School's In. Here are some ideas for those lunches.

August is Here! Where did the summer go? Well it was fun but just way too short for us. Maybe because our summer months are so very busy carrying for the bees and extracting all that yummy honey. So, school has started here which means making all those school lunches each and every day as well as afternoon snacks for the troops and their friends. 

I am always looking for new, healthy foods for the children to eat. So, we often make the Chocolate Squares that I have listed below. It is a family favorite that can be modified any number of ways. You can add dried fruit like raisins, or cranberries. Fresh coconut would be another great addition as well. The choices are endless. So make this your own. Something that your family will enjoy.

An update to the Smoothie entry earlier this summer...We have had many many smoothie this summer and we continue to tweak it each time. Recently, I added spinach and it was great. You could not even taste the spinach. What a great way to get those veggies in! For this smoothie, we also included frozen blueberries which made it even more tasty.  This is also a great afternoon school snack that the kids will love. I have also been told that kale is another great addition to your smoothie. I plan on giving it a try. Let me know what you think.

Chocolate Squares

½ c. butter

1 c. oats

1 egg

1 c. chopped dates

2 T. wheat germ

¾ cup Beelicious honey

1 tsp. vanilla

½ c. all purpose flour

1 c. nuts, chopped

¾  c. chocolate chips

½ c. peanut butter chips

Mix all ingredients together. Spread into a greased 9x12 dish. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Cool. Cut into squares. Makes 12-15 bars.

Quick appetizer that will sure to be a hit

Need a quick appetizer for that fourth of July gathering? This super quick appetizer will be a sure fire hit.

1 block Havarti cheese, room temperature
Beelicious Honey
Sliced green and red apples, cut thinly
Crackers

Arrange the cheese in the center with the apple slices surrounding the cheese. Pour the honey over the cheese.  So, how do you eat this? Slice of apple, cheese with honey on top of the cracker of your choice. Simply Delicious!

Summer is Here!

Summer is definitely here in the South. The temperature is now soaring in the upper 90s and there is sweetness in the air. Today the temperature was a very hot 101F. The Chinese Tallow trees were in full bloom last month giving our honeybees the much needed nectar. Just yesterday we saw Red Vine beginning to bloom at our river location.

The bee yards have been busy with activity. Last month, we held our second nuc pickup for the year with one more set for June. Many people ask, "What is a nuc?"  A Nuc is a Nucleus Hive, which is a fully functional hive with a Laying Queen, Capped Brood, Uncapped Brood, Eggs, Honey and Pollen. The difference between it and a full size hive is merely the different number of frames in the box. 
 

Nuc’s offer a distinct advantage over package bees in that the Nuc is a functional hive with all stages of Brood Development with Comb and stores already available which is also headed up by a queen who is the mother of the bees in the colony.  A package typically has a queen which was placed into the package at the time of packaging and its not the mother of the bees in the package.  She could be rejected by the bees or not have a good brood laying patter (i. e. unhealthy or poorly mated).

Will I get honey the first year? It is possible to get a small honey crop (your first year) from a Nuc hive which is picked up in early Spring.  However, it is almost never possible to get a honey crop from a package of bees for a beginning beekeeper.

So, if beekeeping is in your future, contact us and we will help you on your way.  Happy Beekeeping and Stay COOL!

Honey Sesame Pork Tenderloin

Honey Sesame Pork Tenderloin

½ c soy sauce

2 cloves garlic

1 T. fresh ginger, grated (use the powder in the can and it works fine)

1 T. sesame oil

1 to 1 ½ lb. pork tenderloin

¼ c. Beelicious honey

2 T. brown sugar

¼ c. sesame seeds (optional)

Combine soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil in large plastic bog. Add tenderloin. Marinate at least 2 hours in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine honey and brown sugar. Remove tenderloin from marinade. Roll tenderloin in honey mixture then roll in sesame seeds. Toast in a shallow pan 20 to 30 minutes or until meat registers 160 degrees on a meat thermometer. 

OPTIONS: We often substitute boneless pork chops for the tenderloin. I don't always have the tenderloin on hand but I can usually find pork chops in the freezer.  We serve this dish with rice, a side salad and green beans. It is so easy to prepare on those busy days and nights when we find ourselves coming and going. 

Happy Mother's Day 2012

Happy Mother's Day 2012

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,

Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,

 
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,

 
But only one mother the wide world over.

 
~George Cooper

Strawberry Honey Trifle

April means Louisiana Strawberry Season is Here! Boy, there is nothing better than farm fresh, red, sweet strawberries from our neighbor state. At the local farmers market, we buy them by the flat. For some that may seem like a lot of strawberries to eat. But for a family of five, it might last a week. This time of year, we eat strawberries with every meal. Sometimes just strawberries dipped in honey and nothing more. But a family favorite that is so simple and so incredibly delicious is our Strawberry Honey Trifle. It's sure to get rave reviews at your house, too!

1 angel food cake
Stawberries (rinsed, sliced)
1 container of cool whip
Beelicious Honey

Break the angel food cake into small bite sized pieces. Layer the cake, then the strawberries. Drizzle honey all over the strawberry layer. Next spread the whip cream. Repeat. End with cool whip layer and decorate with whole strawberries and mint leaves. 

7 Grocery Store Items Americans are Blowing Money On

7 Grocery Store Items Americans are Blowing Money On

Check out this article. Thanks to our friends for sharing it with us. We hope that you will find a local beekeeper to purchase your honey. There is nothing better than pure, raw honey. Enjoy!