Energy Bars

Recently, my son found this recipe in a new cookbook that the children received at Christmas. We modified it and it has quickly become a family favorite. The bars are great in their lunches or for an after school snack.

Energy Bars
1 egg
3/4 cup self rising flour
2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup all natural applesauce (no sugar added)
3/4 cup honey
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients and bake in a greased baking dish. Press dough into dish using a fork. Bake for 20 minutes or until brown. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Options: You can add raisins, cranberries, almonds, or anything that you would like in addition or in place I'd the chocolate chips. I make a bar just for me with cranberries and almonds.

February in South Mississippi Equals An Early Spring

All indicators point to an early spring here in the southern part of Mississippi. It is amazing to see the bees already hard at work. The maple trees are blooming. The bulbs in our gardens are already in full bloom. This is incredibly early and we hope that it is the beginning of an amazing honey season ahead. 

The nuc yard is in full swing. If you are contemplating beginning beekeeping, check out our website for details on how to order your Italian honeybees.  We are currently taking orders now.

On Saturday February 25th will be one of the many speakers at the 3rd Annual  Sustainable Living Conference: Saving Dollars, Making Sense sponsored by the Gaining Ground Sustainability Institute of Mississippi. Keith will be speaking on basic beekeeping and how to get started. This is a great conference with many interesting speakers on a variety of topics from gardening to conserving energy. This will be our second year to attend. You can visit the website to find our more. (www.ggsim.org) 

We hope to see you there.

Bread Pudding with Almond Sauce

Here is the recipe for the month.  The original recipe was given to us in 2005 and quickly became a family favorite.  This dish is a must at all holidays gatherings and is often asked for by our friends. Originally it called only for sugar, but with the addition of a little honey, it taste even better. We bet that this will be a hit where ever you take it. Enjoy!

Bread Pudding with Almond Sauce

6 large eggs
1 c honey

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 qt. cream
10-12 Hawaiian rolls
Combine eggs and honey. Add vanilla and cream. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 dish. Break rolls into bit size pieces and drop into mixture. Gently spoon mixture over rolls. Bake at 350 for 35-45 min. Remove from oven and immediately pour sauce over hot pudding.

Almond Sauce
1 c sugar
1 T. flour
combine in a small sauce pan. Add the below ingredients.
1/2 c evaporated milk
1 stick butter
1 1/2 tsp almond extract.

Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in almond extract. Pour over hot baked pudding. Let soak until serving time. Refrigerate leftovers -- Rewarm in microwave.

Happy New Year

With the start of a new year, comes new resolutions. After much thought, we decided to venture into the world of blogging. What a great way for us to communicate what is going on here in the South regarding the world of beekeeping. It will also serve as a great tool to help those just beginning in beekeeping. We get many questions, from new beekeepers in our area. So our goal will be to post things of interest on a monthly basis. We will also post interesting videos of what is going on in our apiaries. We hope that you will find this both interesting and helpful.

Happy Beekeeping!