Honey Harvest Party!

Just two days after my first bee-keeping experience, I was able to take part in the processing (or lack thereof) of the honey. It was pretty simple and amazingly delicious. I’ve never tasted honey so good.  

Once the slats from the hive were removed and were free of bees, we used this comb tool to gently brush across the capped combs to reveal the honey inside.

Then, the slats were placed in this manual centrifuge which shoots the honey out of the slats and onto the sides of the cylinder, allowing the honey to drip down into the bottom. At the bottom lies a screen through which the honey drips to prevent any unwanted particles ending up in the final honey product.

Manually cranking this centrifuge was hard work!

My centrifuge battle wound!

Left over wax.

Next, the honey was poured through some cheesecloth for extra straining (removes any wax particles without removing the minerals and pollen), and then finally divided up into glass jars. No heating, no added fillers (sugar cane or corn syrup) or preservatives – just straight raw honey. The good stuff. Experiencing something this pure and being close to  nature in a way I've never been made me a very happy lady.

Let there be honey!

Honey for everyone!

The leftover wax can be chewed like gum, or it can be melted down and turned into chapstick; which is just what Lindsey (my sister in-law) did!

We left all of the equipment out by the hive so the bees could clean it up for us; they did a pretty good job cleaning off the honey.

Cool facts about honeybees and their honey…

• Honey bees transform the nectar they consume from flowers into honey by way of regurgitation, and store this honey in wax honeycombs.
• Honey can be used as a topical anti-bacterial for wounds.
• The type of flower the honey bee pollinates determines the flavor of the final honey product.
• Some research supports antioxidant activity of raw honey (the heat from pasteurization eliminates some phytonutrients).
• Honey is about 80% sugar and 20% water.
• Honey has trace amounts of B vitamins, iron, potassium, zinc, copper, selenium and manganese.
• The queen bee leaves her hive only once to mate with several male drones, storing enough sperm for a lifetime (yikes!)
• As mentioned previously, honey bees will flee overcrowded hives and will die with one sting.
• Honey bees provide pollination for a wide variety of crops, flowers and plants, making the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) an important matter.
• Check out this New York Times blog post on the history of honey bees for more information: http://topics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/honey-bees-a-history/

Gardening and Bee-Keeping!

Plainwell, Michigan: a very small, quiet town near Pine Lake. My parents have a beautiful lake cottage up here at which they spend half the year living. The other half is spent living on the east coast of Florida, near the Indian River and the awesome beaches. They’ve got a great life – one they have both worked hard for and greatly appreciate. I can’t believe it’s been 3 or 4 years since I have visited last. Upon my arrival a few days ago, it didn’t take long for me to realize that I wanted to spend a bit more time up here than initially planned. So I am!

My brothers and sister in-law made the trip up here as well so it’s nice to have all the family together again. Our aunt and uncle also have rented a cottage on Pine Lake for the week; they just threw a “Trifecta” party for a couple of family events: our uncle’s 75^th birthday, my dad’s retirement, and for the 100 year celebration of part of our family living in the US for 100 years (from England).

One thing I love about this place is my dad’s garden. It’s about 20x20 and just bursting with vegetables! Tomatoes, pole beans, potatoes, asparagus, cucumbers, carrots, beets, peppers, and onions. He’s also got some fruit trees (apple and pear), which sadly, didn’t do too well this year due to the frost. And lastly, grapes! I’m not too sure which varieties, but both red and white are growing. There’s truly nothing better than picking something fresh and eating it right then and there – peak nutrition, peak taste.

Carrot top

asparagus takes a couple years before you can harvest. Just snip off stalks when ready, and they will continue to grow back for years.

the lone pear that could!

Dad and I

My parents are also keeping their own bees for honey production and plant pollination purposes. I was able to experience a little bee-keeping myself the other day and learned quite a bit. Suiting up allowed me to get an up close and personal look into life of honey bees without worrying about the possibility of being stung. It was amazing. Honey bees sting only when they feel threatened; one sting and they die, so they must use it wisely. Whenever new slats of the hive were removed to view the honeycombs, the buzzing of the swarm got louder and you could tell they were a bit angry. But how can we blame them? We were disrupting their home and they didn't like it.

This box was so heavy from all of the honey inside

Frames inside the super box (part of the hive that holds the honey)

A friend of the family has been keeping bees for several years now, and so he comes to the cottage about once a week for maintenance and to collect the honey. If too many bees are present in one hive, the overcrowding causes them to flee in search of a less crowded area. According to the USDA, bee losses of 30-90% from hives have occurred since 2006 with unknown causes (though etiological theories exist, of course). This is otherwise known as the Colony Collapse Disorder, where “no or a low number of adult honey bees are present with a live queen. Often there is still honey in the hive, and immature bees (brood) are present.” Bee pollination is needed for 80% of crops grown in the US, making this quite an important issue for all who like to eat. The theories about these losses are rather interesting, but I think I’ll save them for another day.

Yellow area - brood (larvae)
White area - capped honeycomb ready for honey harvesting

Varroa mites are a major pest of honey bees. Just before we were done, powdered sugar was sprayed among the bees. While each bee would eat this sugar off of one another, they would also eat the mites – a simple form of pest control.  Once we were done playing with the bees and trying to gather honey, we took a walk away from the hive to get away and unsafely remove our bee suits. It wasn’t easy – they kept following us around for a good 20 minutes. Apparently they were still upset at us for disturbing the peace. I fared pretty well, leaving the scene un-stung. But my teacher wasn’t so lucky. Several bees found their way into his suit and stung the back of his neck and his lip! One bee sting leaves behind a pheromone on the skin, attracting additional bees to that very spot.    

Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to help process the honey sometime later this week. If so, I will definitely share! 

BEETS!

Dandelion Communitea Cafe

Dandelion Communitea Café – Orlando, FL

Comunnitea. I love it! It’s the perfect name for a cafe with spectacular, high-quality tea blends and conscious food that strengthens the community.  Like Sweet Pea, Dandelion serves wholesome, homemade food, from sandwiches, to wraps, to bowls, to deserts provided by a local bakery. Vegetarian/vegan and organic fare is the concept here, and they also offer gluten- and soy-free options, as well as fair-trade coffee and tea. The prices are very reasonable and you walk away feeling happily satisfied, in more ways than one. This café is a local, small scale and independent enterprise that finds value in producers that are as well. Co-proprietor, Julie Norris, makes a solid statement about why these types of businesses are becoming so much more important: “Folks are waking up to the effects of mass consumption and the emptiness of big business and tuning into a simpler and more sustainable existence.” Bring back the mom and pop shops!

Here, you order at the counter and then find a table. I am always surprised at how quickly the food comes out; most times, my food arrives before my tea! Granted, I like my teas iced this time of year, but still, it’s freaky fast (no Jimmy John’s pun intended). There’s plenty of inside and outside seating, including a small courtyard with patio chairs for full-moon get-togethers with live folk music. Each night, Dandelion offers a special event:

Monday: $5 GiddyUp - famous chili on spring greens topped with crumbled blue corn chips, tomatoes and scallions served as a wrap or salad; served with vegan queso or organic dairy cheddar. But I think their green goddess dressing is the best; a creamy tahini dressing.

Tuesday: Open-mic Poetry Night

Wednesday: Local art hangings

Thursday: Green Drinks - eat, drink, enjoy great music and talk/learn about the issues concerning Orlando’s community

Weekends: Live music

And let’s not forget about Dandy Hour – discounted beer and wine with $5 appetizers on weekdays from 4-7pm. The beer selection here is one of the best around; they really branch out for some unique microbrews. Many beers come from the Orlando Brewery, Florida’s only certified Organic brewing company. They offer light and easy-drinking ales to dark and robust porters. You can check out Dandelion’s full drink and food menu here: http://dandelioncommunitea.com/eat/menu/

My dinner tonight, ~$11:

Mama’s Native Mix – Hearty quinoa served with 3 toppings of your choice and a dressing. I chose black beans, corn, onion, tomato, scallion and cilantro (more than 3, but I do what I want), and of course the divine Green Goddess Dressing to top it all off. I chose a bowl this time, but you can also get it wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla or collard leaf.

Stay Well Now Tea (iced) – A smooth blend of Echinacea purpurea herb, lemon balm, elder flower, lemon peel, elderberries, goldenseal herb and ginger root. This place has the most amazing tea selections I’ve seen, and you can purchase any loose leaf tea blend to take home for yourself.

Chai-Peach Cupcake – Like all deserts, this sinful creation came from Orlando’s Rhapsodic Vegan Bakery (check out their blog here: http://raphsodic.tumblr.com/).

Past meals I have had:

Giddyup as a wrap with green goddess dressing – there is something about this chili. It holds so many wonderful flavors that it makes you forget it’s actually meatless.

Summer of Love Rolls – Fun little rice wraps stuffed with carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, and herbs served with a coconut peanut sauce.

Rhapsody’s Vegan Brownie – SO MOIST, SO DELICOUS.  I’m not a vegan, but vegan food can be outrageously good.  

Mama's Native Mix Above, Summer Rolls Below

Because I love how simple, nutritious and tasty the Mama’s Native Mix is, I’ve had this bowl several times to experiment with different topping combinations. Sometimes I choose the Chef’s Choice and let them decide what they want to create. This is also a great way to use up those ingredients that may otherwise be thrown away at the end of the day = reduce waste!

I would recommend anyone to give this place a try. The food is simple, responsible and delicious. The atmosphere is eclectic and cozy. Dandelion is more than just a café – it’s also a community enhancing establishment fit for sustainable foodies.  

More Sustainability! More Sweet Pea Cafe's!

Restaurant: Sweet Pea, Tallahassee, FL

Concept: Locally owned and operated vegan restaurant using local and organic ingredients as much as possible. Currently, their seasonal produce is from Full Earth Farm in Quincy, FL and Green Industries Institute in Monticello, Fl.

Menu: The menu includes mostly sandwiches with awesome sides like sweet potato fries and veggies with homemade hummus. They offer a weekend brunch with special mimosas, and serve house made lemonade and iced tea; they also serve some good selections of cerveza. And let’s not forget the house-roasted coffee, which is always fair-trade and organic. Here is their Facebook menu page for more info: http://www.facebook.com/spctally?sk=app_117784394919914

During one of my recent trips to Tallahassee, I finally made it a point to check this place out. They opened up right before I left town last summer, and I have heard some pretty great things about it since. David, my boyfriend, accompanied me and I think he enjoyed it just as much as I did. Although it’s located on a fairly busy street, the wide open grassy lot across the way creates a fairly serene atmosphere for outside dining, which is just where we sat; if David knows one thing about me, it’s that I’ll always choose outside seating at restaurants, if available.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of our meals! So hopefully my menu descriptions will entice you to try it for yourself. Or, you can check out their Facebook menu page: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.205173239548341.56537.123951997670466&type=3

I had the Falawesome Wrap with a side of veggies and hummus, and it was absolutely delicious. If you haven’t guessed by now, it is a wrap filled with falafel, and topped with a lemon-tahini sauce, cucumber, tomato, onion and lettuce. You have the option of choosing a whole wheat wrap, a pita or a gluten-free brown rice tortilla. The falafel was nice and crispy on the outside, but not too oily; I’ve had a lot of falafel and very few restaurants get it right! There was also just the right amount of tahini sauce to break up the potential dryness of the chickpeas. This wrap is simple and tasty. I also had an iced coffee, which was flavorful and smooth. Whoever is roasting the beans in there is doing a great job – keep it up!

David had their black bean burger with sweet potato fries. The burger is a black bean-quinoa patty, which was very moist and held together nicely.  It’s served with tomato, onion, lettuce and stone ground mustard on fresh Ciabatta from the local bakery, Au Peche Mignon. And of course, the sweet potato fries were awesome. Both of our meals were under $10, making this place just as affordable as any other café and, it’s vegetarian/vegan…options which are hard to find in many cities. I thought the portion sizes were perfect – not too much food, but just enough to satisfy. Well worth your dollars.

Sweet Pea is small and quaint. The tables and chairs are used, the walls and floors are worn, and the kitchen appears non-existent! But they make it work. And so efficiently too, on many levels. Using local produce and food as much as possible, and converting their food trash into compost bins are all processes that create sustainability. We need more of these businesses and I hope to see this restaurant grow, in popularity as well as in size, as a means to maintain this sustainable food movement. 

I Love Oatmeal

Left: Old fashioned rolled oats     Right: Steel cut oats

Oatmeal: the wonder breakfast which somehow got a bad reputation; one of being too bland and too mushy. Well, when choosing pre-packaged instant oatmeal, mushy is just what you will get! Making a simple and scrumptious bowl of oatmeal in the morning does not have to be complicated, and its impressive nutrient profile will leave your body thanking you all day long. This post is my passionate attempt to improve oatmeal’s current reputation and to get a bowl of oats in more bellies every morning.

Top: cinnamon   Left: wheat germ   Right: ground flax

Full of fiber, healthy fats, protein, vitamins and minerals, a bowl of oats is a great way to start off the day. Its near perfect ratio of carbohydrates, fats and proteins keeps your appetite in check, giving you a steady flow of happy energy needed to get through the morning.

Keeping a couple staple items on hand at all times will ensure convenience and simplicity every morning:

Oats – Plain Old Fashioned or Steel Cut oats

Milk – Cow’s, Soy, Almond, Coconut, whatever you like (Using milk instead of water creates additional flavor, more nutrients and a creamier texture)

Vanilla – either whole vanilla bean or vanilla extract to add a nice flavor. Avoid the extracts with added sugar.

Cinnamon – A must for oatmeal!

Ground flax seed – This is optional, of course, but flax adds a great source of heart healthy Omega-3 fats and fiber. But don’t forget to grind your flax! Our bodies cannot absorb nearly as many nutrients from the whole seed itself.

Wheat germ – (optional) a great source of folic acid, selenium and zinc.

Now for the fun part! Add whatever fruit, nuts and nut butters you love and/or have on hand. Here are a couple of my favorite combinations:

• blueberries, walnuts

• kiwi, peaches and almond butter

• strawberries, bananas, sunflower seeds

• mixed berries, almonds

• canned pumpkin, pecans and pumpkin seeds
 

The possibilities are endless! Keep a look out on the Oatmeal Bar for new and tasty oatmeal ideas. Here's a taste of one...



Willy Wonka Oats 
Serves 1 happy belly

Basic oats
1/4 cup steel cut oats
3/4 cup soy milk
hearty dash of cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp ground flax seed

Toppings
handful blueberries
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
2 Tbsp chopped, fresh, young coconut (or shredded)
generous sprinkle pumpkin seeds
1-2 Tbsp shaved dark chocolate (optional - but it does go well with the willy wonka theme)



Combine all of the "basic oats" ingredients in a pot over medium high heat. When slightly bubbly, turn heat to medium and allow liquid to be absorbed until oatmeal is creamy, about 7-12 minutes. Pour into a bowl and throw on toppings. Enjoy.

*Steel cut oats take a tiny bit longer to cook, but are more hearty in texture and nuttier in flavor compared to rolled oats. They also have slightly more protein, fiber and iron.

Nutrition Values