The fall season is upon us with much of the goldenrod now in bloom. Our bees are feeding on this feast of pollen and nectar. The recipe this month is a family favorite that we have often. It is a simple recipe for homemade pizza dough. The original recipe came from my mother's good friend, Mrs. Sue, and called for sugar but we substitute honey. Hope you enjoy this as much as we do.

Create Your Own Pizza
2 packages yeast
1 cup warm water
2 TBSP oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Beelicious Honey
3 1/2 cups bread flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a large bowl. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Stir in oil, salt, honey and bread flour slowly. Turn dough onto floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Yields 2 -12" crusts.

Thai Pasta

Recently, we had several people over at our home for dinner. The theme for the evening's meal was Asian cuisine. My long time friend, Nellie, brought this amazing Thai Pasta. She is such a wonderful cook and it is always a treat whenever she makes. I only wish I had photos to share as well. This recipe was given to Nellie by a neighbor. Enjoy!

Thai Pasta
1 lb. angel hair pasta (cooked and drained)
2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 c.oil
2 tablespoon sesame oil
6 tablespoon Beelicious honey
5 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tsp. salt
2 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 tsp. ginger

Heat all the above ingredients in a sauce pan until warm (about 2 mins). Combine this sauce with the spaghetti.

When ready to serve add:
1/2 c. chopped green onions
3/4 c. Chopped peanuts
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Option:  you can add shrimp or chicken to this dish. If so, do 1 1/2 recipe of the sauce.

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