I adore honey. Maybe it’s the way it effortlessly slips into a cup of roasted Hojicha steeped with fresh slices of ginger, like it was meant to be there all along? Or how it brightens up a piece of toast with butter while sipping a rich cup of Golden Monkey black tea? Magical. My eyes have truly been opened to the wonderful world of handcrafted honey (I no longer submit to the smiling bear on the brightly lit grocery store shelf. He can save that smirk for Mrs. Butterworth).
As I make my way through urban bee keeping lectures, honey festivals and farmer’s markets, I still have a lot to learn about this sweet golden treat. But before I can even dream of being queen to my own hive, I’ve decided to hit the books and learn my lessons from, Keeping Bees with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Tend Hives, Harvest Honey & More. This is the 4th addition to Ashley's series of books, “Homemade Living,” that explore “the ways people are reconnecting with their food and food communities and taking up sustainable food practices.”
While we anxiously await the book’s official launch date, March 1st, Ashley kindly agreed to answer a few questions about her love of honey and bees. Many thanks to the lovely Ms. English! In our eyes, she’s the bee’s knees (p.s. you must take a peek at her fabulous blog, her weekly featured post on Design*Sponge, and this t&p interview about her love of jam).
Do you have a favorite hive memory or recall the first moment you decided to keep bees? AE: My favorite hive memory was watching my two new hives orient themselves to the sun. I'd bought established hives from a long-time beekeeper nearby. A friend helped me secure them in her truck and relocate them to my property overnight. The next morning, I removed the metal mesh covering their entrance. One by one, the bees came out and spiraled upwards, orienting themselves to their new surroundings by using the sun as their compass. That was a pretty magical moment.
We know you like honey with tea, but do you have a favorite pairing? AE: Oh, I add it to pretty much everything! I make my own homemade chai blend, which it always goes into. Also, on those mornings when I'm not drinking coffee (that gets one lump of sugar; I never put sugar in my tea), I'm putting honey in my tea, whatever tea that may be. Mostly it's either P.G.Tips, Earl Grey (I've found a great one with lavender), or fresh ginger/cayenne/garlic/lemon/honey tea for winter wellness.
Care to share your favorite honey infused recipe? AE: I love to infuse rosemary in honey. I equally love infusing lavender. It's a serious toss up. Both are exquisitely delicious!
What flowers are the best to plant near the hive? AE: Here's a long list! Flowering trees:
-Apple,
-Basswood
-Cherry
-Linden
-Maple
-Orange
-Pear
-Plum
-Sourwood
-Tulip poplar
-Willow
Flowering Plants:
-Angelica
-Anise hyssop
-Aster
- Basil
-Bee balm
-Black choosy
-Borage
-Butterfly Bush
-Calendula
-Catmint
-Catnip
-Clover
-Coneflower
-Crocus
-Daffodil
-Daisy
-Dandelion
-Flowering quince
-Goldenrod
-Heather
-Honeysuckle
-Hyacinth
-Lavender
-Lemon balm
-Marigold
-Meadowsweet
-Mullein
-Nasturtium
-Nettle
-Peppermint
-Poppy
-Rosemary
-Sage
-Snowdrop
-Spearmint
-Stonecrop
-Sunflowers
-Sweet Pea
-Thyme
-Winter aconite
-Wintergreen
-Witch hazel
I use bees wax for a skin and lip moisturizing balm. Using any number of herb infused vegetable oils I like using a blend of olive and sunflower or olive and grape seed oil or avocado oil infused with some rosemary, lavender or lemon peel and some ginger root or simply add a drop or two of a naturally extracted essential oil like sandalwood blended with some beeswax to make a balm.
Skin balms use 5 parts oil to one part bees wax and lip balms use 3 or 4 parts oil to one part bees wax. Gently heat the oil in a double boiler and place the beeswax in the oil and let it melt. Remove the mixture and pour it into a mason jar once there is no more solid wax visible and stir it gently while the mixture cools until it becomes cloudy.
Once cloudy just let the mixture rest until it cools to room temperature. once completely cooled it will have a very light pale yellow to beige color and will be opaque.
When you scoop some of the mixture in your hand and rub some on your hands or skin int melts immediately and soaks into the skin quickly and remains relatively grease-less and non staining.
I learned how to make this from a mutual friend of your Husband and I (John Foord) almost 30 years ago.
Note: The ratio of oil to beeswax may need to be adjusted depending on seasonal temperature variations the ratios shown here are for a Fall/Winter blend.
Posted by: Michael Lammers | February 14, 2011 at 04:59 AM