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 Now that the cool autumn season is upon us, we've been indulging in our sweet Spicy Pumpkin Latte! I must say, our recipe definitely rivals the Pumpkin Spice Latte created by that Seattle-based coffeehouse chain that we all know so well.
You can make your own Spicy Pumpkin Latte in the coziness of your home for many pennies less than retail cost. And, our recipe includes one extra special ingredient – our Fiery Sweet Mesquite honey. The honeyed-habanero heat in this pumpkin beverage will give you a warm internal afterglow. See for yourself! Ingredients 1 ⅓ cup almond milk (sweetened) ½ cup pumpkin puree 3 tbsp extra strong coffee 2 tbsp Fiery Sweet Mesquite honey 2 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp whip cream (plus extra to top off latte) 1 tsp pumpkin pie spices ½ tsp vanilla extract ½ tsp almond extract Instructions Using a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together almond milk, pumpkin puree and coffee. Add honey and whipped cream and whisk to combine the ingredients. Add sugar, pumpkin pie spices, vanilla extract and almond extract. Continue whisking the mixture until the temperature reaches near boiling. Remove from heat and use ladle to spoon into mugs. Dollop a spoonful of whipped cream on top of your Spicy Pumpkin Latte to finish it off. Serves two. Visit our "Recipes" page to enjoy more fun pairings using our infused honeys!
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 So, this is really cool! You may have "heard" me mention BeeWeaver and BeeGoods Mercantile on occasion. The Weavers are a family of beekeepers at work in Navasota, Texas. Their place is open to the public for hive tours, beekeeping lessons, bees and beekeeping supplies, and much more. They have scheduled an exciting event for Saturday, September 29, 2018 (from 11am - 3pm) called INFUZZED! Now that fall is just around the corner and the weather is cooling just a bit, it will be a great day to take a short drive from Houston or Austin and come out to BeeWeaver's Honey Farm and taste several infused honeys. This will be a perfect event to see and learn about art inspired by the honey bee and more. Other happenings at the event include All We Need Farmer, Stacey, who will share her expertise in making unique Honey Pops. She will be assisted by a few of her happy milk goats. Moon Dance Jeweler, Nola, will be there to demonstrate how to make beautiful bracelets with bee notes sprinkled in. Bring the family and enjoy the day at INFUZZED! Often, we here at Lone Star Bee Company stay pretty busy and forget to take a break and realize how far we've come in such a short time. It was just three short years ago when we stumbled upon our beekeeping passion and soon afterward starting infusing honeys. And, we've enjoyed it every step of the way. Today, we made it a point to take this moment to share a fantastic shot of these ladies who bring us such joy!   Have you seen us at your H-E-B? We've been on tour at several stores in Houston talking with folks who've been using our Fiery Sweet Mesquite honey and our Lucky Lime & Sea Salt honey with their favorite foods. Some are using the spicy honey for grilling and others are using the lime and sea salt honey when baking - great ways to enjoy both honeys! We've also met shoppers who've never tried our honeys, so we are happy to oblige with a spoonful while they shop. Come see us to get a taste of our honeys and you'll see what the talk is all about!
Here's where you can find us: H-E-B Store Address Day Time Bellaire 5106 Bissonnet Friday, August 24 3:00 - 7:00 pm Houston 5225 Buffalo Speedway Sunday, August 26 Noon - 4:00 pm Missouri City Lake Colony / 4724 Highway 6 Friday, August 31 3:00 - 7:00 pm Houston Vintage Market / 10919 Louetta Rd Sunday, September 2 Noon - 4:00 pm Houston Montrose / 1701 West Alabama Friday, September 7 3:00 - 7:00 pm Houston 5895 San Felipe Sunday, September 9 Noon - 4:00 pm The Woodlands 9595 Six Pines Friday, September 14 3:00 - 7:00 pm Richmond Aliana / 10161 W Grand Parkway Sunday, September 16 Noon - 4:00 pm Spring Gosling / 5251 FM 2920 Friday, September 21 3:00 - 7:00 pm On the first and third Saturday of each month, Lone Star Bee Company has the privilege of participating in the Lake Olympia Farmers Market in Missouri City, Texas. And, we love it! We love it because the Lake Olympia neighborhood is super energized about the market. It's a great feeling to be part of the neighbors' sense of community and togetherness. We also love it because we get the chance to meet other market vendors who have their own story to tell. We’ve made friends with produce farmers, artisans and other food manufacturers at Lake Olympia’s market. One new vendor at the market, and new friend of ours, is the W.I.D.E School. Their story is exceptional. W.I.D.E. is a place where children are supported as they Wonder, Investigate, Discover and Educate themselves and their community. The school realizes the importance of spending time in nature. The teachers make it a point to take activities that are normally done inside the classroom to the outdoors. Students spend time outside enjoying reading, making music, eating and gardening. The students have hands-on experience in their garden and are taught concepts of creating foods using their own produce. With help from teachers like Gabby Frausto, the school's nutritionist, students learn lifelong skills for cooking and good habits for healthy eating, both are important concepts that are often overlooked and underappreciated. The students are also eager to help out at the Lake Olympia Farmer's Market. Gabby and the kids bring baked goods and jams that they've prepared, sometimes using ingredients grown in the school's garden.
During the W.I.D.E. School's first time at the market, the smell of rosemary filled the air and drew me over to pick up my very own loaf of rosemary bread. With Gabby's guidance at the market, the students learn skills in business such as setting up shop, marketing their products, interacting with customers, and completing cash and credit card transactions. I was truly impressed at the kids' excitement and willingness to be involved. And, I must say the bread was super delicious on it's own, as well as drizzled with our Fiery Sweet Mesquite honey! We're thrilled to have made new friends from the W.I.D.E. School and can't wait to see what goodies they have to offer at the next Lake Olympia Farmer's Market! We're placing our infused honeys on a few more H-E-B shelves in Houston! Wanna know which ones? Simply download the H-E-B app and search for "Lone Star Bee" to keep up with us. It's that simple.  Here's a list of H-E-B locations where our honeys are sold:
 I recently posted a recipe on our website that calls for our Fiery Sweet Mesquite honey in what we named our “Spicy Turmeric Latte”. I love this soothing drink! It brings together turmeric, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom and other tasty spices, but the turmeric is essential. Showcasing our spicy honey along with turmeric in the latte recipe was important to me not only for the comforting flavors, but for the health benefits as well. I keep turmeric powder in my pantry and have used it in several recipes over the years. I already knew that turmeric is a healthy spice that acts as an antioxidant as well as an anti-inflammatory, and that’s about all I knew about the spice. I recently met a woman at one of our markets who is far more knowledgeable than I was about turmeric. And, I was eager to hear how she uses the spice – she uses it the “right” way. I now know that turmeric is best absorb into the body when eaten as a paste (instead of powder), and with the inclusion of oil and pepper. How did I not know this already? Turmeric is a plant of the ginger family, native to India and Southeast Asia. Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric. Curcumin has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant. In addition, curcumin helps to boost the levels of brain hormones, effectively increasing the growth of neurons and fighting degenerative processes that occur within the brain. It's been said that curcumin can contribute to fighting heart disease and helps to prevent and treat cancer. It’s been touted as a way to prevent and help treat Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, it seems to help alleviate symptoms of depression. Realizing these many benefits, I found it important to change our Spicy Turmeric Latte recipe to call for turmeric paste, rather than powder. And, I’ll be using the paste for many other recipes, too. Here’s an easy recipe for making turmeric paste at home. Click on the "Recipes" tab above to try the turmeric paste in our delicious Spicy Turmeric Latte recipe. Enjoy! Ingredients 1 cup water (plus a little extra) 1/2 cup turmeric powder 1/3 cup coconut oil 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper Directions Add turmeric powder and 1 cup of the water to a small sauce pan and stir over low heat for at least 7 minutes. Add water as needed during this process. A think paste will form. At the end of cooking, add the pepper and oil and stir very until both are fully incorporated. Allow to cool. Turmeric paste will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks and can be placed in the freezer to keep longer.  Lone Star Bee Company has been lucky to be a part of the University of Houston Farmers Market for the past two semesters. We just wrapped up the spring 2018 semester and it breaks my heart a little that we won’t be there again until classes resume in the fall. My favorite part of this market is, hands down, spending time getting to know the students, staff and faculty. I’ve made many new friends who share in the excitement of our infused honeys. But, one customer-friend really made this semester especially exciting. Eric Bittner, who’s a professor in the Department of Chemistry & Physics, took our infused honey to new levels. And boy, was his time well spent! As a hobbyist mazer, Professor Bittner made a spicy mead using our Fiery Sweet Mesquite honey and it was delicious! I have to say that initially, I was a bit hesitant that the heat from the habaneros would overpower the wine after a showdown between good and evil, but honestly the mead had a perfect balance of spicy-sweet. The sweetness of the mead hit the front palate and the spice of the habanero trailed from the back of the palate and down the throat. And, the aroma was icing on the cake; subtle pear and a slight piperine to tickle the nose. Fun! I’m not suggesting Professor Bittner quit his day job and open a meadery, but… This mead was exceptional! Thank you, Professor Bittner! This past week, we were honored to showcase our honeys at a food pairing event at Hotel Emma in San Antonio. While meeting many of the hotel staff and guests was the ultimate highlight of our adventure, the Hotel Emma herself certainly made for spectacular setting. Constructed in 1894, the building was originally Pearl's Brewhouse, but more recently was renovated and turned into this stunning boutique hotel in downtown San Antonio. The brewery's industrial artifacts and gadgets have been incorporated into the hotel's design, and hotel guests feel as if they are a part of living history. Inside the hotel is a wonderful little shop, called Larder. It's positioned in the old fermenting cellars of the brewery and carries local groceries, fine provisions, wine, beer, baked goods, flowers, house-butchered meats and Lone Star Bee Company's honeys! We made great use of Hotel Emma's Exposition Kitchen and celebrated food and drink with roughly 30 hotel guests. Our honeys were paired with many fine cheeses and charcuterie, roasted vegetables and desserts. One of the hotel's many talented bartenders created special cocktails to highlight our Lucky Lime & Sea Salt honey and our Fiery Sweet Mesquite honey. And, an equally talented hotel chef prepared a wonderful spicy honey brittle also using our Fiery Sweet Mesquite honey. Watch for these fun recipes to be posted very soon on our website's "Recipe" page!  Most of us already know that honey is created from nectar. But, not everyone is aware of the actual process that bees use to make honey. In a nutshell, bees collect nectar from flowers then turn the nectar into honey by adding enzymes and by applying dehydration. The bees’ enzymes convert complex sugars (nectar) into more the simple sugars, namely glucose and fructose (honey). Dehydration occurs inside the hive when bees steadily and quickly flap their wings, causing air to move around the surface of the honey and comb. Once honey is extracted from its comb, crystallization can occur. This process is caused when glucose begins to separate from water, taking the form of crystals. Honey crystallization is a natural process that can occur within just a few months of bottling and is a sure indication that you have raw healthy honey. If your honey never crystallizes, that is most likely a sign you have pasteurized honey, which contains none of the healthy benefits of raw honey. Crystallization can be somewhat controlled with proper storage. Be sure to store your honey at room temperature (between 65-75) degrees and ensure the cap is closed completely. Keep your honey in a dark place, like a pantry, and away from direct sunlight. If you have honey that has crystallized, the remedy is quick and easy if you have the right tool. We suggest that you wrap your honey in a heating pad for an hour or two, then the honey will revert to a liquid state and stay that way for several more weeks, perhaps even months. When wrapped in the heating pad, you might place a book or another object upon it to help give some weight and deliver the warmth to the honey more quickly. If you don't have a heating pad, try using hot water from the tap. You can place your honey bottle in a small bowl inside your sink and let the hot water run directly onto the bottle. This process takes awhile, but it will eventually do the trick. |
