Spring Creamed Honey Recipes

Now that Spring is here the bees are out gathering and many of us will have Spring honey to enjoy for the rest of the year. The Maple flow is on and the bees are out on those Sunny days gathering nectar for our favorite sweetener...HONEY!

One of my favorite things to do with my excess honey is to cream it and flavor with different lovely additions. My favorites include chocolate creamed honeys with orange, almond, or mint, plain creamed honey and of course vanilla bean infused honey. I'll provide recipes as we discuss how they are made.

Creaming honey is very easy and hard to get wrong. Raw honey will usually crystallize before you've used up a large amount of it, so creaming it is a way to stop it from having large crystals and keep it in a spreadable consistency for eating. 

Plain Creamed Honey
First pick your favorite creamed raw honey at the supermarket or farmers market. I of course love Babes. It has the same flavor of my own home grown honey which is nice. Your finished creamed honey will be similar if not identical to your 'seed' cream honey. To every pint of raw liquid honey I add 2 Tablespoons of creamed honey. I mix it very well (use a hand blender or mixer). Add flavorings if wanted.  Pour into your prepared jar, preferably a wide mouth container. I also save my leftover hexagonal jam jars because they are so pretty. Just make sure you can get a knife into the container for access to the honey---it isn't going to run out of the bottle any more. Place it in a cool place. In two days to 2 weeks it will harden and be a spreadable consistency. If you use more 'seed' creamed honey it will be faster in crystallizing.

Variations:

Chocolate Creamed Honey

To every pint of newly creamed honey add 2 tablespoons of your favorite unsweetened cocoa powder. Mix it very well because any not mixed well will rise to the top of your honey as it creams.

Mint Chocolate Creamed Honey

To every pint of newly chocolate creamed honey add 1/4 teaspoon  of mint extract. Mix well and allow to sit somewhere cool to cream.

 Chocolate Orange Creamed Honey

To every pint of newly chocolate creamed honey add 1 tsp orange zest. Mix well and allow to set.

Cinnamon Creamed Honey

To every pint of newly creamed honey add up to 2 Tablespoons of good quality cinnamon (I like mine strong). If you grind it yourself it's even nicer. You can get cinnamon stick in the grocer or if you're lucky you can get Mexican cinnamon stick from your local ethnic stores (lucky you in Yakima, Washington with your Fiesta Foods).

You can add ground cinnamon to a chocolate creamed honey but use 1 teaspoon per pint.  

I've also been playing around with some Speculaas Spice blends. I really like it in the creamed honey. Speculaas is a type of gingerbread spice. I really like the blend that has a lot of ground anise seed. It reminds me of my Grandma Diemart's Peppernut cookies we make for Christmas.

 Peppernut Creamed Honey
 Like my cinnamon honey I add a lot of spice, again 2 T. per pint.  Check out this recipe if you are interested in making this spice or creamed honey...My Favorite Speculaas Recipe

Vanilla Bean Creamed Honey

To each pint of newly creamed honey add 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste. You can find this ingredient at specialty stores and right now the Bulk Barn downtown here in Victoria is carrying it! This is one special honey. It maintains the delicate distinct flavors of both the vanilla and the honey. It's amazing, you gotta try this. 

Or of course you can go to Babes Honey Farm here in Victoria and try out their Raspberry Chocolate Creamed Honey, Eggnog Honey etc. YUMMY! 

Rabbit Files- Rabbit Diapers

The Rabbit Files are where you can find tips and tricks for keeping your house rabbits happy and healthy. I breed rabbits for pets and show. One problem I've had with my male house bunnies is their tendency to 'mark everything' when they come indoors to play with us. It's messy and stinky and they love it but we do not. So instead of banning all male bunnies (which are so fun and friendly) we opted to diaper them while they are inside. Just like babies if they are wet we change them right away. Here is a you tube video on how to diaper your rabbit...

How to Put a Diaper on your Bunny


Here is our house bunny Leonard in his diaper and cuddling with me in my 'nest'...

He's not unhappy about it and hopped all over the house for about 2 hours. Plus he isn't at risk for getting my females preggers again unexpectedly, unless he manages to wiggle out of it of course so make sure it is fitted correctly and comfortably for your bunny.

Leonard loves to cuddle and he's such a softie he's great to cuddle with! Not all bunnies like to cuddle. I think the mini lop is one of the most cuddly of the breeds we have.

Spring Honey

As an avid and enthusiastic if not successful beekeeper I am so excited to have my new shipment of bees. This year as in previous years I got my bees from a local beekeeper.

  According to the locals the Spring Honey flow is one of the largest in Victoria (if there are enough sunny warm days for gathering of course). I've been impatient so I went to Babes Honey and got a big container of their creamed gold and started experimenting with adding my Speculaas spice mixes to the honeys.

Babes Honey has some amazing flavored honeys right now so if you are local get down to Galley's Farm Store before it's gone. I fell in love with the Pumpkin Spiced, Eggnog and Chocolate. BTW I just can't stay out of the Pumpkin Spiced honey---I bought the last jar and I really hope they make more (yum!).

Here is Babes Facebook link... Facebook Babes Honey Farm and their website Babes Honey Website

 For you beekeepers out there, here might be a place to start thinking about how you like your honey flavored for the new year and your Summer harvest if you still have any. My fresh from the hive combed honey (yes, I managed to have one frame of comb honey left over after the wasp attacks) is the best. I like eating it comb and all on toast and by the spoonful. Hopefully this year we'll have enough to play with natural flavorings and of course different cosmetic applications. See my bee post for recipes here.

We also carry Honey Bee Friendly Essential oils for you beekeepers out there. Right now I'm stocking steam distilled Peppermint...

Peppermint is used by beekeepers to mask the queen scent in a location that has swarmed. This Spring you may have swarms and even if you collect your queen bees will be drawn to the location she was last seen and make your neighbors nervous with the clusters of bees. It's also handy to stop recurrent swarm spots in ungainly or undesirable locations.

We also carry Wintergreen, Tea Tree and Lemongrass that are used for many different beekeeper applications including swarm lure and brood building...

I've also been requested by Beekeepers to stock Lavender and Red Thyme to boost health in bees. It's added in minute quantities to the syrup we feed our bees. I'd suggest diluting a few drops in a cup of syrup and then adding this mixture to your bee feed by the teaspoon to quart jars of syrup. Be careful with essential oils, they may be natural but can be toxic in too high concentrations, especially to tiny organisms like bees.

I also enjoy floral honeys and will add a few drops of lavender essential oil to a cup of nice creamed honey.

Making creamed honey is super easy. Just 'seed' your liquid honey with your favorite creamed honey and it will crystallize to the same tiny size as your original honey in a few weeks. I use 1/2 c. per quart of liquid honey. It keeps nice indefinitely for table use, unlike liquid honey which can granulate to large unpalatable sizes. Just melt it down again if this happens to your stored honey but don't heat it up too high or you'll destroy all the valuable natural nutrients that raw honey imparts.

Pumpkin Products

I recently visited the newly opened Bath and Body Works that has been long anticipated here in Victoria. Normally I stock up when I go down South, but now I can enjoy all their lovely goodies year round. Yea, me! Here is a link to the 'We love Pumpkin" products  at the store if you want to have a look/see too.

My favorite scent of the season was the Pumpkin Pecan Waffle candle. Looked high and low for soap products with this scent and although they boasted many different pumpkin products this one wasn't on the lineup. So, like I always do when faced with a challenge, I began research and experimentation...

Success!!!

Here are the recipes...if you need the fragrance oil, LMK it's $5 per oz. plus shipping. Lotion Base is $10 per lb.

Pumpkin Pecan Waffle BBW Type Shampoo Bar

1 lb Transparent Melt and Pour Soap

1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Purree

15 ml Pumpkin Pecan Waffle Fragrance Oil

6-8 Pecan Halves  (perfect)

Melt the soap in the microwave for 2 min, then 30 seconds until liquid. Add the pumpkin puree and fragrance oil. If you want to add some chopped pecans for texture, make sure you chop them fine or grind them to a powder in the food processor or you may find them too abrasive when washing with the finished bars. Pour into a mold. A medium plastic container for food works well (Glad brand or other). Stir until it starts to thicken or the chopped nuts will all float on top of the finished soap. If using whole nuts, float them in a pattern so that one nut will be on each bar you slice. Waiting until the soap begins to gel, but before a thick skin forms gives the best effect.

 

Pumpkin Pecan BBW Type Bath Bomb

1 c. baking soda

1/4 c. citric acid

1/4 c. powdered pecans (chunky ones are pretty but uncomfortable in the bath) 

1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pecan Fragrance Oil

Mix the dry ingredients. To a 1/4 c of mixture add the fragrance oil and mix well with gloved hands. Mix this into the rest of the dry ingredients. Mist with a mixture of 50-50 witch hazel and water solution, until the bomb batter holds together in a 'snowball'. Use as little misting as possible. Pack tightly into molds and gently tip them out to dry overnight or in a warm oven (open door of oven once it reaches 200 F and then turn the oven off once it reaches temperature--this works in more humid climates like Victoria in the Winter and Early Spring) until hard.

 

  Pumpkin Pecan BBW Type Sugar Paste 

2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. almond oil

1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pecan Fragrance oil

Mix all together well. Store in a dark glass container. To use in bath, wash with paste liberally to soften and exfoliate the skin. Rinse well.

 

Pumpkin Pecan BBW Type Body Bar

250 g. deodorized cocoa butter

1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pecan fragrance oill

Melt the cocoa butter and add fragrance oil. Pour into ice cube or other plastic mold. Refrigerate until hard. Store in airtight container at room temperature. This makes an excellent massage bar. 

 

Pumpkin Pecan BBW Type BodyButter

1 c. Lotion Creator Concentrate (available exclusively from Jentle Soaps)

1 c. water

1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pecan Fragrance Oil

Melt Lotion base, add water, mix well, add fragrance. Use liberally to soften and fragrance skin.

Honey (buzz, buzz)

Honey

One of my favorite healing and nourishing additives is honey. I love honey. Dark honey, light honey, clover honey, Vancouver Island Honey, Peace River Honey, Australian honeys, honey comb, honey capping's, my Scottish Heather honey I brought back from a trip to Scotland, I could go on for ages. I've never met a honey I didn't like.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock contributor, Sergey Peterman 

Why do I like it so much? The first reason is it is a culinary treat. To me, no honey tastes the same but they are all sweet and do lovely things to my palate. I prefer unpasteurized raw honeys but creamed honey with almond essence is really  amazing. Here is an unsolicited product plug: If you live near Vancouver Island you really need to try Van Isle Aperies Almond Flavored Creamed Honey! Um, yum.

The next reason is that the nutritive value in this sugar source is substantial when compared to other sugars. Unpasteurized honey is a rich array of complex sugars, amino acids, minerals, vitamins and even has antioxidant properties. I was recently given a full comb of mature capped honey from a retired beekeeper who is now a very good friend. My boys love to chew the wax and honey even though they KNOW bugs crawled all over it and jokingly tease each other about their love of bee puke (their words not mine). What other food in the world can boast these wonderful properties and be entirely manufactured by bugs (my favorite bee--the honey bee). If you want to know the exact list of nutrients in honey here is a Wiki Link you might enjoy- Honey . Of course remember, the nutrients vary with the diet of the bees who produce it.

I also use honey in lip balms, lotions and facial treatments. The natural aroma can be intensified by the addition of essential oils such as patchouli or vanilla.  Honey all on it's own has this amazing meadow in bloom smell that has to be my favorite all time scent. At the top of my favorite running trail I catch a whiff of the scent of my bees. My husband can't detect it and I think he thinks I'm a little nuts when I remark on the amazing perfume in the air. My hives reek of it and I love working with the bees and enjoying their essence.

I even use honey for first aid treatments. It's soothing but can sometimes sting at first, on a cut or scrape but it seems to me that the wounds heal and pain disappears faster than when left untreated. In medieval times it was part of many healers potions and salves. Use only raw honey. The reason why? It works.

Now for the recipes...

This first one is a teaser from the next edition my book Beauty Crafts...

Honey Bee Lip Balm

2 Tablespoons Virgin Coconut Oil

2 Tablespoons natural Beeswax Beads

1 teaspoon Almond Oil

1/2 teaspoon Castor Oil

1 teaspoon of your favorite honey

Melt beeswax in a double boiler. Remove from heat. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Keep stirring vigorously as it cools or the honey will pool on the bottom. You can use a ice water bath on the outside of the double boiler to speed up the process.  Pot into small jars with tight seals. This will melt on hot days so store in a cool place in an upright position.

**Use cookware and utensils that are disposable as this mixture is very difficult to clean. A tin can works well as a double boiler and a fork works well as a whisk.

This next recipe was a custom order I used to consign at Babes Honey Farm years ago. Babe told me once that she loved it so much that she kept most of the bars for herself! Here is the recipe if you would like to try this wonderful soap...

Babes Raspberry Honey Bars

1 lb Honey Melt and Pour Soap

1  two week cured and pH tested recipe raspberry Palm Blend Soap from Scratch

(recipe follows)

Spritz the raspberry scented Palm Blend Soap with vodka or other high grade alcohol. Pour melted honey soap over the raspberry layer. Allow to cool and harden at room temperature. Carefully slice into bars. If they separate while cutting, 'glue' them back together with water and allow them to dry undisturbed for several hours.

This recipe is from Beauty Crafts...

Raspberry Palm Blend

150 grams coconut oil

150 grams olive oil

150 grams palm oil

169 ml water

65 g. sodium hydroxide.

Follow the directions for making cold process soap...

Assemble your tools:

Deep stainless steel cooking pot 10 litres or more

Rubber gloves

1 gallon ice cream bucket

2 Plastic stirring spoons

Hand Mixer (a.k.a. stick blender)

A good kitchen scale (one that measures in standard & metric as the recipes differ & also the results will differ widely)

Plastic soap mold (square plastic food storage containers work well--use a casserole or deep large size)

Lemon juice or vinegar—first aid precaution in case skin comes in contact with lye. If you feel an itch or burn anywhere splash the skin liberally with lemon juice or vinegar to counteract the basic nature of the lye. Rinse well with water.

Assemble ingredients:

Oils /fat/butters

Distilled water

Sodium hydroxide (lye) (look in the cleaning supplies or plumbing supply aisle in your local grocery store.)

Fillers Fragrance/essential oils

Colorants

Put on safety gear:

Goggles or glasses

Rubber gloves

Long shirt sleeves or smock (lab coat works very well)

Long pants Shoes

Socks (Don’t laugh, I got burned by not wearing socks!)

Directions:

Carefully volume measure your water and pour into small plastic bowl. Using the scale measure the sodium hydroxide. In a well-ventilated area (such as outside), carefully add the sodium hydroxide, a little at a time. Stir after each addition. Stir until  all crystals are dissolved. Be sure to avert your face to avoid inhaling fumes. The fumes can burn the lungs and cause damage to tissue they come in contact with. Wear a mask if you are unable to avoid inhalation of the steam from the lye-water reaction. The mixture will become very hot. Cover and allow mixture to cool in a safe place away from pets or children.

Weigh your oils and melt on the stove over medium heat until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Both the lye and the oil mixtures should be approximately the same temperature when combining.

Pour sodium hydroxide mixture (still quite hot) a small amount at a time, into the melted oils (hot).  Add 1 teaspoon of Red Soap Tint and 15 ml raspberry fragrance oil.

Using a hand blender (goggles on please boys and girls) blend until emulsified. Once it thickens to a pudding consistency pour into a plastic mold (for square bars the size of a loaf pan). Make sure your mold is deep enough (4-5 inches at least) because you will be adding more soap later.

Cover and wrap carefully in towels to insulate the soap. After 24 hours, check the soap. It should be firm enough to remove from the mold. Uncover the mold and allow it to air dry and cure for 1-2 weeks. Check for safety of use (pH 7-10). Use litmus paper and dip it into the bubbles for your reading.

Sugar!!!????

Sugar

Sugar is a very popular additive for cosmetics these days. It is a bigger 'craze' than the bacon products. The most popular products are types of 'scrubs'. What is a scrub? A scrub is a exfoliate for the skin.  Sugar is very gentle to the skin and isn't as irritable to open sores as salt which is also a popular scrub ingredient. The most favored types of scrubs are solid sugar scrubs and cream based sugar scrubs. Two of my favorites are Brown Sugar Body Scrub and Mojito Lip Scrub (posted here on June 5, 2012). I recently designed two different solid sugar scrubs which can also be used in the bath. One is soap based and the other is oil based for extra moisturizing.

Honey is another sugar that has cosmetic benefits but we'll save that discussion for next time.

So here are the recipes...

Brown Sugar Scrub

4 c. Brown Sugar

1-2 c. Unscented thick skin cream or lotion

1 T. Almond fragrance 

Measure the brown sugar into a large bowl. Add cream or lotion until desired consistancy is achieved (some prefer a thicker scrub paste. Add fragrance oil (you can us your favorite of course--almond is mine). Mix well and store in a cool dry place.

To use in the bath or shower. Rub handfuls of the scrub all over the body avoiding delicate areas (be gentle to your skin). Rinse well.

White Sugar Scrub

 4 c. white sugar

2 T. Vitamin E oil

4 T. Jojoba 

Almond Oil (not fragrance)

1/2 t. Sweet Birch essential oil

 Fill your container with sugar. Add vitamin E and Jojoba. Add fragrance. Slowly add the Almond oil until desired consistency is achieved. 

This sugar scrub is oilier and more moisturizing than the Brown Sugar Scrub. It is especially good for those with dry skin or for use during the harsher winter months. Sweet Birch essential oil smells like a wintergreen candy and leaves the skin tingly like a mint soap. If you prefer not to tingle pick your favorite fragrance or essential oil. You can tint it to match the scent. Use 1 tsp food grade dye or soap tint.

Soapy Solid Sugar Scrub

1 c. melt and pour soap base.

1 1/2 -2 c. sugar (regular white)

1/2 tsp fragrance

Melt the soap base in the microwave. Mix in the fragrance oil.  Add the sugar until it resembles a paste. Pack into molds. Cool and pop out of the molds. Store in a cool dry place until ready to use.

Melty Solid Sugar Scrub

1 c. cocoa butter

1/2 c. virgin coconut oil

1-2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp fragrance (optional)

Melt the cocoa butter and coconut oil. Add fragrance oil. Mix in sugar until you get a thick paste (as much as you can with it still sticking (make a snowball and it doesn't fall apart). If you add too much sugar add more coconut oil. Pack into soap molds or small plastic cups. Pop into the refrigerator so the oils will set firmly and quickly. You can also use ice cube trays for this one. It's the perfect size for a single bath or shower.

Using natural cocoa butter makes these melty solid sugar scrubs smell like chocolate so pick a fragrance that goes well with both cocoa butter and coconut. I prefer not to add any scent as coconut candy bar scent is pretty awesome.

 P.S. This one even tastes good and can be used on the lips to remove dry skin. ** *Just be gentle.

These make great Valentine's Day gifts. Tint pink and tie with a bow and you are set to wow all your favorite valentines!

Pictures to follow... Enjoy!!

Tingle Soap Wild Mint

One of my favorite soaps to make is made with peppermint essential oil. This past week I discovered Mentha Arvensis which smells a lot like peppermint but is actually Wild Mint. Here is a link that tells you more about Mentha Arvensis...Wiki link to mentha arvensis

 My source is organic which is always nice and 'tingles' in soap just like peppermint.  For all those who wanted the recipe here you go...

Wild Mint Tingle Soap

1 lb melt and pour goat milk base

15 ml Mentha Arvensis essential oil

1/2 c. ground oatmeal

Melt the soap base. Cool until thickening but still pourable. Add the essential oil and ground oatmeal. Stir well and cover until hardened. Cut into 4-6 bars of soap. Wrap each well and store in a cool dark place just as you would essential oils. Use within 6 months --essential oils evaporate quickly so make only as much as you will use. You can try adding the eo's to a Tablespoon of orris root powder and it will hold the scent longer.

Warning: This really DOES tingle sensitive parts. It won't burn the skin in this dilution. But it does leave a cooling tingle that lasts for 20 min to an hour.