Poetry Month – “Telling The Bees”

Romancing the Bee

Until the early 20th century, beekeeping was almost exclusively a family affair.  It was common for households to keep at least two or three hives, and bees were considered valuable members of the family.

It was a common belief that bees could understand what was said and done around them, and they were often treated as having human emotions. As a result, families were careful to inform the bees of important  family events such as marriages, births and deaths. This custom became known as  ”telling the bees.”

“Telling the bees” was done in various ways,  including tapping the hive with a key, whispering the news to the bees, and leaving an appropriate gift – a piece of wedding cake or some other refreshment – at the entrance of the hive. It was also customary to drape the hives with black crepe or wool.

It was feared that if the bees…

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Health Benefits Of Honey!

Romancing the Bee

One of the many great things about Farmers’ Markets is that you can find unprocessed honey, also known as raw honey, for sale. Most of the honey sold in grocery stores has been pasteurized and sometimes even blended with cane sugar or corn syrup. However, raw honey is naturally antiseptic and does not need pasteurization.

People have been using raw honey for its health benefits for millennia. Raw honey contains pollen, enzymes, antioxidants and many other beneficial compounds that researchers are just beginning to discover. These compounds largely disappear during processing. The general rule is the darker the raw honey, the more nutritious it is.

Allergy Relief

Recent research supports the theory that local honey– obtained as close as possible to where you live–may help build an immunity to seasonal allergies. Honey made by bees in the vicinity of an allergenic plant will contain tiny amounts of pollen from that…

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Raspberry Peach Crumble

~Chocolate Covered Cherry Oatmeal Cookies! | Oh Bite It

~Chocolate Covered Cherry Oatmeal Cookies! | Oh Bite It.

 

Fresh grilled veggies

A CSA Culinary Experience

I love throwing summer veggies on the grill. It brings out great flavor! Also, it makes for a quick and easy veggie addition to your cook out. I used all the squash varieties in our CSA box and added that amazing basil we received as well.

Ingredients:

All squash varieties sliced

Grape seed oil

Salt and pepper

fresh basil, ribboned

Cover your sliced veggies in oil, salt, and pepper.  Fire up your grill and lay your veggies slices down. Make sure your slices aren’t too thin, so they are easy to grab with tongs and flip without falling apart.  Keep an eye on them and flip periodically. Cooking times will vary. It’s best to just keep checking them and grill them to your liking.

I put them on the top rack at first, but ended up transferring some of the larger slices to the bottom so they would cook more…

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Southern Fried Chicken with Milk Gravy

Grandpa’s Coffee Cake

Salts Kitchen

My grandfather was the one that always answered the phone. There was a routine to our 3-minute conversations. He called me “Reeebecca”. He smiled through the phone and you could picture him in his beige cardigan, standing in the dark kitchen of the condo and holding the old phone. He laughed out loud. Frequently.

He tried everything I made no matter what. He’d ask what I had created and then that’s the food he put on his plate. Once, he couldn’t get enough of the coffee cake I made at a brunch. Through high school and then when I’d come home from college, I’d make the cake and bring a tray of it over to the condo. He liked each piece with butter.

Six years after he has gone, I’ve made a platter for Grandpa Lou. I wanted it to be exactly the same as he (hopefully) remembered, so I…

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Mini key Lime Pies

matchamochi

Mini Key Lime Pies 

I want to make this key lime pie for a long long time, but mostly the recipe were too fatty and far too sweet, it always let me down!

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Recipe: Easy Crunchy Taco Salad

Kitchen Survival in the Modern World

Estimated Cost:  $11.00

Total Time:  30 minutes

Serves:  10

I’ve made variations of this salad for years.  It used to be my standby addition to the company potlucks back when I spent most of my day in a cube.  I always got positive feedback in our post-potluck-productivity meetings.

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 head iceberg lettuce, broken into small pcs.
2 med. tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup ripe olives, sliced
4 med. green onions, sliced (approx. 1/4 cup)
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup Italian dressing
1 bag tortilla chips, coarsely crushed

1. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and taco seasoning mix as directed on seasoning mix package.

2. In large salad serving bowl, gently mix lettuce, tomatoes, olives, onions and cheese. Add beef mixture; stir gently to mix.

3. Just before serving, add dressing and chips; toss.

Mike’s comments:

I much prefer using

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Roasted Vegetable Flatbread

a day from scratch

“Roasted Vegetable Flatbread?? You told us you were a hunter! Where’s the Red Deer Filet and Scimitar Horned Oryx backstrap?”

All in good time my friends, all in good time. For now I am on a fresh veggie kick. That may be because I just started a new job cooking at a spa here in Austin and the garden overlooking the lake alone is inspiring me to eat more veggies.

It’s all about balance, right?

Have no fear though, that meat eating hunting gal will be back soon enough y’all, I promise.

Using my favorite Naan bread recipe and some homemade pizza sauce, both frozen in the freezer for easy access; I threw this flatbread together in no time.

Naan Bread Recipe

Pizza Sauce: makes enough for 2-4 pizzas

1 28 oz can whole tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic

1/2 medium sized onion, diced

1 teaspoon dried…

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