By The week after the roast chicken post. I'm still reading messages. Still writing back. There are more than I can answer all at once, so I've been doing batches: twenty in the morning, twenty in the evening, working through them in order, writing something real to each one rather than a form response. People deserve a real answer when they've said something real to you.
The messages have a pattern. Most of them: I lost someone and now I cook for one and I thought I was the only one who felt that way about it. I didn't know there was a word for the feeling of scaling down a recipe, of buying a single chicken breast where you used to buy four. There isn't really a word for it. That may be why the post found the people it found — it described something without the word that fits.
The maple season is ending. The last boil of 2022 was Saturday, the sap running clear and thin, the sign that the trees are done. I did the final boil alone in the evening, the same way every season ends, the last gallons working down to the proper density, the last bottles filled. Final inventory: four gallons of light amber, three of medium, one of dark. A good year. A very good year.
Teddy arrived on Saturday — Sarah drove him up for spring break, dropped him off, said she'd be back Friday. Five days, just the two of us, at the farm during the last days of the maple season. He walked out to the sugar house in the dark and stood in it for a long time, looking at everything, touching the equipment carefully. I let him be there without commentary. Sometimes the right thing is to let a person have a space without filling it with words.
The morning after Teddy arrived, I made pancakes — the obvious thing, the right thing, given that we’d just finished the last boil of the season and the sugar house still smelled of steam and wood smoke. I didn’t reach for the fresh amber. That felt too precious for a weekday breakfast, and besides, I wanted to show him something: that you don’t need the perfect bottle on the shelf to make something good at the table. This homemade pancake syrup is what I’ve made on the mornings when we’re between batches or when I want something a little different — it comes together in minutes, it’s warm and honest, and it gave us something to do side by side in the kitchen before the day started.
Homemade Pancake Syrup
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 8 (about 1 cup total)
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Combine sugars and water. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and water until the sugars begin to dissolve.
- Bring to a gentle boil. Increase heat slightly and bring the mixture to a low boil, stirring occasionally. Let it boil for 5—7 minutes until the syrup thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon.
- Finish the syrup. Remove from heat and stir in the butter, maple extract, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. The butter will give it a smooth, glossy finish.
- Cool slightly and serve. Let the syrup rest for 2—3 minutes before pouring — it will continue to thicken as it cools. Serve warm over pancakes, waffles, or French toast.
- Store leftovers. Pour any remaining syrup into a jar with a lid. It keeps in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave in 20-second intervals.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 110 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 1g | Carbs: 26g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 15mg