillet over medium heat, swirling to coat. Pour in the egg mixture and cook undisturbed for 4—5 minutes, until the edges are set and the bottom is lightly golden.
- Finish under the broiler. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Transfer the skillet to the broiler and cook for 3—4 minutes, until the top is set and the cheese is golden and bubbling. Watch closely.
- Rest and serve. Remove from the broiler and let rest 2 minutes before slicing into wedges. Serve directly from the skillet.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 320 | Protein: 20g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 3g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 610mg