Chocolate Honey Dip

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Callens Honey Farm

 

Hershey Chocolate Honey Dip

This is a fast and delicious recipe I make when the kids are craving something sweet and I don’t want them to have too much sugar! 🙂 

Be creative, here’s a few things we use it for as a dip:  strawberries, bananas, peanuts, walnuts and almonds,  ice cream, and cake topping.   Give it a try.

1/2  cup honey

1/2  cup Hershey’s baking cocoa

1  cup sour cream

1  teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Stir well until velvety smooth.       

Serve chilled and keep refrigerated.

Note: It’s not as sweet as some other chocolate dips or sauces.  Enjoy!

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One Last Feast before Lent!

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Callens Honey Farm

 

 It only happens once a year, the day before Lent.  The only day we allow so many sweets and food all at once.  This year, on what some call Fat Tuesday, was no exception.  Our son-in-law is always looking for an excuse to gather and have fun together so when he phoned early Tuesday morning to ask if we were ready for a feast, of course I said we were!  He suggested that he make the pizza and I make the Stromboli and Frenchy was going to make homemade donuts.  He was then informed that the girls had been baking apple pies and were making up a batch of homemade vanilla ice-cream!

It turned out to be a very fun afternoon in our kitchen. I wish each of you could have smelled the room!!   As with any party, there ended up being a ton of leftovers, but not of the Stromboli.  We froze an extra apple pie, a bowl of donuts and the kids ate the leftover pizza today.  What seemed like a well planned evening didn’t really go as planned.  Luke and Clayton showed up late from a day of shearing out in South Dakota.  Then the semi truck hauling 28 Tons of coal out of North Dakota arrived very late and after dark.  He actually got stuck on the end of our driveway which has a gate and is hard to navigate under normal conditions with hay racks, trailers and in this case a 48 foot tractor-trailer.  The angels must have heard our prayers because somehow he was able to maneuver his way in to our farm-yard!  At one point we all held our breath as it appeared as though he would tip over with the very heavy load.  There was a ton of snow and ice on the road as well but with the addition of ashes placed on the road and tires thankfully there was no mishap.

In the meantime, we girls played Uno, bounced babies and waited patiently for the boys to come in for pie and ice-cream.  Unfortunately, it took even longer to unload the coal which was another scary event.  The driver backed the semi into our quonset with barely a couple of inches left on top.  Then Fred had to use the skid loader to stock pile the coal in the back of the building.   I might add that the kids were worried we would not have a barn dance with all that coal taking up room but he assured them that it would be way in back and there would still be just as much room for dancing.

9:30 p.m. we all gathered for pie and ice-cream and the truck driver happily joined in before heading out to the Dakotas for another load to pick up.  Later we watched one last Gun Smoke since there will be no Friday night movies during Lent.  (We don’t watch any “real”  T.V.)  There also won’t be any sweets or treats for anyone during Lent.   Then, each of us has our own list of things to give up as we prepare our souls for Easter. 

There is spring to look forward to next and we’re already planning to  plant our potatoes on Good Friday, snow or no snow:)  This year it will be later so there is a very good chance that our tradition will be carried through.  The girls planted a bunch of the garden seeds and flowers down by the wood stove which is a definite sign that the winter may be coming to an end.   We hope you have a fruitful Lent and are able to hold to your resolutions and penance.

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Long Winter ~ Dreaming of Spring!

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Callens Honey Farm

 

Just about everyone you talk to around here has recently commented on how long this winter has been.  It has been dragging on for what seems like forever.  Most folks are pretty excited when the talk around town is  that we are in for only “one final snow storm” which is expected some time on Sunday night into the early part of the week.   We are actually looking forward to a storm that comes with that kind of wording.

The sun is shining brightly and somehow it brings comfort to our hearts.  All of the seeds have been purchased as well as the dirt for starting the garden seeds.  It seems odd that even though we received many seed catalogs this year we purchased our seeds  locally.  Every spring we dream big about how large and fruitful our gardens will be.  It’s easy for me to dream big when I still have a large work force living at home:) 

Already food prices are climbing steadily and so it is our hope that we can raise as much food as we can to cut down on our grocery bills.  Not only are the grocery prices rising, but so are the feed prices at the elevator.  It’s hard not to cringe every time we have to order another truck load of grain.  But on the other side of the coin, our cattle are worth more this year and so are the pork and lambs.  

Spring must be just around the corner too because Clayton has his horses to train lined up for this month and the sheep shearing for him and Luke is starting to wind down a bit.  Never a dull moment around here and I thank God for the good variety of activities.  One such variety is that Fred  is out snow plowing for the township and stopped by for a picnic breakfast at the end of the driveway.  That consisted of hot coffee, eggs, bacon, home-made whole wheat toast topped with freshly made butter.  Then there were extra treats on the bottom for snacking on later in the day.  He will come home to roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet corn and a Lemon Sponge cake baked by Marisa especially for him.  It’s a family recipe from Nonna, my very wonderful Italian mother.

The other day the kids started the egg incubator with 87 eggs which is another definite sign that the long winter is going to be coming to an end.  They hope to get half Araucana chickens and the other half a good mix.  It’s getting to that easy time in my life when the kids don’t need me to tell them what to do nor when.  Makes me feel that things are being accomplished the way that Fred and I had planned.

   This week seemed to be filled with sad news of several deaths not only of two ladies in our St. Leo church parish, but also of a dear child hood friend of mine back in Pennsylvania who died unexpectedly.  Then there was an accidental death of another local man and father only 34 years old  as a result of a skid loader accident.  All of these occurring within just days of each other, very sad.  It is good to be alive and I thank God for that and many other blessings.  May the souls of the faithfully departed rest in peace.

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Vanilla Ice Cream

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Callens Honey Farm

This is a quick ice cream recipe (made without cooking) the kids often use when they’re in a hurry to have a tasty treat! 2    eggs 1 cup honey 2-3/4 cups whole milk 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup cream In a large bowl, beat eggs until thick and lemon colored.    Beat in honey.  Stir in milk, cream and vanilla.    Pour into ice cream canister.   Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.   Makes about 2 quarts.

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Bee Packages Ordered! (April 23, 2011)

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Callens Honey Farm

I am convinced that Spring is on the way.  The two plus feet of new fallen snow is not what convinced me either:)  It’s not even that the days are getting longer.  We just ordered our bee packages for pick up sometime near the end of April.  The job of deciding on what type of bees we wanted this year again rested on Marisa’s shoulders.  She is the one who started this bee keeping hobby for us and since she studied it the most, we rely on her good judgement to make a well thought out  decision.   It’s probably alot to rely on one so young at the age of 17 but Fred encourages all of the children to start something they enjoy.

This spring we will have (8)  3 pound packages of Italian bees and (8)   3 pound packages of  Minnesota Hygienic.  These will be added to our other Italian bees.  Each of the packages were ordered and paid for at Nature’s Nectar in Stillwater, MN.   The reason we switched to this seller is because we have to drive to pick them up and it is at least 2 hours closer!  The supplier on that end gets the bees from the same place as Mann Lake Ltd though, who also has good healthy bees.   Each of the packages cost $79.00 per package plus $5.00 per package deposit on the bee boxes.  The money will be refunded next year when we pick up packages again or when we get in that area again.

The Italian bees did so well this year that we wanted to add more of them.  It is a very popular breed and is very hearty, docile and a great  honey producer.   They are good comb producers and the large brood that they produce makes for fast colony growth.  The maintain a large winter colony which requires large stores of food.  They winter well in cold climates and have some good disease tolerance.

The Minnesota Hygienic bees she chose mainly because of their disease resistance.  They detect disease or mite infested brood and quickly remove them from the hive.  They also withstand the Minnesota cold winters.  If anyone is interested in this particular breed you can do some research online before deciding to try them.  We will report here how they do later on in the season.

The bees are still alive and we think they are running a bit low on honey.  Next year we are going to leave them even more honey because our winters are so long and frigid.  We hope they can hold out until the weather warms up.  One thing about bees,  as with farm livestock, you never stop learning and that makes it an interesting challenge.

Posted in BEE NEWS AND UPDATES | 6 Comments

Sheep Shearing Day

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Callens Honey Farm

Our sheep are due to lamb in early April so since the boys were at home today and the sheep were dry we decided to shear them.  There were 68 head which included two Rambouillet bucks.  Our herd consists mostly of Rambouillet, which has very high quality wool.  It took an average of 4 minutes to shear each sheep which is not  that bad considering the boys, Clayton our son and Luke our son-in-law, have only been shearing for 2 years!  After it was all said and done we packed around 650 pounds of good quality wool in the new homemade wool packing machine Fred and Clayton built.   The photo below does not do the machine justice but it works very well.

We are hoping to get around $350 dollars for the wool.  As always, we are sure thankful to have a couple of sheep shearers in the family. 

If anyone is interested in raising sheep and want a good breed like Rambouillet here are some reasons why we chose this particular breed.

Great adaptability to hot and cold climates and a variety of forage conditionsWill travel long distances to forageGood gains on grassExcellent foundation on a cross breeding programEwes are prolific, good milkers with strong maternal instinctExcellent wool productionSuperior out-of-season breeders suitable for an accelerated lambing programKnown as the “Dual Purpose” breed with excellent fleece and weight gainsEwes have less lambing difficulties with less death of offspring and ewe as a resultWell developed flocking instinct to band together in open areas               Easy to handle in yards, chutes and sorting facilities                                                                                                                                Resistance to internal parasites and diseaseBelow is a photo of the sheep after having been sheared.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

   

 

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Honey Corn Bread

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Callens Honey Farm

Here is a delicious recipe that our family uses as our morning cereal.  Serve it hot or cold with honey and milk.  It holds the kids appetite longer than the commercial cereals in town which are full of all kinds of additives:)   This also goes very will with your favorite chili as well as makes a great snack in between meals.  I am making the transition over to whole wheat and honey for most of our cooking and baking.

 Give it a try!

3 cups cornmeal

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 T. aluminum free baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 cups buttermilk or yogurt.   ( Note: whole milk works fine but is not as good!)

1/2 cup of melted butter

1/2 cup honey

3 eggs beaten

Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and mix well.  Next, combine buttermilk, butter, honey and eggs in a separate bowl.  Mix very well then add the wet ingredients into the large bowl of dry ingredients.  Don’t over mix.  Mix only  until it is just moistened.

Pour into 12 x 8 x 2 inch baking pan which has been greased and lightly floured.   Bake at 350 degrees.

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Honey, nature’s best sweetener.

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Callens Honey Farm

Only now are we getting back to what our mothers knew all along: that honey is a good natural sweetener, chock full of vitamins, minerals  and healthy enzymes.  In our modern times of over consuming over-refined foods, full of who knows what, honey is making a good come back.

Honey is one of the few foods that is totally natural.  It is made only by honeybees from nectar gathered from a variety of plants.  Because of these different flower varieties this clear, golden liquid will naturally vary in flavor, color and consistency.  Our honey is mostly clover and therefore very light.

You can substitute honey for sugar in your recipes.  Because honey is sweeter than table sugar,  you will need to reduce the amount called for  by 1/3 to 1/2 honey for granulated or table sugar.

When using honey you will need to reduce the liquid called for in baked goods by about 1/4.   

 To prevent your baked goods from becoming too brown reduce the oven temp  25 degrees F. 

 When you are baking with honey 12 ounces of honey is equal to 1 cup

Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda or each cup of honey you use in a recipe. 

Since it has the ability to absorb and retain moisture, honey is used in the industry to keep baked goods moist and fresh.

NOTE:  Honey should not be fed to infants under the age of one.

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