Spring honey season is a few months away, and we’re prepping our hives to get ready for the harvest! We’ve added 3 new hives this past week, which we’ve been sharing on social media. We’ll also share a full blog post in the near future describing all that goes into adding hives. If you don’t already follow us on Instagram or Facebook, check us out @littlebeeofct ! We post daily on all things related to the little honey bee, and that’s where you’ll see the current videos of Scott adding bees to our hives. As a reminder, Little Bee of CT’s hives are all located in Southbury, CT, and are NOT rented for pollination. We harvest our honey with only minimal processing to remove bits of wax, and it goes directly into our jars, ensuring that all of the natural properties of the honey remain intact. Fine filtering, which is part of the production of commercial honeys, can remove the beneficial pollen. Heat treating can impact the color, flavor, all the natural vitamins, living enzymes, and other nutritional elements present in the natural honey. We keep our bees and our honey “au natural” and will continue to do so as long as we are in the beekeeping business! Now, let’s get into some delicious honey-based recipes.   Our Spring Honey is Light in Color and Fragrant with Dandelion and Clover. It really is a sight and a smell to behold. The light amber color sometimes shows hints of grass green, and the smell reminds us of a field full of clover after a spring rain. And, it’s really yummy! :)  Just as a fine wine pairs with different foods based on body and color, our spring honey is best paired with lighter seasonal recipes. In contrast, our dark amber fall honey, which represents the flora in CT during the fall months, is a deeper-bodied blend and works well with seasonal recipes during that time of year.   Spring Quinoa Salad with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette Super easy and super yummy. This spring salad won’t last long! Link to full recipe and video from pinchofyum.com.   Salad Ingredients: – 1 cup uncooked quinoa– 2–3 cups frozen peas– 1/2 cup feta cheese– 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled– 1/2 cup freshly chopped basil and cilantro– 1/2 cup almonds, pulsed in a food processor until crushed Dressing Ingredients: – 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1–2 large juicy lemons)– 1/3 cup olive oil– 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)– 3 tablespoons honey How to Make It: Cook the quinoa according to package directions. I make this the night before and let it chill in the fridge so it separates better for the salad. Bring a pot of water to boil and then turn off the heat. Add the peas and cover until bright green. I do this instead of regular boiling so they don’t get wrinkly! Toss the quinoa with the peas, feta, bacon, herbs, and almonds. Puree all the dressing ingredients in the food processor. Toss the dressing with the salad ingredients. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve tossed with fresh baby spinach, on crackers, or just by itself!   Feta, Honey and Date Spread With Mediterranean influence, this yummy spread from Midwest Living can be used on a variety of foods! Spread on toast, or use as a dip for veggies or kabobs. It’s up to you! Ingredients:– 1 cup crumbled feta (4 ounces)– ½ cup toasted almonds*, coarsely chopped– ½ cup pitted dates, chopped– 2 tablespoons fresh marjoram or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped– 2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel– ¼ cup honey– ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper– Toasted pita bread wedges How to Make It: In a serving bowl gently stir together feta, almonds, dates, olives, and lemon peel. In a small microwave-safe bowl combine honey and cayenne. Warm in microwave for 15 seconds. Drizzle over spread; fold gently to combine. Serve with pita bread.   Whipped Honey Butter From a yummy little website called two peas and their pod Full recipe here: Honey Butter   Ingredients:– 1 cup softened salted butter 3 tablespoons of honey Additional pinch of sea salt if desired   How to Make it: In a small bowl, combine butter or margarine and lemon peel. Gradually add honey, beating with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy. Store, covered, in the refrigerator up to two weeks. Let butter spread stand at room temperature about 1 hour before serving.   We hope you find lots of yummy ways to enjoy your spring honey. Please share your favorites with us! We might post them on our social media channels! For more information on any of the all-natural products we create at Little Bee of CT, visit our site or email us at info@littlebeeofct.com, Don’t forget to follow @littlebeeofct on Instagram and Facebook where we post daily updates on our products and our favorite creature…the little bee! Thank you for supporting Little Bee of CT and the busy beekeepers around the world!

“The world is plentiful with honey, but only the humble bee can collect it.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson  In our last blog post, we described the difference between truly local honey and honey produced from bees that are rented out and gather their pollen and nectar from sources far and wide. We’ll explain why choosing local honey is important. If you haven’t read that post yet, click back and check it out. It will make a nice introduction to this post which focuses on the health benefits of honey, why it’s important to buy local honey, and its use as a natural sweetener in so many delicious recipes! (Honestly, the recipes are why we’re really here!) As Scott mentioned in the last post, Little Bee of CT’s hives are all located in Southbury and Newtown, and are NOT rented for pollination. The bees are not fed any supplementary sugar during the honey producing seasons, which means they are doing all the hard work themselves. And with only minimal processing to remove bits of wax, the honey goes directly into our jars, ensuring that all of the natural properties of the honey remain intact. This includes the oh-so-important bee pollen! Fine filtering, which is part of the production of commercial honeys, can remove the beneficial pollen. Heat treating can impact the color, flavor, all the natural vitamins, living enzymes, and other nutritional elements present in the natural honey. What the heck is bee pollen and do I really need it in my smoothie? Bee pollen is actually a mixture of pollen, bee saliva and nectar or honey. Bees will carry these pollen balls back to the hive in sacs on their legs and then store them in the honeycomb for use as food. Remember our little bee with the “pollen pants” on our Instagram feed? Bee pollen has very high antioxidant properties. Antioxidants keep us healthy by battling the oxidants that we face each day like air pollution, cigarette smoke and vehicle exhaust. Bee pollen has also been shown to aid in liver function, boost our immune system, reduce stress, speed up healing and ease the symptoms of menopause. In its natural form, bee pollen comes as small, crunchy pellets. One tablespoon of contains 16 calories, 0.24 grams of fat, 1.2 grams of protein, 2.18 grams of carbohydrates and approximately 250 types of nutrients, including vitamins and flavonoids. Amazing, isn’t it? This stuff is like gold and it can easily drive up the price of your smoothie or açai bowl. But, we think the benefits are worth it. Side note for any pregnant ladies out there… just as it is commonly recommended to avoid consuming honey during pregnancy, it is also recommended to avoid consuming bee pollen. And, another side note if you’re allergic to bees… it’s best if you avoid honey and bee pollen until you’ve consulted with your allergist. Oh, and please don’t feed honey to children younger than 1, due to the risk of botulism. Yikes. Now, back to our show.   So, why is it important to choose local honey? Because “local” or “raw” honey hasn’t been processed, it still retains its nutrients. Store-bought honey might taste just as sweet, but it won’t deliver the same level of health benefits. Honey has been used medicinally for hundreds of years. Greek, Roman and Chinese cultures used it to treat wounds, fevers and stomach ailments. Today, honey is still being used to help us heal and as a food additive or nutritional supplement. This may sound strange, but natural honey, when applied to wounds produces hydrogen peroxide. Science alert: Honey contains an enzyme called glucose oxidase. When exposed to water, it breaks down glucose sugars and generates hydrogen peroxide. Which means it can be used to kill harmful bacteria and fungi. Raw honey can be applied directly to minor cuts and burns to help them heal quicker and reduce infections. If you suffer from seasonal allergies, it has been rumored that eating local honey (harvested from where you currently live) could help ease your symptoms. In essence, you’d be ingesting small quantities of the local pollens and could possibly begin to build up an immunity to the allergen. Scientists are not yet fully convinced, however there are people that swear by this and truly have seen their allergy symptoms lessen. You will have to be the judge! Honey’s power-packed healing properties, coupled with the immune boosting properties of bee pollen, makes this naturally sweet treat something to buzz about.   Now, we know why you’re really here. Let’s get to some of our favorite recipes!  If you follow us on Instagram and Facebook, you may have seen some of the many delicious honey-sweetened recipes we’ve shared over the years. Here are a few more to get you ready for the holiday season. Yes…Thanksgiving is right around the corner, people! (Let’s get through Halloween first, right?) Here are three delicious recipes that will definitely impress and have just a touch of natural honey sweetness. Our fall honey harvest produced an amazing dark golden honey, and we still have jars available on our website!   Honey-Roasted Carrots Ingredients 2 pounds baby carrots with tops 2 teaspoons olive oil 3 tablespoons butter, divided 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 shallot, finely chopped 2 tablespoons bourbon (or apple juice!) 2 tablespoons honey (LOCAL honey that is) 1 tablespoon chicken broth or water 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme How to Make It Step 1 Place a small roasting pan in oven. Preheat oven and pan to 500°. Step 2 Cut tops from carrots, leaving 1 inch of greenery on each carrot. Step 3 Stir together olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in preheated pan. Add carrots, salt, and pepper; toss to coat. Bake 10 minutes. Step 4 Meanwhile, melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot; sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat, and stir in bourbon and next 2 ingredients. Return to heat, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 5 minutes or until mixture is syrupy. Step 5 Drizzle syrup over carrots; toss to coat. Bake 5 to 7 more minutes or until carrots are crisp-tender. Transfer to a serving dish, and sprinkle with thyme.   Brie, Apple and Honey Crostini Ingredients 1 baguette cut into 1/2” slices (or buy pre-cut!) 1 jar of apple butter 6 ounces of Brie 2 large apples Squeeze of fresh lemon juice 1/2 cup candied pecans Honey for drizzling   How to Make It Step 1 Preheat oven to 375° Step 2 Spread apple butter on one side of the baguette slices and place on large baking sheet. Step 3 Slice brie into thin slices and place on top of each crostini. Bake for 5-7 minutes until the cheese is melted. Step 4 While the crostini is in the oven, cut the apple into thin slices, removing the core. Squeeze lemon juice over the slices to keep them from browning. Step 5 Remove the crostini from the oven. Top each piece with an apple slice, a sprinkling of candied pecans and a drizzle of honey. Serve immediately. Heavenly!    Honey Glazed Chili Almonds Ingredients 1 1/2 cups raw, unblanched almonds 1 tablespoon sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons honey 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile powder 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon salt     How to Make It Step 1 Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Step 2 Place the almonds in a medium nonstick skillet; cook over medium heat for 6 minutes or until lightly toasted, shaking pan frequently. Step 3 Combine the remaining ingredients in a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds. Step 4 Add honey mixture to pan, and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Step 5 Arrange almond mixture on prepared baking sheet in a single layer; let stand 10 minutes. Break apart any clusters.   We really wanted to share only gooey honey desserts, but we knew that these three recipes would be a lot easier and more practical for entertaining around the holidays. We hope you enjoy the versatility of honey and create some of your own special recipes with it. Send us your favorite recipe at info@littlebeeofct.com. Don’t forget to follow @littlebeeofct on Instagram and Facebook where we post daily updates on our products and our favorite creature…the little bee!  Thank you for supporting Little Bee of CT and the busy beekeepers around the world!