Another Honey Recipe?
Secretly, I Want to Be a Beekeeper.
Hello My Dears,
I’ve been quiet. I have thought about you. And I have thought about writing. Often. But I’ve struggled because what do we even write about right now? How do we even find enough minutes in the day to fully collect our thoughts, either to pen something (yes, some of my writing begins on pen and paper and all of my recipes begin that way, as I’m scribbling notes from the kitchen or the garden) or to read something someone else has written? I keep going back to the fact that we need each other. We need connection. Connection is found by staying in touch, or realizing we have more in common than we thought. Did you know I’ve had the same pen pal since 5th grade? That’s decades of writing snail mail. Sometimes letters go back and forth more often, and sometimes months go by, but there’s something comforting and reassuring about keeping those relationships going and checking in on each other across the miles. I hope that’s what’s happening here too.
Spring has exploded here in Vermont and the garden is full of life. (And weeds!) I’m finding my favorite time of day to be out in the garden is early in the morning, around 6am. Coffee in hand, wandering around, looking to see who has popped up overnight, or what might bloom as the sun grows stronger in the day. And yes, sometimes expressing a bit of frustration because the deer or the snails ate a beautiful flower or medicinal plant. I also need to confess that I’ve gotten even nerdier than before when it comes to the birds. For the past month, I’ve been making a daily note of how many warblers I’ve seen or heard in the yard. 17 species is the current record. What about you? How are you finding quiet moments to be outside? Do you have a favorite time of day?
I’ve been harvesting already-nettles, rosa rugosa almost daily right now, salad greens, fresh herbs for dinner, etc. I really love to leave the chive blossoms in the garden because they are so cute and look so pretty at a time when the color hasn’t quite exploded yet, but I also love to eat them. This week’s recipe is a chive honey. I know, I know, another honey recipe. Honey is just the best though and it’s so easy to work with! It’s delicious and versatile! Did you know my great-grandfather was a beekeeper? My family has told me that in his prime, he had over 90 hives! A lot of them he made himself and my Dad inherited them. I have great memories of helping my Dad with the bees and I loved that my family always had an abundance of the most beautiful honey! One of these days I’ll get myself set up to be a beekeeper. But for now, when I need honey, I go to the farmer’s market or a local co-op to select one as local as possible. (I will say, though, I have a beekeeper friend in California and sometimes I get some honey from her. It feels like a real treat!)
Here’s how to make a Chive Blossom Honey.
Ingredients:
Chive Blossoms-about 1 cup, fresh, or slightly dried
Honey-about 2 cups
16oz Mason Jar with Lid
Chopsticks
Instructions:
As I’ve probably noted before, when working with honey, it’s important not to introduce water because that’s when things can go terrible wrong and cause mold or for things to get a bit gnarly. So keep that in mind when harvesting your chive blossoms or other flowering plants. It had just finished raining when I harvested chive blossoms for this recipe, so I laid them out on a drying rack for 24 hours to get the extra moisture out of them. This is a super easy recipe! All you need to do is pour the honey over the chive blossoms in a mason jar, stir with a chopstick to make sure you get out air bubbles and that the chives are completely covered, and then place the lid on top and allow it to infuse for a few days. You can strain the blossoms out, if you’d like but they are also delicious to eat-I like to have them on savory toast, or mix them in with a salad dressing! Don’t forget to label and date. Check on your honey from time to time too, because sometimes the blossoms float to the top and you’ll want to submerge them again.
Do you use honey often? How do you like to use it? I love it on peanut butter toast. I wasn’t able to eat peanut butter for a while, but I’ve been testing it out and I just love it with honey on a crusty piece of toast. I also love honey in salad dressings, in tea, in marinades, even on fish! This one especially is nice for more savory dishes because you get that bit of onion flavor from the chive blossoms. Let me know if you make this recipe! And I hope you’ll experiment with other flowers/blossoms in honey! The possibilities are endless!
Thanks for being here. In a time when it feels like we all need to squeeze each other’s hands a bit more often, hug each other, check in on each other, stand with each other, and seek out the good, I’m glad for this space. I hope you’re finding the capacity to read, to write, to take care of yourself, and to experience joy and wonder.
On that joy and wonder note, before we part ways for now, I just wanted to share that this week, my son is graduating from high school! If you have known me for a while or know anything about our story, you know this is huge. I could not be more proud of him, of who he is becoming, of what he has accomplished, and I feel like I’m going to just burst! And, as we celebrate my son’s graduation, we’ll also be celebrating my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary! Truly incredible! I am so thankful for them and for the example they are. Cheers, my dears! May you find joy and peace in your lives and may we all continue to work to end suffering across the globe. Much love.
*This is for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the FDA. This is not intended to diagnose, treat, prescribe, or cure.