Making Mead?

  This was a new one for me.  When cleaning the kitchen shelves, I came across a gallon of honey that I had purchased from a local beekeeper.  As honey will, it solidified as it sat unopened on the shelf.  Still. this honey had not been sitting for that long!  Knowing that I could liquefy the stuff again by merely placing the jug in hot water, I promptly filled a pot and did just that.  I also promptly forgot that this stuff was sitting in the kitchen sink which was ok as the honey was doing its thing.  It takes hours to liquefy so time was my friend here.

  Along about noon, Son came inside to get a bite of lunch. He and I had been out doing some yard work when the thought of lunch called.  Once in the kitchen, he brought my attention to the honey pot.  "Making mead are we?"  Huh?  No, I am liquefying the honey.  "Looks more like you are fermenting it.  Honey is not supposed to foam like that and it is surely not supposed to smell like that!"  Uh, oh....

 So...do I toss the whole gallon of honey or do what a "safe-food" site says and let it heat until the foam disappears?  Will it be safe to eat?  I have never had honey "go bad" so I am not sure this has.  I am this die hard person that insists that some things can be salvaged...hopefully, the honey will be one of those things.  I will continue the hot water method until the honey is completely liquefied then see how long it takes for the foam (and odor) to disappear.  It seems a shame to lose an entire gallon of honey!  

  Now the question...why did this happen in the first place?  I know that honey solidifies but this is ridiculous.  Since the honey was sold to me in a used tea jug, perhaps it was contaminated from the get-go. Perhaps the jug was not sterilized/  Perhaps I should seek another supplier.  What can you do with fermenting honey??  Ponder, ponder.  There has to be something. 

Have a Cup of Tea!

Lemons......limes.....lemons.....limes!  Whatever citrus fruit grew on the new trees back behind the house, they were great!  To be honest, I am beginning to think that these things are neither lemons nor limes but some blend of the two.  Yes, we started with both lemon and lime trees but then a few years ago, the things froze.  The small trees died and without my son's insistence, I would have yanked them all from the ground.  "Give them time." he kept saying.  "Give them time."  So I gave them time, lots of time, several years of time to be exact.  Then this past year, blooms!  Lovely lemony, limey blooms!  Then tiny fruit!  Lots of little dark green lemon/limes.  I was ecstatic!  Later, as they grew, I questioned the type of the fruit as they both looked the same.  One kind reader suggested that I scratch the skin just a bit and smell the fruit.  How smart!  I did just that!  Some definitely had a lemon smell while others had a more lime smell.  The "Aha!" moment came when I realized that the suggestion was merely brilliant!  Then my son, Michael, scratched another fruit.  The old scratch and sniff test was sort of fun but he informed me that the fruit right next to my lemon smelled more like a lime.  Ok, so perhaps the trees froze down below the graft line and what came back is some mixed up fruit..sort of a fruit salad on one tree.    Well, I decided that it did not really matter to me what they were.  I would use them regardless.

With the coming of all this Arctic air, the fruit would be far safer in my kitchen than out in the orchard.  Grapefruit, oranges and mystery fruit were all picked and stowed away in bins.  They had to wait until I had a bit of time to spend home-canning.  Always before, I have made marmalade with most of the citrus fruit.  Some of the grapefruit and Satsumas were canned as slices but the majority of the rest was chopped and cooked into the most delightful of biscuit-toppings!  Then, again, I have never had quite so many lemons (or limes) before so I was not sure how that was going to work.  I talked with my daughter about the dilemma and we came up with a most interesting plan.  I was to make "tea flavoring".  I drink a lot of herbal tea and always sweeten it with local honey.  Lemon slices and fresh ginger root are always my "go to" flavors.  Our idea was to combine the three and can it.  Later, when I make tea, I could "sweeten" it with this mixture.  This was a breeze to make since I had the citrus fruit, plenty of fresh ginger in the garden and quarts of local honey on the shelf.  Michael helped me to "zest" the fruit.  After he removed the outer peelings, I threw those in the large jelly-making pot and covered them with water.  These were put on to a slow boil.  Most of the pith and all of the seeds were removed and discarded.  The now peeled fruit was diced and tossed in with the boiling zest.  After this cooked down a bit, I added a quart jar of honey and a good cup of grated ginger root. (I love having a ready supply of fresh ginger root in the garden!)  Everything was cooked some more while I washed and sterilized the jars and prepared the lids.  After just a bit, nine jars of tea flavoring sat on the table cooling.

Today, on a whim, I sampled the mixture!  It was incredible!  What a wonderful thing this will be!  On some frigid, wintry night, I can have a hot mug of flavored tea without having to run out to the garden to fetch the ginger root!  I am thinking I might just enjoy this tremendously!  Just one nice sized spoonful of this added to my homegrown persimmon leaf or hibiscus flower tea makes for a delightful drink!

A Honey of a Gift!

I have let it be known to my family that I do not want any gifts this year that involve me having to find a place in which to put it.  The Little Bayou House is nigh on bursting at the seams with "STUFF".  I do not need nor want anymore stuff!  If something is to be brought into the place, it had better be food, craft supplies or seeds!  Why, at this point, I would even prefer a truckload of firewood or fertilizer!  These types things can easily be used up before becoming clutter!  It is not that I am trying to be picky nor ungrateful, there is just no more space available for cutesy, little knickknacks. I do not need anymore souvenir, ceramic mugs, holiday sweaters and for sure I do not need furniture!  I have not been donating stuff for the past three months just to have the house all filled back up with needless items!  Folks, put a little thought into your gifts!  Unless you want it donated to the local senior citizen's group or thrift store, please do not give me something that you mindlessly grab off the store shelf as you get caught up in the frantic gift-buying mania!  I would much rather you donate some foodstuffs to the local soup kitchen or give a jacket or blanket to the homeless shelter. Again, I am not trying to be ugly..just practical. I really have far too much and wish to downsize a bit!

Then a knock at the door!  Rap, rap, rap..how unusual to get a guest at the Little Bayou House!  I flung open the door to see my brother standing there.  His arms were full of stuff.  Oh, my!  Umm...how do I politely tell him that I do not want stuff?  As he handed me things, I begin to realize that most of this already belonged in my house.  First he handed me a box of empty canning jars.  These were once filled with jams or jelly.  We have a deal of sharing produce!  Then came an empty bake pan that once held a zucchini bread that I shared with him.  After that, there was a few picture frames that he thought I might be able to use for crafts.  Stuff..but not too bad.  I could handle this!  Then he turned toward his truck and muttered something about having to get the rest. Oh, geez...more?  When he returned, he smiled at me and said "Merry Christmas!"  I started to smile as well!  Without being told my plans for no useless gifts, he was giving me a perfect present!  Yes, it is early to be exchanging gifts but he and I understand each other's intentions!  Mark and I had given my brother a crate of sweet potatoes a month ago as his Christmas gift and now he was returning the kindness.  He was holding three quart jars of delightfully golden HONEY!!!  Wow!  This is the perfect type of gift for me!  As often as I use honey (and prefer local honey), these three quarts are an amazing gift!  I was elated to say the least!  I have a most wonderful brother..one who understands the art of gift-giving!  One who understands that the perfect gift is one that can be used...unlike some chartreuse and purple sweater with Christmas penguins holding a string of colored lights..or perhaps a large, fiber-optic daisy that plays "You are my sunshine!"...or  ...well, you get the idea.  Honey...the perfect gift for me!!

Weird Jelly!

My son and daughter-in-law have been out in Arizona for the past few months with him doing some Army training. They just recently returned home to Mississippi and came here for Christmas. As a Christmas gift, they brought a huge basket of jellies. When they brought the basket, it was beautifully arranged and wrapped..then I opened it and it became..a basket of jelly and honey. It is no longer beautifully arranged as I keep digging through it! At first, they were afraid that I might think this was a rather strange gift to bring to me since I make a wide variety of jams and jellies. So... they immediately set to explaining their choice of a gift. Personally, I would never have questioned the intentions behind this basket of goodies as I love biscuits and jelly! But the explanations commenced! It seems that there is a very talented lady in Arizona that makes jelly from unusual fruits, berries and vegetables..among other things. My son proceeded to show me the different jellies..stating that his favorite was the Pineapple/Habanero. Pineapple/Habanero? Yes, THAT is different! We tried that one with our meal of leftover turkey and ham from our Christmas dinner..it was amazing! This lady really knows her stuff! There are quite a few different jellies in that basket..I was impressed with some of the combinations. Besides the Pineapple/Habanero, there was Raspberry/Jalapeno, Blueberry/Lime, Jalopeno/Prickly Pear Jelly and (the one I am most anxious to sample) Blackberry/Coffee! There were so many different and exciting flavors! These delightful treats are from "We B' Jamin Farms".

Also, in the basket, they tucked a variety of honeys. The man that sold the honey was called the "Killer Bee Guy"! His honey is from the killer bees. I had never heard of flavored honeys but in the basket there was things such as Blueberry Cream Honey, Luscious Lemon, Awesome Almond, Sassy Cinnamon, Smoked, and Roasted Garlic! Each one sounds as intriguing as the next! I can hardly wait to try them!

It seems like Christmas lasts much longer than just one day..after all the song does say there are twelve days of Christmas. These twelve days, according to definition, lasts from December 25th to January 5th so I guess giving gifts well after the 25th is still "proper". Today, I received a wonderful gift! My sister came to visit with three of her grandchildren. Yes, we exchanged presents but the real gift was just having her here. I must say, though, her stay was far too short. We did much talking, laughing and "catching up" and decided that we really must get together more often. Sounds like a good idea to me!