The Healing Powers of Honey (35 page)

Read The Healing Powers of Honey Online

Authors: Cal Orey

Struffoli alla Napoletana
1¾ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup sugar
Grated peel of 1 orange or1 lemon
3 small eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons Marsala Olive Oil
for cooking struffoli (2 or 3 inches
in small saucepan)
SYRUP
cup honey
cup water
¼ cup sugar
DECORATIONS
¼ cup candied red and green
cherries, chopped small
¼ cup candied orange or
pumpkin, diced
½ cup pine nuts or walnuts,
chopped
cup dark chocolate, chopped
small
In mixing bowl combine dry ingredients; make well in center. Add eggs, vanilla, and olive oil; stir until dough holds together. Knead very little, on floured board; cover; let rest about 30 minutes. On lightly floured board, pinch off small pieces of dough. Roll to thickness of a pencil (about ¼ inch). Cut each roll into ½-inch pieces; roll to form little balls. Cook a few at a time in heated olive oil until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon onto pan lined with clean paper towels. In a small saucepan bring to boil honey, water, and sugar. Stir to dissolve; simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool. Dip struffoli into syrup with candied ingredients, pine nuts, and chocolate. Place in a pile or pyramid on a plate. Serves 6.
NOTE
Struffoli may be baked on lightly greased cookie sheets. Place little balls on sheets with a little space in between each one. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
 
(
Source:
Courtesy Gemma Sanita Sciabica,
Baking with California Olive Oil: Dolci and Biscotti Recipes.)
Sweet Potato Pie
7 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2¼ cups sugar
1 cup Savannah Bee
Company Orange
Blossom Honey
4 jumbo eggs
2 deep-dish pie shells
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place sweet potatoes, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon juice, sugar, Savannah Bee Company Orange Blossom Honey, and eggs in a large bowl. Blend ingredients together until they are thoroughly mixed. Equally distribute the sweet potato mix into the pie shells. Place some aluminum foil on and around the edges of the pie shells so the crust will not burn when the pies are baked. Place pies in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before serving. Serve with whipped cream. Makes 2 pies/16 to 20 servings.
 
(
Source:
Courtesy Savannah Bee Company.)
Walnut Cake and Honey Lemon Syrup
6 eggs, separated
1 ½ cups walnuts, ground
1 ¾ cup flour
½ teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger or cloves
1 cup sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Grated peel of 1 lemon or tangerine
¾ cup yogurt, plain
¼ cup Marsala Olive Oil
1 teaspoon orange extract
HONEY LEMON SYRUP
½ cup sugar
cup honey
Juice of 2 lemons
Peel of 1 lemon, grated
cup water
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. In mixing bowl, add egg whites. Beat until stiff peaks hold. In another bowl, add dry ingredients. Make well in center. Add yogurt, olive oil, orange extract, and egg yolks; stir to blend well. Gently fold in egg whites; pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until center springs back when touched lightly on top in center. Cool on wire rack. In saucepan combine sugar, honey, lemon juice, lemon peel, and water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, simmer two minutes, cool. Poke holes all over top of cake with tines of fork. Spoon syrup over top of cake, if desired. Makes 16 pieces.
 
(
Source:
Courtesy Gemma Sanita Sciabica,
Baking Sensational Sweets with California Olive Oil.
)
A Final Buzz
The sweetest honey
Is loathsome in his own deliciousness
And in the taste confounds the appetite.
—William Shakespeare
1
 
 
 
 
 
These days, as a citified mountain woman—a nature girl at heart—I sit here amid towering pine trees and inside a human hive full of honeys from the honey bee and its people. My pantry is stuffed full with honey varietals that I know intimately and continue to use in cooking, baking, and of course tea, as well as straight from the spoon. Candles, all types, tapers to pillars, are in every room; the kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom, study, and bathroom.
I am inspired by the honey varietals around the world and the variety of healing powers that are linked to each one. I confess that I do like the milder, lighter varieties, such as wildflower and orange blossom, but leatherwood and buckwheat intrigue me and my palate. The benefits of beeswax, from the incredible beauty products to soaps, have pampered my body and spirit in the comfort of my cabin.
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE QUEEN BEE MENTALITY
Still, today in the 21st century there are doctors, nutritionists, and everyday people, maybe even you, who believe honey is just a sweetener that's good on toast or in tea. Honey is so much more than that. Take 1 teaspoon of honey for energy and please go back to chapter 1. Reread my words, chapter by chapter, to get the message that honey has amazing healing powers, thanks to the gifted honey bee. Here are four tips I follow day to day.
 
Queen Bee Tip 1:
Listen to your body's cues. I've tuned into my vital signs, whether it be monitoring my blood pressure or aches and pains that zap energy. This way, you'll be on top of any problem and can nip it in the bud—and honey can help.
Queen Bee Tip 2:
Eat premium, whole natural foods (think royal jelly and the queen) to help you treat your body like royalty. It's about taking care of yourself, first and foremost, so you can be productive in your hive—and honey can help.
Queen Bee Tip 3:
Stay busy. Being productive and knowing what your purpose in life is will help you feel focused and keep you heart-healthy and your weight in check—and honey can help.
Queen Bee Tip 4:
Stay in touch with your health-care practitioner: Make sure you have a caring doctor, much like an attentive beekeeper, who can help you keep tabs on your overall health with preventative care. It will give you peace of mind so you can do what you want to do in life—and honey can help.
 
So, as I come to an end of sharing Honeyland with you, it's no surprise that I feel connected to the honey bee. Through human years I have transformed from a traveling human like a virgin queen to a queen bee comfortable in her hive to produce products, like
The Healing Powers of Honey,
to help mankind bee healthy. And it's honey (and bee foods straight from the hive) that has and will continue to make my life sweeter (and yours, too) through middle age and into the golden years. Like a queen I am happy to say, “Honey, I'm home.”

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