May. 17, 2019

Well folks, it's here! Honeycomb season. My girls have been working hard for the honey (get it? heehee). One of my favorite treats is honeycomb. Some people love it, some people hate and most have never tried it. There are just endless ways to eat comb honey but here are some of my favs.

• Stir chopped honeycomb into plain Greek yogurt. 
• Place a chunk of honeycomb over a bowl of warm oatmeal. Ditto for warm pancakes and waffles. And don't even get me started about warm tapioca of rice pudding.
• Slather a baguette with Brie, then top with chunks of honeycomb. It's a simple and divine sandwich.
• Add a few small chunks of honeycomb to an otherwise conventional grilled ham and cheese.
• Make a salad of arugula, grilled chicken and slivered almonds. Top with crumbled soft goat cheese and small chunks of honeycomb. Tossing some blue cheese and fresh fruit, like pears, into the mix doesn't hurt either.
• Make a ragingly spicy chili, then serve each bowl with a chunk of honeycomb and blob of sour cream to tame the eat ever so slightly.
• Top thick slabs of angel food cake with whipped cream, then top that with a chunk of honeycomb.
• Alongside Cheese- Finish your cheese board with a chunk of honeycomb and you've just seriously upgraded the situation. Sticky-sweet honeycomb pairs exceptionally well with creamy cheese like brie, blue and chevre, as it not only balances the saltiness, but also adds texture.
• Spread on Toast- This works best with toast that's still warm. Drop a couple of small chunks on top and let the melt from the heat of the toast, mashing them with the back of a fork or knife if needed to get them all spread out and oozing over the bread.  The same rules apply for warm biscuits, scones and English muffins, for that matter.
• Sprinkled on Ice Cream- Think vanilla ice cream is boring? It's not if you top it with honeycomb. This is one trick you'll want to remember the next time you need a last-minute dinner party dessert.  Suddenly, that pint you grabbed at the store is a whole lot more interesting and your guests will not only be impressed, but they'll also lick their bowls clean.

May. 2, 2019

My niece got married on April 13, 2019 and as a gift to her and her new husband, I supplied the honey wedding favors. SO much fun! I used the honey I took back in October. As I said in my previous post, it was dark, beautiful and tasted a little like fall (heehee). She loved them and so did all the guest. I was so afraid I wouldn't have enough and stockpiled honey. There was honey everywhere in jars, throughout my house (you fellow beeks know what I mean). I would love to get into the business of suppliying the honey favors for brides in Tuscaloosa, where I live, but not sure I have enough hives to make a go of it. 

BTW, if you're ever in my hometown of Gardendale, AL , north of Birmingham, stop in Southern Market and pick up some of my honey and comb honey. Facebook: Southern Market

Until next time, sweet friends.....

May. 2, 2019

The bees are busy and so am I. I've been feeding them throughout our mild winter here in West Central Alabama. Back in October, I lost my Marigold hive. It's the one I split last year and just never gained enough power to survive. We had an early cold spell and I think they froze. I waited to take fall honey until October and it was worth it. SOoooo much dark, beautfiul honey. I'll add a picture of my comparison of the spring and fall honey. It taste a little tart (hard to describe) and I figured the bees had foraged on goldenrod. Delicious and very sought after. I really didn't do much else except feed them sugar cakes (recipe to follow) and checked on them every once in a while. Things started revving up in March and my periwinlkle hive was overflowing with bees and queen cells. A sure sign that the hive was about to swarm, meaning I would lose half of the population. When bees swarm, it means they need more space and they follow the old queen out of the hive and land wherever (a tree limb, a neighbor's attic, a car tire). With the split I did last year, I bought a new queen and installed her in the new hive, but they never really increased in population.  This spring, I took the old queen , a few frames of brood, eggs, larvae and a few frames of honey and pollen, and put in the new hive (Marigold). They are doing great and look to be increasing. I won't get honey from that hive this year, though. At least I don't think I will but this honey flow (the time of year where many plants are blooming) is crazy! My pesto hive is already full of honey and I will take about 2 weeks earlier than last year. The periwinkle hive is doing great, too , but not sure they made a queen from the queen cells I left in there when I split it. You have to leave either some eggs or queen cells when you take away the old queen , or they can't make a new one. Isn't that amazing? The periwinkle hive has been grumpy and noisy and this usually happens when they don't happen a queen. Thank goodness I was able to get another queen from a friend of mine in the West Alabama Beekeepers Association. BTW, if you have one in your county, you need to join. It's fun learning new stuff about bees, and making friends with those who share your obsession, I mean interest, in bees. Anyhoo, this new queen came in a cage I had never seen before so I put her in this eveing and wil lcheck again in about 5 or so days. There's a little piece of sugar on the end that the bees have to eat through in order to get her out. That gives everyone time to get used to each other without fighting or going all Game of Thrones on the queen. Hmmm, there's a name idea for the new queen... Cersei. I shot a video of me installing Cersei to my periwinkle hive. Check it out soon on my other social media pages. Instagram: @bsbees2016 and Twitter: @bsbees2016 and Facebook: BsBeesinBama

Until next time sweet friends...

Recipe for Sugar Cakes (Southern style):

5lbs sugar                                                                                                                                7 1/2 oz water                                                                                                                        Honey B Healthy or lemongrass/spearmint essential oil

Mix all together and put in a flat aluminum (like adisposable square pan) container.                  I freeze mine until ready to use. The bees love it!