honey

Sunday in the market with The Kid

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So the sale wasn’t really the bomb diggity, but the food was great.Well over a month ago, I got an email from The Kid with a link to a giant clearance sale.  It was J Crew and Madewell, at the state fairgrounds.  The suggestion was to get Gramma and Grampa up from Greensboro and we’d all attend.

Well, I went to high school in the eighties, and am unrepentantly preppie.  I never met an oxford cloth shirt or a pair of deck shoes I didn’t like.  I owned two add-a-bead necklaces (lapis & silver and onyx & gold), and a Bermuda bag with about 20 different covers. So, I’m down with J Crew.  And I love Madewell.  We decided to go.

If we’d been in the market for an evening gown, a wedding dress, or a navy blue coat, we would’ve been at the perfect sale.  But, we weren’t.  Instead, we played “find the flaw” in the seconds, and competed to find the ugliest item.  I won with a knee-length coat (I think it was a coat).  The cuffs and neck were the scratchy gray knit of an ugly Grandpa sweater, and the body was perforated leather in a particularly phlegmy shade of yellow.

After our visit to the sale, we headed to the flea market.I really need to go to the flea market more often.  I had forgotten all about one of my very favorite vendors: the Italian Ice cart.

These are not your mother’s Italian ices; they’re my mother’s.  Coming from jersey, she knows the real deal, and has given me very high standards.  They are not the artificially colored, overly sweet, under-ly flavored cups normally found in NC.

They are very much like sorbet.  The Kid had creamsicle, Mom picked strawberry/kiwi, Dad went with green apple.  Everybody loved them.  The ices are all full of flavor and refreshing, but light.My ice was the unorthodox flavor of chocolate.  Most people outside of Jersey don’t even know ices come in chocolate.  But it does, and when done right, as this was, is a deep, rich, not too sweet celebration of cocoa.

I was then the recipient of great good fortune, all due to a highly uncharacteristic act by The Kid.

Normally my child doesn’t take the lead on eating samples unless we’re in Costco.  But we walked into a food stall which had pimento cheese sandwich samples.  My offspring partook.

Long ago I decided the only good pimento cheese is from Fresh Market.  They’ve ruined me for all others, I loudly proclaimed.

Until today; when I had a bite of The Kid’s sample.  My socks were fully and forcefully blown right off.The company is Heavenly Beezzz (not a typo, that’s how it’s spelled).  It is now and forever, officially the best pimento cheese ever.  The Kid thought so, too.

The coolest thing about it is that in addition to the regulation mild and spicy varieties, they have a third version using very sharp cheddar, for which we are huge suckers.

They also have lots of jams, jellies, and pickles.  And, in accordance with the name, lots of honey products, including creamed honey.  In this form, it makes a terrific spread on biscuits.  A schmear of this along with a little butter on a piece of toasted whole wheat and you would swear you’re eating a plate of French toast.They’re at the fairgrounds every week, or you can check out their website at WWW.Heavenlybeezzz.com.

Despite the disappointing sale, we had a blast.  I always forget how much fun the flea market is, until I go again.  And I’ll bet you do too.

So while the weather is nice, pack up the kids, put on some comfortable shoes, and take a trip to the fairgrounds.

And while you’re there, would you mind picking up a chocolate ice for me?  I’ll pay you for it.ice cream moneyThanks for your time.

Honey, It’s You

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So there I was, seven years old, laying on my stomach with my pants down, trying not to cry  while my friend’s mother tried to gently pull the stinger out of my butt.

When I was informed that after a honey bee stings a person, it dies, I thought it was a fitting punishment for the mortifying position into which it had thrust me.  But the bee was actually a victim of my adversarial relationship with gravity (I’d fallen keester first on it while the poor thing was just minding its own bee’s wax).

I may not have appreciated honey bees when I was a child, but I do now.

They’re actually much more useful and impressive than most people you’ll meet today.

Honey bees do two huge things for us humans.

In the US alone, they pollinate 14.6 billion (yes, I said billion, with a b) dollars of crops a year.  They are the sole pollinator of almonds.  Without their industriousness, countless crops would be greatly reduced.  If you think produce is expensive now, think about paying $50 for a head of broccoli—if you were lucky enough to find one.

And then we get to their sticky, amber-colored signature product; honey.

Before we even get to its yumminess and versatility, we need to talk about honey’s miraculous properties.

Unlike just about every other food you could name, honey never goes wonky.  Archeologists found honey in 2200 year old clay jars that was safe to eat and still yummy.

It has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties.  Put it on a cut—no infection.  Dab it on a zit, let it sit for 10 minutes or so and rinse it off.  The redness will go away, and in the morning, the pimple will be gone.

And it tastes so good.  The thing I love about honey is that not only will it sweeten anything it’s added to; it also adds its distinctive flavor.  And the flavor varies according to which flora the bees danced their pollination mambo.  The rule of thumb is; the darker the honey, the stronger the flavor.  My new obsession is buckwheat.  It has a surfeit of “honey-ness”.  It adds its uniqueness to all kinds of recipes.

Blueberry buttermilk chia seed pudding

blueberry chia

1 ½ cups low fat or fat free buttermilk

2/3 cup chia seeds

3 tablespoons honey

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of kosher salt

1 cup blueberries

Directions:

Place blueberries in a bowl and mash with a potato masher.

Put buttermilk, chia seeds, honey, vanilla and salt into the bowl along with the blueberries.  Whisk until fully blended.

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Cover and refrigerate for three hours or overnight, until the chia seeds have swollen and softened to the size and consistency of tapioca. 4 servings.

Gramma’s Cough Syrup

cough syrup

Juice of 1 lemon

¼ cup honey

¼ cup Bourbon

Whisk together and drink at room temp, or spoon into hot tea.

Chrissy’s Dressing

chrissy's dressing

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 shallot

¼ cup Balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil (approx.)

Salt and pepper to taste

Put first four ingredients into a blender or food processor.  Blend ‘til smooth.  Slowly add oil until it is a dressing consistency.  Season, and taste for seasoning.  For best flavor, eat within an hour.  Makes about one cup.

And if you’ve never tried creamed honey, give it a go.  A schmear makes a piece of toasted multi-grain totally taste like decadent French toast.

You may have heard of colony collapse disorder.  They truly are in peril.  So, support your local honey bee.

Don’t sit on them.

Thanks for your time.

A rye smile

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After inhabiting this planet for more than half a century, I have ceased to be embarrassed by the fact that I have the type of sweet tooth that if I let myself, would make it perfectly feasible for me to eat an entire box of Dolly Madison vanilla zingers.Honestly, I’m not exaggerating.  One of my very favorite foods is birthday cake.  And when I say cake, I mean cake only in the sense that it is the scaffolding for mounds of delicious, delicious frosting.

But I am also a bit of a paradox inside a contradiction stuffed in a jelly donut.

I can’t abide a grain of sugar in my iced tea, I order my lattes half sweet, and I like my soft drinks lots more fizzy than syrupy.

Did you notice she has monkeys on her dress?

So, I guess those bi-polar taste buds are the reason why I really enjoy this new treat I discovered last week.

The Kid and I spent the day in Raleigh.  We visited the NC Museum of Art to check out the Da Vinci and Escher shows, and headed over to our favorite capitol city bakery, Boulted (614 W South St, Raleigh).  My child was Jonesing for some of their seeded levain; a crusty, sour loaf perfect for lashings of cultured European butter.  I snagged a bagel-like bialy for breakfast, then spied something called rye shortbread.

We added it to our order.

As soon as we got back to the car, I took a bite of my shortbread.  I was totally expecting a salty, rye/caraway-flavored buttery cracker.  What I got was something entirely different.  It was a lightly sweetened, pecan-studded cookie with the acidic kick of rye.

Once I got over the surprise, I took another bite.  And found that I really enjoyed it.  It would be the perfect thing to accompany a really thick, rich cup of hot chocolate.

I did a little research, and a little experimenting, and came up with this recipe.

Rye-Pecan shortbread

rye shortbread

1½ cups rye flour

½ cup finely chopped toasted pecans

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter (softened)

¼ cup Granulated Sugar

3 tablespoons honey

Whisk together flour, pecans, salt and baking powder.  Set aside.

Cream the butter, sugar and honey until just incorporated.

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix on low until it all comes together, but no longer (there’s gluten in rye flour, and you don’t want it to develop).

Roll the dough to ½-inch thick (if the dough is too soft to roll, shape into a disk or rectangle, wrap in plastic and chill until firm). After rolling, cut into bars, circles or desired shape. Cover and chill until hard; 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place cookies on prepared pan and sprinkle with sugar and more pecans, if desired. Dock the center of each cookie with a fork.  Bake until edges are lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Cool and store, wrapped, at room temperature for up to 1 week.

This recipe makes approximately 20 cookies.

I’m not saying I would regularly pick this cookie over a heavily decorated cupcake, or a Krispy Kreme donut fresh from its honey glazed shower, but this shortbread gets my full confectionary seal of approval.  This new treat definitely has a spot in my rotation.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I suddenly feel the urgent need to see if there is a flashing “Hot” sign anywhere in the vicinity.

Thanks for your time.

Your Toast

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In almost every facet of life there are fads.

Don’t believe me?  When’s the last time you sat at a harvest gold-colored kitchen counter while eating fondue, listening to Milli Vanilli and wearing acid wash denim and a Member’s Only jacket?

fads

Okay…

Because of the interwebs, the fads move faster than ever today.  Also, local dishes can go viral and become huge in a matter of days (hello, cronut).

I like to tell myself that I’m above fads and that I am not so easily swayed.

But to be perfectly honest, there have been times when the presence of a food on somebody’s list has persuaded me to at least try it.  I never ate kale until it was everywhere.  And you know what?  I’m glad I did; I like it creamed, in certain salads, and made into chips.   I love salted caramel, I don’t care who knows it, and I don’t think it can be over-exposed.

Last year, avocado toast was the shiny new thing.  But, I adore avocados, bread, and have eaten many sandwiches adorned with my squishy green friend.

My favorite foods are breakfast foods.  But, most of them are fatty, carby, fiber-less indulgences.  Toasts can easily be so nutritious that it redeems the whole plate.  Of course, it can also be just pure yum.  It all depends on the toast.

That’s the stuff. Arteries be damned!

Below are a few ideas for easy, quick, toast breakfasts that will fill your belly and quickly get you and the kids out the door in the AM.  Everything is completely adjustable—don’t like my bread recommendation?  Use a different type.

Classic Avocado- Mash a ripe avocado with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.  Add a bit of red pepper flake if you’re so inclined.  Smoosh on 2 pieces of toasted 9th St Bakery Omega 3 Seed.

And this is where Lavender and Honey’s toasts come in…

Lavender Goat Cheese-On two pieces of sunflower toast, spread goat cheese.  Sprinkle with a tiny bit of fresh lavender.  Top with freshly cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of honey.

Sourdough horseradish-Put some baby arugula on as a base.  Cover with a couple slices of crispy bacon, then top with horseradish jack cheese.  Put under a broiler to get nice and melty.

Child’s Play- Toast up a whole grain English muffin.  Top with Nutella and sliced bananas. 

Molto Bene-Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on toasted baguette. Place on top slices of the ripest, reddest tomato you can get your hands on.  Put under the broiler until it’s hot and a little bubbly.  Top with poached eggs and a bit of shaved Parmesan cheese or melted mozzerella.

Cherry Almond-On brioche or Challah toast, spread almond butter.  Warm a bit of cherry jam until it’s a little runny.  Drizzle onto almond butter, and sprinkle with toasted almond slivers, and a tiny bit of sea salt.

Greek Breakfast- Toast a pita.  Layer on a couple of thick slices of roasted chicken.  Top with Kalamata olives, feta, a spritz of lemon juice, and a little bit of fresh oregano.

Onion jam-Smear a couple tablespoons of herb Neufchâtel cheese onto a toasted rustic white.  On top spread some amber-colored caramelized onion.  Top with 1 piece crumbled bacon, and toasted sunflower seeds.

These ideas are just jumping off places.  Listen to your cravings and see what’s in your fridge.  No pressure.

Unless you’re dining with Oprah, breakfast should not make you break out into a cold sweat.

oprah

Please pass the jelly, Your Majesty.

Thanks for your time.