Bee Update

I have been negligent in updating about the bees.  Which is not a good thing, considering this blog is supposed to be my on-line bee journal!  Last I posted, we'd discovered one of our hives didn't have a queen.  We went back in a week later, and still didn't see any eggs.  Nor did we see any queen cells.  My mentor suggested waiting another week to combine the Nuc back into the hive, because a) the weather hadn't been good so there might have been a queen but she couldn't take her mating flight, and b) the reason they weren't making queen cells was because there WAS a queen (see reason a!).

So, we put another frame of eggs in just to be safe, giving them another opportunity to raise a queen if they needed one.  Then we closed everything up and decided to wait another week.

This past Monday, we checked the hives again.  The Nuc had lots of eggs and still had room to grow, so we didn't have to worry about doing anything there.  They haven't been taking a lot of the sugar water, either.  Our original hive was going gangbusters... lots of activity and eggs and larvae.

And, in the 'queenless' hive... I knew something was different as soon as we opened it up.  Instead of the typical roar we'd been hearing, we heard the peaceful buzz of bees who didn't care we were there (this has ALWAYS been our docile hive, except for the past month!)  And sure enough, we had a whole frame of eggs!  No larvae, so the queen had just started laying.  We are optimistic that it was a queen and not a laying worker for three reasons: 1) the buzzing.  In most queen-right hives, especially this one, the bees just go about their business... unless there is no queen, and then the work themselves into a tizzy when you open up the hive.  2)  There was only a single egg in every cell, and 3) the pattern was perfect, meaning they weren't laid helter-skelter.  Laying workers are notorious for popping multiple eggs in each cell, and bouncing around the frame.  Needless to say, I was greatly relieved!

We will go back in next week to confirm that they aren't drone cells (ie, laying worker) and also because the Inspector will be here.  Assuming he doesn't find anything out of the ordinary, we will be able to sell our Nuc to a new beekeeper in the Guild and get them started up.  We were hoping to be able to make a second Nuc from the other hive, but after a month of no eggs, the numbers are really down and it's just not strong enough at this point to make another Nuc.  But after a year of costing us money, it'll be nice to recoup a very small portion of our expenses!

This morning I was able to attend a workshop where we made swarm buckets and also got some pieces to make a bee vac using a Nuc box body.  I am hoping they will come in very handy (not that we've gotten any swarm calls this year... but I'm into beekeeping for the long haul!)

Strawberry Lemon Balm Jam

Last year, I made some amazing Strawberry Anise Hyssop Jam which inspired me to start using herbs in my jams and jellies.  So today, I finally had the time (and berries) to try a batch of Strawberry Lemon Balm Jam.  The process is the same for the Anise Hyssop, so if you want to make that, feel free (I only use a dozen large leaves of the Anise Hyssop)!  The recipe is adapted from Ball, using less than half the sugar.  It's still plenty sweet but the flavor of the berries really shines.  It makes about 7 half-pint jars.

First, I went out and picked 2 dozen large lemon balm leaves.  I washed them and gave them a whirl since I already had the spinner out, anyway.

Then, I cut them in half.  Which meant I had 48 pieces of leaves.  It's helpful to remember this number.  You'll see why later.

Wash and hull about 8 cups of strawberries.  These beauties are Camarosa's that I picked at a local farm (Hickory Ridge) for $1.25/lb.  Can't beat that, baby!

 Mash them down to about 5 cups.

Add the berries and the lemon balm into a large stock pot, along with 1/4 c lemon juice and 2 tsp calcium water (I use Pomona's Pectin and the calcium water makes it gel.  If you are using traditional pectin, you want to add 3 TBL of the low-sugar kind at this point.)

Bring it all to a boil.  Then add 3 cups of sugar and 2 tsp Pomona's Pectin, stirring well, and bringing it back up to a boil.

 Skim off foam if you are so inclined.

Remove from heat and start picking out the pieces of lemon balm.  (This is where it comes in handy to know how many pieces are in there.)  This time off the heat also gives the jam time to start cooling a bit, which reduces the likelihood of 'floating fruit' in your processed jars.

When you've got all the lemon balm out, fill jelly jars and leave 1/4" headspace.  Watch carefully as you're pouring it in if you weren't able to get out all the leaf pieces.  This is your last chance to retrieve them.  Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, and enjoy!

Strawberries!

It's been a cool and rainy spring, which didn't help the strawberries to ripen.  This time last year, we'd been picking for weeks.  So when I saw the weather forecast for today (sunny, low 80s), I decided I needed to go and pick some berries. 

I headed over to Vaughan's Farm Produce and picked four different kinds of berries.  The Albion's are HUGE and I figured the kids would love eating them.  The Chandlers are one of the most popular variety grown here in Hampton Roads.  The Sweet Charlie's are my favorite for eating (so sweet!), and the Festivals are a firm berry great for canning.

After all was said and done, I came home with almost 17 pounds of them!  Because I'm still working on cleaning out the freezer, most of these will be dehydrated.  It takes a little time to prep them, but it's well worth it in the middle of winter when you have tasty berries for muffins, scones, and the morning oatmeal.

First, I washed them and sent them for a ride in the salad spinner to get as much water off of them as possible.

I use a pairing knife to take the tops off.

Then, I slice them with an egg slicer.  I own three of them (one for me and one for each kid).  It's much quicker than doing it with a knife, and this ensures that they are equal thickness so they dry at the same rate.

Lay them on the dehydrator tray.  You want them as close together as possible, but in a single layer.

The time it takes to dry them will vary.  I usually start with 8 hours and up it if I need to.  I store them in glass jars (wide-mouth are easier to get into.)

Granola

It's been awhile since I've made granola.  I have a recipe that we love, from the book "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter."  But about 6 months ago, I decided to try a new recipe and it was a failure.  Nobody liked it.  And so it sat in the container, staring at me every time I opened the cupboard.  I couldn't bring myself to make our usual recipe while that was sitting there.  Finally, I made several batches of granola cookies which the family DID eat, and used up the cursed batch of icky granola.

And then we were out of maple syrup, so I had to wait until I next saw my folks to get more.  (No, I couldn't have BOUGHT more.  Because when you're spoiled like I am, you get homemade maple syrup from your Dad.  For free.)

After a record-setting maple syrup run, our stock is replenished and I am back in the granola business.  I was all set to make another batch of the usual when I realized that there's a recipe in "The Homemade Pantry" I wanted to try.

I will admit that I halved it, just in case we didn't enjoy it.  I already learned that lesson the hard way!

So, I added the oats and coconut and almonds and sunflower seeds (and wheat germ instead of sesame seeds) into my largest mixing bowl and stirred it all together.

Then, I combined the oil and maple syrup and vanilla and almond extract and added that in, stirring to combine well.

 You can see that even though I cut the recipe in half, I still had enough to cover two baking sheets.

After baking at250 for 90 minutes, and stirring every 30 minutes, we had a nice batch of tasty granola.  With that being said, however, I still prefer our original recipe...  probably because that doesn't require stirring, so it's much easier to just pop it in the oven and forget about it until it's done... and also because I like it when all the ingredients stick together in chunks, and this recipe didn't do that.  It could be because I didn't include the optional Lyle's Golden Syrup, but I'm not searching all over creation for it, either.

I'm not retyping either recipe, but here are links if you want them.

If you want a clumpy granola great for snacking on, try this one from "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter":
http://www.cookiemadness.net/2012/12/granola-for-teacher-gifts-and-make-the-bread-buy-the-butter-review/

If you want a granola that's more for eating with milk as a cereal, try this one from "The Homemade Pantry":
http://www.eatingfromthegroundup.com/2009/12/the-new-granola/

Make both and do a taste test.  Let me know what you think!

Baking in a Wood-Fired Oven

Our homesteading group is made up of some pretty great people.  And many of those pretty great people have some pretty great talents.  And some of those people take the time to share those talents with the rest of us, which is what makes a great group even better.

This morning I was lucky enough to go to Jackie's breadmaking workshop and see how an outside wood-fired oven works. 

We started with learning how to make the dough to the right consistency and learning how to gently knead it.

While our loaves were rising, we learned about the oven itself and all the prep work that has to happen before it's time to bake.  Then, we scored our loaves and put them in the oven.

 After about 20 minutes, we had beautiful loaves.

And we were able to taste-test a wood-fired baked loaf and one loaf baked in the indoor oven.  They were both amazing.  But the crust of the wood-fired loaf was so crispy and delicious, it was definitely my favorite.  I even thought the butter was super good... come to find out it was from Food Lion!!!

The Homemade Pantry

Last year, I was so excited to add a copy of "The Homemade Pantry" to my collection.  It is a gorgeous book and addresses a topic I am so passionate about... reducing processed foods and making homemade versions of them.  Plus the author, Alana Chernila, is a fellow Masshole.  What's not to love?

I confess that I have not cooked from it the way I wanted, because I didn't make the time.  It called to me from the bookshelf every time I walked by.  I knew that several of my fellow homesteaders had copies, so I decided to ask if anyone would be interested in cooking through it with me.  Turns out, a lot of people were.  Some had it, some ordered it, some decided to use recipes from the authors blog (found HERE).

So starting this week, we will each pick a recipe from the "Chapter of the Week" and make it.  Then we'll share our experiences via blog or the Virginia Urban Homesteaders Facebook Page.  The first chapter is Dairy, and tonight my neighbor Cathy came over to help me make mozarella cheese.

I previously made it once before, using a cheese kit from New England Cheesemaking (and where Ms. Chernila recommends getting your supplies.)  But that was awhile ago. 

First, the necessary supplies.  That's right, just FIVE ingredients: Milk, Salt, Rennet, Water, and Citric Acid.  For the local peeps, Harris Teeter is the only place around that has organic milk that has not been Ultra Pasteurized.  And I got the citric acid at Wine and Cake Hobbies (they frequently have Groupons).

Pour the milk into a large cauldron and heat to 90 degrees. 

Add in the rennet combined with water, stir, and cover.  After 5 minutes, the curds will have solidified.  Cathy does the 'finger test' to make sure it's ready to cut.

 After heating to 110, we transferred the curds to strain out the whey.

Then, the whey gets heated to 170 and it's very important to add the salt.  We love salt.  We might have added even more later.

The curds take a nice bath in the warm whey for a minute.  The fun part is squeezing the liquid out, because at this point it starts to look like cheese.

The bath is repeated several times, with stretching in between.  Once the cheese stretches to about 12", you know it's ready.

We made some into balls and some into string cheese (or 'turds' as Cathy called them.)

 

I am thinking tomorrow might be a Chicken Parm kind of night.  Or pizza.  I can't decide.  Although there were many different steps involved (I'll have to make about a dozen more batches before I can memorize the process), this is not rocket science.  Everyone should try it at least once.   If you'd like to give it a shot, here's a much more detailed explanation:  http://www.eatingfromthegroundup.com/2010/01/30-minute-mozzarella/

A Walk Around the Homestead

It's the end of April, and I realized I never did a 'March' walk around the homestead, so I am over-do.  This week brought the first of the Knock-Out roses.  I was afraid I over-pruned, as I never know what I am doing, but the new growth came fast and furious and I am thrilled to be greeted with yellow roses at my front door.  They were my grandmother's favorites.

Both of my lilacs came back, which was exciting!  I've been told they don't grow well here, but my Bloomerang is in a pot on the deck and the Persian Lilac I rescued from the almost-dead clearance section at Lowe's is doing fine, too. 

And lo and behold, the rhubarb!!!  This is another thing that doesn't grow here in Hampton Roads, but three of my plants came back and are doing well, so I am hoping to be able to make some locavore Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam!

The herb beds are very green!  In the closest bed, from right to left, there's Borage, Oregano, Lemon Balm, Thyme, Sage, Chives, and Rosemary.  You can't see the Lemon Verbena which just started to poke it's head up (I didn't think it was going to, as technically, it's only a perennial in zones 9 and 10), the yarrow, and Slo-Bolt cilantro that I just transplanted.  In the back bed, from right to left, there's parsley, chocolate mint in containers, Horehound, German Chamomile, and Lavender.  You can't see the Stevia which came back (again, it's supposed to be a zone 9-10 perennial), and the sunflowers that will eventually shade the chamomile and protect it from the hot sun.

 Here we have a mish-mash... a stray onion, some radishes that are going to seed, a carrot I left from the winter for the early Swallowtails, some carrot seedlings, another Lemon Balm, lettuce, and peas.  There's a lot of stuff here you can't see, either, including Calendula and more sunflowers to protect the spinach from the heat.  The unpruned grapevine grows along the back fence... and I transplanted from Hubbard Squash that popped up in the compost pile to grow on the trellis.

On the left, there's a ton of garlic and scallions.  The front right is some potatoes, an echinacea, more lettuce, and peas in the background... there are peppers in here, too, along with more calendula, zinnia, and nasturtium.  On this trellis will grow some watermelon volunteers that sprouted from the one plant I grew last year in that blue bin.  I transplanted them into the garden and we'll see how they grow.  I had NO intentions of growing any vining plants whatsoever, but so it goes.

It's a peach!  There are only a few, but it's only the second year I've had the tree, so that's really all it can hold.

The Homestead Verbena is holding its own, despite being over-run last summer with Bermuda Grass.  It's much more of a problem this year than it has been, but I am declaring an early war. 

It's been a much cooler spring than last year... we just picked our first strawberries on Saturday... so things are slower going, but that's ok.  I'd rather have cool than hot.