Authors: Hannah Reed

Mind Your Own Beeswax (36 page)

The Wild Clover
May Newsletter

Notes from the beeyard:

• The nectar flow has begun! Honeybees love dandelions.

• Watch those pesticides. They hurt good insects, too.

• If you spot a swarm of bees, call Queen Bee Honey. Story and Holly (grin) will remove them for you.

Here are a few simple breakfast honey concoctions:

• Honey cinnamon toast—mix together butter, honey, and cinnamon and spread over hot toast.

• Drizzle honey over a warm piece of coffee cake.

• Cut a grapefruit in half, cut around the pulp, top with honey, and place under the broiler until the honey caramelizes.

Chocolate Honey Cake

Nothing goes together better than chocolate and honey!

1½ cups flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 egg
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup honey
½ cup buttermilk

Sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat egg, butter, honey, and buttermilk until smooth. Then add in the dry ingredients and mix well. Place in buttered pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30–35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Honey Trail Mix Cookies

Take these hiking with you.

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup shortening
½ cup butter
⅓ cup honey
2 eggs
¼ cup toasted pecans
¼ cup toasted coconut
½ cup raisins

Mix together the dry ingredients and set aside. Cream together the shortening, butter, and honey. Add in the eggs, followed by the dry ingredients. Finally, mix in the pecans, coconut, and raisins. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets in a 375-degree oven for 8 minutes.

Notes from the garden:

• Try a tea garden this year. Plant chamomile, peppermint, lavender, lemon balm. Make your own tea and serve it with a spoonful of honey.

• Composting is fun and easy. Mix vegetable waste with chopped leaves or straw for the best fertilizer available.

Rhubarb Meringue Torte

Rhubarb is plentiful in Wisconsin during the month of May. Gather an armful and make the best rhubarb torte ever.

CRUST

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter

FILLING

4 cups chopped rhubarb

CUSTARD

4 egg yolks
¾ cup milk
1 cup honey
2 tablespoons flour

MERINGUE

4 egg whites
1 cup sugar

Mix together the ingredients for the crust and press into bottom of 13x9 pan. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven and add rhubarb. Whisk together the custard ingredients and cook over medium heat until bubbly. Pour over top of the rhubarb. Bake for another 20 minutes and remove from oven. Beat whites on high, adding sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Layer over top of the torte and bake for final 10 minutes.

Morel Mushroom Sauce

6 tablespoons melted butter
¾ cup green onions, minced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
7–10 morels
1 teaspoon thyme
1 cup red wine
⅔ cup dry sherry
3 ½ cups beef broth (or chicken broth if serving with
chicken)
½ pint heavy cream

Caramelize the green onions and garlic in the melted butter. Cook until golden brown (be careful not to burn) then add in the mushrooms, thyme, and red wine. Simmer until the mixture reduces by half. Then add in the broth and reduce again by half. Cool, puree, and add in the cream.

Serve with steak or chicken.

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www.hannahreedbooks.com
.

Common Bee-friendly Flowers

Spring

• Dandelion

• White clover

• Lilac

• Lavender

• California poppy

• Scented geranium

• Verbena

Summer

• Cosmos

• Coreopsis

• Purple coneflower

• Sunflower

• Russian sage

• Black-eyed Susan

• Pincushion flower

From the Garden

• Mint

• Pumpkin

• Squash

• Zucchini

• Oregano

• Rosemary

• Thyme

About the Author

Hannah Reed lives on a high ridge in southern Wisconsin in a community much like the one she writes about. She is busy writing the next book in the Queen Bee mystery series. Visit Hannah and explore Story’s world at
www.hannahreedbooks.com
.

Berkley Prime Crime titles by Hannah Reed

BUZZ OFF
MIND YOUR OWN BEESWAX

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