HMSBeekeeper Blog

Featured: Blue Chair Fruit Company

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:48:08 -0800

Oakland’s Blue Chair Fruit Company, founded in 2008, has already gained a national cult following for its preserves, all of which are hand-made in French copper jam pans. Whenever possible, their fruit is locally grown, sustainably farmed and organic, and founder Rachel Saunders’ deft hand allows this top-notch produce to take center stage and shine.

HMSBeekeeper is currently featuring the following:
• white nectarine-elderflower preserves
• strawberry-pluot jam
• blackberry-greengage jam
• early girl tomato jam
• meyer lemon-blood orange marmalade

$12/jar
The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook, $35

Featured: Live Local Card & iPhone App

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:19:30 -0800

Give the gift that keeps on giving: the Live Local card! Live Local’s Seth Mazow is a godsend to the Mission’s residents, shoppers and small business owners. For only $20 you get a year’s worth of savings at the neighborhood’s finest establishments and the skinny on almost anything worth doing in the ‘hood (Twitter: @LiLoMission). And if you’re a supporter of local businesses, you get a whole lot more: partnering with Live Local is like having a volunteer PR staff working for you around the clock! Seth is a tireless promoter of all things Mission.

Buying the Live Local card is a WIN/WIN/WIN proposition:
WIN 1: If you shop, exercise, eat, drink or do just about anything else in the Mission, it WILL save you money;
WIN 2: Buying the Live Local card buys your favorite shops the PR help most of us need but can’t afford and barely have time for;
WIN 3: Live Local itself is a struggling startup that both needs and deserves your support.

You can download the free iPhone app at the iTunes store. The card can be purchased on Live Local’s website (buy now) or at Her Majesty’s Secret Beekeeper. They make great gifts!

$20

Featured: DIY Lip-Balm Kit

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:06:05 -0800

Premium, all-natural lip balms don’t have to be expensive: let us show you how easy it is for only $1.40 a tube!

The kit includes:
• 4 oz. certified organic Sweet Almond Oil
• 2 oz. fair trade/wildcrafted Shea Butter
• 2 oz. Beeswax
• 1 dram Vitamin E oil
• 4 vials of certified organic Essential Oils
• 1 Eye Dropper (for the oils)
• 25 Lip Balm Tubes
• Printable Labels
• Easy to follow instructions

Customize your balms with the four included essential oils and inkjet labels!
They make great (and economical) stocking stuffers, are a great project to entertain the kids with, and come gift-boxed for the DIYer on your gift list. $35

Know Your Honey: Holiday Baking with Meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba)

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 21:11:36 -0800

The holidays inspire a lot of us to fire up the oven and hunt for grandma's cookie recipes.

Bryon says, “I've substituted honey for sugar in most of my recipes for a number of reasons: It's not only healthier and more delicious, but baked goods made with honey stay fresh longer. This last characteristic is especially helpful during the holidays, allowing me to bake in large batches and keep a supply of goodies on hand without worrying about them getting stale. In fact, because honey is hygroscopic (meaning it attracts and absorbs moisture), baked goods made with it often improve in flavor and texture after a few days.”

One caveat: a lot of the flavor of raw honey is lost when it's heated. Meadowfoam honey ($12 for a 9 oz. jar), however, defies this rule, making it an ideal baking honey. When heated, it not only retains the flavors of its raw state (a heady mix of toasted marshmallow and vanilla), it actually develops nuances of orange and clove. Yum! Here are some tips for converting your favorite sugar-based recipes, or find new ones at honey.com.

Here's a recipe to get you started from Kiri Moth, the amazing talent behind our mural (check out her website, too).

Honey Lacey Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup rolled oats, chopped in food processor
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey (For easy measuring and clean‐up, coat measuring cup or spoon with cooking spray before adding honey)
6 tbsp melted butter
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:
In a food processor, pulse the raw oats several times until they become small pieces. While that is going, melt the butter in a small saucepan until the foam subsides.
Combine all ingredients for the cookies in a large bowl and stir to combine. Spoon onto baking sheets by the 1/2 teaspoon, placing each cookie at least 2-3" apart from others (they spread a lot!). Bake at 425 for 6-8 minutes, or until cookies have spread and are just beginning to brown around the edges. Let them cool completely on the baking sheets before sliding them off with a spatula.

NOTES: The amount of dough looks small, but it makes a lot of cookies!
Experiment with temperatures and bake time - I find that in my oven 385 is the optimal temp, and they can cook in as fast as 4-5 minutes.

The cookies will continue to cook on the hot pan after you take them out of the oven. I bake them on sheets of parchment paper so I can just slide the whole thing - paper, cookies and all - off the pan and let them cool on the counter top.

Happy baking!

P.S. While we're talking cookies: Are your Santa and Christmas-tree shapes not 'cutting' it this year? Try an urban homesteading theme with our bee, skep, hen, rooster, chick, and egg cookie cutters! (various sizes, $3-$8).

Featured: DIY Cheesemaking Kits

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 20:54:32 -0800