June Deals

June 2018 Days Sale – 15% off total order!

Now until June 30th, 2018!

Now until the end of of June, save on your favorite BEEpothecary products.  Propolis Oil and BEE Rescue are great for sunburn treatment and poison ivy. Propolis Tncture and Oil can help recovery from sumer colds.  BEE Intense Moisturizer helps hydrate summer dry skin. Propolis Nose Spray and Throat spray help with summer allergy stuffiness and irritation!  BEE Bread is a great pre and post work-out boost whether you are working out at the gym or doing yard work!

Stock up now! 15% off EVERYTHING!

 

 BEEpothecary can enhance your

health and wellness this summer!

Use code 2018JUNE15%

 

Start Shopping

Speakers Available!

Let Us Tell You About Honey Bee Resources

As beekeepers and bee lovers, we love to share about the riches that come from bee hive resources.   As a business, BEEpothecary creates artisan batches of  health, skin and hair care products made with beehive resources – propolis, honey, pollen and beeswax. We have a particular passion for propolis and have pent several years pouring over scientific research on the use of propolis for health and illness. We have several presentations that we do for beekeeping conferences, honey festivals, individual beekeeper clubs and homesteading/natural living festivals.  We offer Power Point programs with demonstrations and sampling of various products and raw materials. We also buy raw propolis (and other hive resources) from other beekeepers by the pound and can provide instructions for how to clean it to prepare for sale.

Our presentations include:

• The health benefits of hive resources;
• How to collect clean and prepare hive products for use in value added products;
• Different forms of hive products that can be marketed;
• How to make many different products using bee resources;
• The categorizing, production and labeling laws that must be followed to market value added hive products other than honey;
• Honey Bees and Beekeeping, for non-beekeepers
• Combinations of two or more of these topics in one presentation.

Our speaking charge is $100 for a 45 – 90 min presentation,  plus travel costs.  (We are willing to negotiate, in some cases, for smaller groups with a limited budget.)  We love sharing about the amazing health benefits of hive resources with others! If your club, conference or event is in need of a speaker on any of these topics, please contact us at beepothecary@gmail.com  or call 1-450-2339.

 

HEALTH ~ POWERED BY BEES!

HONEY SRIRACHA ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

The Land of Milk and Honey

Cooking with Honey

by Laurie Dotson 

 

Fall days are wonderful, here in our household.  We are very laid back. Enjoying the changing of the seasons. Tho’ this fall has been pretty darn mild. I’m not complaining at all. The bees are still coming and going and chickens don’t have to have a heat lamp or a ice melter in the coop.  Dogs are running around the property as if they were puppies. Gosh, It makes you say Thank you God and fire up the grill! With the cooler nights and the fall produce at every farmstand calling my name. I decided to grill a couple of steaks along with Roasted brussel sprouts with honey and sriracha. 

It’s that perfectly, delicious dish that fits into my diet. Calorie counting…I have 10 pounds to go. I love food so what goes in my mouth must be worth the count!  This meal counts…when we go out to a restaurant, everyone shares off of each other’s plates. How else will you get to try so many different kinds of dishes.Right!?  We found this dish at a local restaurant in town and this is my take  or make on the recipe. So tonight we are Grilling Steaks and ROASTing BRUSSELS SPROUTS w/ HONEY & SRIRACHA. 

…By the time the sprouts were roasted, mixed and served, my sweet husband was only able to fork 3 brussels sprouts before the dish was gone.  I could not stop the the humming , yumming and inhaling that took place. I saw nothing but the sprouts and they saw nothing but my mouth.  Poor Poor Husband…I gave him the other half my steak, which I was to full to eat… he graciously ate the steak. Here is my version of this fabulous dish!  Try it and enjoy! 

HONEY SRIRACHA ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

40 mins  Serves: 4 servings

• INGREDIENTS
• 1½ pounds Brussels sprouts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika powder
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, diced
• dash of lime pepper
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 3 tablespoons beepothecary honey
• 1 lime, juiced

INSTRUCTIONS : Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cut off the stem end of the sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Cut large sprouts in half.

In a small bowl mix together kosher, salt, onion powder, paprika, garlic, and lime pepper. Place sprouts in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil and season generously with Kosher salt mixture. Toss to coat. Place in a single layer on an aluminum-foil lined baking sheet. Roast for 35-40 minutes, shaking the pan a few times throughout the cooking process, until crisp and golden brown on the outside and tender on the inside.

Meanwhile;  combine sriracha, honey, and lime in a small bowl. Season with Kosher salt.

Remove sprouts from oven, transfer to large bowl, and drizzle with honey sriracha sauce. Toss lightly to coat and serve immediately.

Now that dinner is served. You can get online and finish your christmas shopping.

Go to BEEpothecary website and find the perfect gifts for that special someone. Check out our gift sets and Don’t forget to use the discount code 10NL15 to get %10 your entire order.

Happy Holidays, Happy hanukkah and Merry Christmas to you and yours!  From Steve, Jeannie, Pete and Laurie

 

Three Ways to eat with Propolis and BeeBread

The Land of Milk and Honey

Cooking with Honey

by Laurie Dotson 

Today is the first, real day where the weather felt like Fall.  I’m looking out my dining room window. Watching the limbs of my crabapple trees dip low to the ground, because they are loaded with heavy bright red, cherry size apples. Crabapple butter soon!   My favorite morning spread on buttered toast. yummy!  I’ll post that one, soon!

 It’s been so busy today that I forgot to eat.  This really has gotten me to think about having healthy snack, ready to eat at a moments notice. And I’m not talking apples and carrot, which I do have, but something fun for my mouth.  Which made me think of  a conversation I had earlier in the day with a customer.  She has young, school age children who are feeling better, since they have been taking our Propolis oil.  But the girls are not crazy about the taste of Olive oil and Propolis. I don’t blame them. It’s not a taste that I crave either:) But like them, I do take it every day!  So I suggested she add the Propolis oil in a salad and if she bought some beebread she could add that t0 the girls morning oatmeal or in a yummy smoothie. Propolis tincture can be added to any fruit drinks. Added it to anything if you don’t want to take it straight down your throat.  She laughed and asked for some recipes.

First off…

If you don’t know what Propolis is, it’s a resin that the Honeybee gather from tops of trees bud and the bark. They mix it with their enzymes and then they plaster the whole inside of the hive.

 It helps insulate the hive, it helps clean the hive and it protects the hive from bacteria and viruses.  This same Propolis that helps fight sickness in the hive, will also protect us from the the same viruses and bacteria floating and hanging about us.  Propolis icontains flavonoids that are anti viral, anti bacterial, anti microbial, anti fungal and an anti-inflammatory Propolis can be a great dietary supplement to enhance your overall health and boost immunity.

BeeBread is Pollen and Honey mixed together. BeeBread is filled with everything you need to energize your day, workout or recovery.  It is loaded with  vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein and iron that will benefit people of all ages and boost the immune system.

Flying about from flower to flower, bees collect pollen in the pollen baskets on their legs and carry it back to the hive. In the hive, pollen is used as a protein source necessary during brood-rearing. The pollen pellets and honey are combined and ferment until the the hard shell of the pollen is dissolve. At that time the bee will feast on it and feed it to their grwoing young.

So back to my phone conversation and my hungry stomach.  How can you get Propolis and BeeBread

into you daily route?  Here are a three recipes!

 Stay Healthy with the Power of BEES 

Basil Vinaigrette Dressing

Original recipe makes 1 -1/2 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2- 1 tsp of BEEpothecary Propolis Oil
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup BEEpothecary wildflower honey
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basiL
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

PREPARATION

1. In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, basil, and garlic. Pour over or toss with your favorite salad to serve

Pineapple Coconut Bites

INGREDIENTS

Makes: About 20 cookies

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

INGREDIENTS

FILLING

• 1 1/4 cups canned crushed pineapple, slightly drained
• 1 tablespoon BEEpothecary honey
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

DOUGH

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsalted cold butter
• 3 tablespoons Propolis Coconut oil or Propolis Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

PREPARATION

1. To prepare filling: Spoon pineapple into a small saucepan with honey and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Let cool.
2. To prepare dough: Meanwhile, process almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Add confectioners’ sugar; process to combine. Add whole-wheat pastry flour and all-purpose flour; process to combine. Drop butter by the tablespoon through the feed tube, processing briefly after each addition. Add oil and pulse once or twice. Add coconut, cornstarch, salt and vanilla and process just until the mixture resembles crumbly, fine meal, but will hold together if pressed.
3. Reserve a scant 1/2 cup of tart dough to use as crumbled topping.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line mini muffin pans with 20 paper cups.
5. Drop a scant tablespoon of dough into each paper cup. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the cup, making a well in the center, to form a miniature crust. Spoon 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of the pineapple filling into each crust and top each with some of the reserved crumbs.
6. Bake until the topping is golden brown and the crust is cooked through (watch carefully toward the end and move the pan to the bottom rack if the top begins to brown before the bottom crust is done), 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pans.

 

 

No-Bake BeeBread Granola Bars 

INGREDIENTS

PREP TIME: 10 mins

COOK TIME: 5 mins

TOTAL TIME: 15 mins

Serves: 10 bars

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup packed dates, pitted  (dried plums or figs)
• 3 Tbsp Flax seed
• 1/4 cup BEEpothecary BeeBread 
• 1/4 cup creamy salted natural peanut butter or almond butter
• 1 cup roasted unsalted almonds, loosely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten free for GF eaters)
• optional additions: chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, banana chips, vanilla, etc.

PREPARATION

1. Process dates in a food processor until small bits remain (about 1 minute). It should form a “dough” like consistency. (mine rolled into a ball)
2. Optional step: Toast your oats and flaxseed in a 350 degree oven for 15-ish minutes or until slightly golden brown. Otherwise, leave them raw – I toasted them
3. Place oats, flax seed, almonds and dates in a bowl – set aside.
4. Warm honey and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over oat mixture and then mix, breaking up the dates to disperse throughout.
5. Once thoroughly mixed, transfer to an 8×8 dish or other small pan lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper so they lift out easily. (A loaf pan might work, but will yield thicker bars.)
6. Press down until uniformly flattened. Cover with parchment or plastic wrap, and let set in fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden.
7. Remove bars from pan and chop into 10 even bars. Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. I kept mine in the freezer to keep them extra fresh, but it isn’t necessary.

NOTES

*If your dates don’t feel sticky and moist, soak them in water for 10 minutes then drain before processing. This will ultimately help hold the bars together better.

Looking forward to seeing you soon, Laurie –

Check out our Marketplace:  mkt.com/beepothecary

Like us on Facebook www. Facebook.com/BEEpothecary

and Twitter @BEEpothecary

Matthew 4:4

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

BEE Powered Biking

Psalms from the Hive

by Jeannie Saum

Cycling energy,  Endurance, too.

That’s what bee products can do for you.

Take honey with pollen ,  BEE BREAD, in.

Natural energy, for Scioto Valley fun!

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

 

Hey all  you Tour Of the Scioto River Valley  Riders!  BEEpothecary, a local Groveport Company, has a great new all-natural endurance supplement, perfect for your ride –  BEE BREAD.  It is made from pure raw honey and pollen, a super food high in protein, vitamins and minerals.  Packaged in a convenient 4 ounce squeeze pouch, each 1 oz. serving has 98 calories, 25 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of protein.  This is comparable to other energy / endurance supplements, but it’s all natural!

BEEpothecary’s BEE BREAD will be available for purchase during the TOSVR registration, Friday evening from 4-6 pm, at the State and Third Boutique (Shops on Capital Square), in the lower level of the Sheraton Hotel. It is also available through our online store at https://squareup.com/market/beepothecary., with 2 day priority shipping.

 

Don’t use just any energy gel – get ENDURANCE – POWERED BY BEES with BEEpothecary’s BEE BREAD – a natural honey and pollen powerhouse!

For more information about BEE BREAD, see our previous post, “Bee Powered Athletes”.

Psalm 145

9 The Lord is good to all  he has compassion on all he has made.
¹⁰ All your works praise you, Lord;your faithful people extol you.
¹¹ They tell of the glory of your kingdomand speak of your might,
¹² so that all people may know of your mighty actsand the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promisesand faithful in all he does.^[c]
14 The Lord upholds all who falland lifts up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you,and you give them their food at the proper time.
¹⁶ You open your handand satisfy the desires of every living thing.

 

BeeKeeper’s Conference Questions

Psalms from the Hive

by Jeannie Saum

Traveled to Michigan, to vend our wares

Shared with other  beekeepers while we were there.

Learned some new things, taught some, too.

And had some good questions to find the answers to.

 

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

We traveled to East Lansing Michigan this past weekend to attend the Michigan Beekeepers’ Conference at MSU.  We went last year and kind of consider it the birthplace of our new business.  It was during that weekend that we came up with a name and finalized ideas and direction for our bee products venture.  This year, we met up again with Laurie’s twin sis,Deb and her husband Ray, also beekeepers, to enjoy the conference together.  We also were vendors of our bee hive products at the event.

We had a great time learning from veteran beekeepers, spending time with friends, and sharing our passion for bee products with customers.  We had a few questions that we did not know the answers to, so I had to come home and do some research right away!  One question we had was from a lady who wanted to know what propolis product she could put in her eyes, to cure cataracts!  She said she had heard at one session that propolis could cure cataracts.  We told her emphatically that one should not put anything that is not 100% sterile and proven safe, in one’s eyes!  And that also goes for inhaling anything non-sterile into one’s lungs!   In all the research I had done, I had not seen anything about propolis and cataracts.

But I found it today.  However, propolis WAS NOT put into the eyes!  In a study using mice with a sodium-selenite- type of cataract, scientists injected propolis extract subcutaneously, for 3 days, along with the sodium selenite.  These mice did not develop cataracts like those injected with just the soium -selenite.  But again, this study was done on mice and on only one kind of cataract.  Not something I would recommend people try!

The other question we had was how much protein is in a tablespoon of bee bread.  This question came from a young man who must monitor his protein intake carefully.  I dug up some nutrition facts, so I could figure this out.  Here are the nutrition charts for pollen and honey, the components of bee bread.   1 TBS of our bee bread will have .9 grams of protein, 14.6 carbs, 60 calories and .07 grams of fat.  The Recommended Daily Allowance of protein is 56 grams per day for men and 46 grams per day for women.

Joshua 22

⁵ But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Bee Powered Athletes!

Psalms from the Hive

by Jeannie Saum

Athletic energy,  Endurance, too.

That’s what bee products can do for you.

Take pollen, propolis, and honey in

For a boost of energy, playin’ to win!

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

 

The Arnold Fitness Classic is in town this week. So we’ve got to tell you about BEE POWER for Athletes!

Hey Arnold, check this out!   Bee products – honey, propolis, pollen and royal jelly can be used by athletes and fitness enthusiasts to improve their energy and endurance levels.  It is suggested that one use several bee products, as they are said to have a synergistic effect when used in combination with each other. It is often suggested that taking 1 tablespoon of honey and one tablespoon of bee pollen twice each day will enhance workouts. But pollen is not easily digestible, so much of it goes right through the body and its nutritional value not released into the body.  So, better yet,  take 1 tablespoon of BEEpothecary’s BEE BREAD!  It  is a fermented mixture of pollen and honey.  The honey softens the hard seed coat of the pollen, making all the nutrients in the pollen readily available to the body.  An once dose of  propolis and a royal jelly supplement is also recommended to enhance endurance. One to two hours before an event or extreme workout, an ounce of BEE BREAD can give  that extra energy boost during physical exertion.  An ounce of BEE BREAD after an intense workout will help the body’s recovery.

Many mainstream athletes take bee pollen before competitions but there is not yet conclusive research which supports that pollen enhances performance.  But there is a lot of anecdotal information from people who swear by the positive fitness, energy and endurance effects of bee products.  Our  friend, David, is an ultra-marathoner, running 50 and 100 mile races. (I could sure think of better things to do with 6-8 hours of my time, than doing that!) David uses our bee bread, mixing it with water to make it drinkable – in place of the typical “Runner’s Goo”, for his energy boost.  He swears it gives him an almost instant boost of new energy.

We do know that honey is a healthy, body friendly sugar and is metabolized more like fruit.  Raw, multi-flower, unheated, unfiltered and unprocessed honey is loaded with natural sugars, antioxidants, enzymes, amino acids, anti-inflammatories, phytochemicals, flavonoids, vitamins and minerals, just to name a few. Natural honey is an instant energy-building powerhouse. (Processed honey is heated and this destroys all beneficial qualities in honey.)

And we do know that pollen consists  of 40 percent proteins, 55 percent carbohydrates, 1 to 2 percent fats, 3 percent minerals. Bee pollen is close to being a whole food; one teaspoon of bee pollen is equivalent to a hearty serving of vegetables. So it makes sense that taking bee pollen prior to heavy physical exertion would be of benefit, but it does remain a mystery as to how the compounds in bee pollen interact.

Propolis,  bee pollen and  honey are all anti-inflammatory and help reduce pain and recovery.  Our BEEpothecary BEE BREAD is available from us, and also locally in Columbus at State and Third, Shops at Capitol Square,  and at The Well Coffee Shop, Broad St.,  in Lancaster

So, if you are a fitness fanatic, or attending the Arnold Fitness Classic, try adding bee products to your regimen and see what BEE POWER can do for you!

I Chronicles 16

⁸ Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;   make known among the nations what he has done.
⁹ Sing to him, sing praise to him;  tell of all his wonderful acts.
¹⁰ Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
¹¹ Look to the Lord and his strength;  seek his face always.

¹² Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
¹³ you his servants, the descendants of Israel, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
¹⁴ He is the Lord our God;  his judgments are in all the earth.

Hive and Honey BEEpothecary at Moonlight Market

Blessings for our Thanksgiving!

Land of Milk and Honey

Cooking with Honey by Laurie Dotson

Thanksgiving has become one of my favorite holidays. An acquaintance wrote my sentiments to a tee and I would like to post them. So without further ado… She says, For weeks I look forward to preparing a beautiful meal and relaxing with my family. Sadly, Thanksgiving night invariably finds me deflated. I regret having gotten irritable in the final crazy minutes of gravy making and turkey carving or feel dispirited by the lack of meaningful conversation at the table. I miss the family members who are absent. I wish people would have gotten along better and connected more deeply. The list of discontents varies from year to year but the theme is the same: it didn’t turn out exactly as I had hoped.

This year I am on to myself. All month I’ve been thinking about letting go of my imaginary ideals and showing up with an open heart for whatever happens. I anticipate that it may be a little hard to pull off on the big day. I know I’m not alone. For many people the holidays are a time of heightened need for things to be a particular way. Certainly there’s nothing wrong with wanting a lovely holiday. But high expectations can hold us in their grip. What we want to see blinds us to what is actually in front of us and diminishes it. If we then distance ourselves from the imperfect, that gap makes it even harder to connect to things as they are. It is only in approaching a thing — be it this particular holiday meal or an individual human being — with attention that we can fully appreciate it, for all its faults and strengths, for all its funky uniqueness. Paying attention with kindness opens us to the wholeness around us. From there it is a short leap to gratitude. That which we see deeply enough can virtually always be counted as a blessing.

As we each look around our Thanksgiving tables next week, may we focus on the kindness and generosity that is shared between us and give thanks for the day we have been given, whether or not it is the one we had imagined.

Blessings on your holiday table.  Don’t forget to invite a friend or two who need a family to share this day with! 

Honey Roast Turkey

Turkey ingredients

• 1  12 – 14  pound  fresh or frozen natural turkey
• 2 cups  water
• 1/2 cup  Hive & Honey BEEpothecary honey
• 1/4 cup  finely snipped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons  finely snipped fresh sage
• 2 tablespoons  snipped fresh thyme
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon  olive oil
• 1/2 kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup  Hive & Honey BEEpothecary honey
• 2 tablespoons  butter
•  Apple Cider Sauce (see recipe below) (optional)

directions

1.Thaw turkey if frozen. In a medium saucepan combine water, 1/2 cup honey, and about half of the parsley, sage, thyme, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in olive oil. Cover; let stand 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve; discard solids.

2.Rinse turkey; pat dry with paper towels. Skewer the neck skin to the back. Tie legs to tail. Twist wing tips under the back.

3.Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Using a flavor-injector syringe, inject the honey mixture into the meat of the turkey. (This may take up to 20 injections, so try to evenly distribute the seasoned mixture in the turkey. If the syringe gets clogged with a bit of seasoning, you will need to flush it out with water and a toothpick.) Sprinkle turkey lightly with salt and pepper.

4.Insert a meat thermometer into the center of one of the inside thigh muscles without the thermometer touching the bone. Cover turkey loosely with foil. Roast in a 325 degree F oven for 2-1/2 hours.

5.For glaze, in a small saucepan, heat and stir 1/4 cup honey and butter until butter is melted. Stir in remaining parsley, sage, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper.

6.Remove turkey from oven. Cut the string between the drumsticks so the thighs will cook evenly. Remove the foil to let the bird brown. Brush about one-third of the glaze over turkey. Return turkey to oven and roast for 30 to 60 minutes more, brushing two more times with remaining glaze, or until meat thermometer registers 180 degrees F and juices run clear.

7.Remove turkey from oven and cover loosely with foil. Let stand for 15 minutes before carving. Carve turkey into thin slices and, if desired, serve with Apple Cider Sauce. Makes 18 servings.

Apple Cider Sauce

 ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons  butter
• 3 tablespoons  flour
• 1 1/2 cups  chicken broth
• 1 cup  apple cider
• 1/4 cup  Hive & Honey BEEpothecary honey
• 2 tablespoons  cider vinegar
•  Salt
•  Pepper

directions

1.In a medium saucepan, cook onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour, broth, apple cider, honey and cider vinegar. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

From the Laurie and Pete Dotson and Jeannie and Steve Saum,

We wish you Great Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving Eating !

(P.S. Take your Propolis and Honey and stay healthy this holiday season!)

Psalm 95:2-3  Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.  For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.

Labor Day – Peanut Butter Honey Fluff

Land of Milk and Honey

Cooking with Honey by Laurie Dotson

Today is Labor Day and I get a day off of work…or do I?  I guess, I will not have school work but I do have farm chores, house work and final preparation for the Lithopolis HoneyFest. Sept 6-7th.   We are also extracting honey today.

Active heathy, hive box

It’s always fun to see how much we will get.  The bummer is, we had one of our hives swarm.  A swarm is when a cluster of bees leave the hive to find another place to house their queen and start a new hive.  Why does this happen, you ask?  Either because of sickness, pest problems, a weak queen, or over population.  But before, I could get out to the hive and save the deserted honey. It was robbed of all its honey by other bees.  I’m hoping the robbers were from our other hives within our apiary.  Our goal this year, is to get our bees through the winter. We have not been luck with winterizing our bees in the past.

How a Hive is set up in the spring and summer. You would add more hive boxes to the top as the bees multiple and honey production getting greater.

~Later this morning~ So, we just got back in from pulling frames for extraction.  Sad, Sad, News!  There was not enough honey to take. The Queen is laying broad and the hive is active. We felt that the bees needed all the honey they had and what they will be producing to help them through the winter.  We did hear that our Michigan Partners did very well. 30 gallons!  We look forward to eating that when we can.   Not the best of news!  Not a good year for bees either.   Oh Well!

Here’s some good news!  I have an ole friend, who sent me this recipe.  It is perfect for snacking during extracting. (haha, that rhymed – If you know me well enough. I’d never make a good rapper, because I can’t rhyme.  I end up making up word with the same endings sound) anywhooo!  many boo! hehe_ Deb, my twin sister, does the same thing!  On to the Recipe…

Anna Parks thought of me when she saw this recipe. I’ll share it with you

Thank you, Anna

 http://www.iheartnaptime.net/peanut-butter-honey-dip/

Peanut Butter Honey Fluff

Ingredients

• 1 cup all natural peanut butter
• 1 (8 oz) container lite cool whip
• 2 ½ – 3 tbsp honey

INSTRUCTIONS

In a bowl, whip peanut butter and cool whip together until fluffy. Beat in 2 tablespoons of honey (or more for a stronger honey flavor). Beat for another 2 minutes until fluffy. Spoon into a serving bowl and drizzle honey over the top. Serve with fruit or graham crackers.

Happy Eating !

Luke 12:32

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom.