I've been adding maple syrup to dishes as a sweetener and it can turn out pretty great. Like the sautéed mushrooms I made last night: - Dice up some onions (white or green both work well) and a hot thai pepper (or more to your preferred spice level). I also chopped a half a carrot up very finely. - Heat a pan and add some oil and one piece of the onion you cut up. When it is sizzling, add the chopped stuff from the last step and sauté for a couple mins, then add the mushrooms. - Stir it like once a minute. Allow the pieces to sear a bit but not burn. Adjust the temp to work this way. - Add some salt, chili powder, worchestershire sauce, cook the water away. Do the same with some lemon juice. If I had to guess, I'd say I used like a teaspoon of each. - Now add some maple syrup, just enough to cover the middle part before it spreads out and sizzles a lot. Stir it well and reduce it. - Finally add some sort of milk. I used almond milk but I'm sure any will work. Not that much of it (not worth opening a can of coconut milk, though I bet it would work great if you have one already open), it should turn a brown colour and reduce pretty quickly, leaving a delicious creamy mushroom sauce that goes well with steak or on its own. Dairy free, too, if you used anything other than dairy milk. I buy mushrooms each time I get groceries just to make this stuff.