Hi all…..

Just wanted to drop a quick note to let you  know about the Regina and District Bee Club that I belong to.  If anyone out there in the Regina Area is interested in Beekeeping and wants to learn more, a great starting place is the Club.  We recently hosted a Field Day at our farm for the Club.  We had great weather (believe or not) and a great turn out of beekeepers and non-beekeepers/beginners who had an interest in starting a hive or two.   We had honey taste tests,  some “bee trivia”, a longest smoker contest, and opened a hive to check out the bees.  It was lots of fun!

The club has recently lauched a website, and is also sending out quarterly newsletters to it’s members.  Cost to join is $25.00 annually.   

Check it out….and join the fun!

www.reginabeeclub.ca

Location:

Zee Bee Honey is located just outside Regina, Saskatchewan.

Shipping/Pick-up Instructions:

Pick-Up:  Arrangements can be made to pick-up your orders at the local farmers’ markets that we participate in.  (We accept only cash or cheque on site at Markets)

Regina Farmers’ Market:

Dates:              May 1, 2010 – October 9, 2010

Time:               Wednesdays and Saturdays

9:30am – 1:30pm

Location:         1900 Smith Street   (Beside City Hall)

                        Regina, Saskatchewan

Cityview Farmers’ Market:

Dates:              June 11, 2010 – August 27, 2010

Time:               3:00pm – 6:00pm

                        Friday

Location:         Behind the Ice House Restaurant

                        White City/Emerald Park, Saskatchewan

Shipping:  Shipping options will be determined on an individual order basis.  We can ship almost all of our products.  (You pay the shipping costs)    Postage will be determined individually for each order and will be included on your invoice.

Before we were involved in the Honey Industry….I had no idea what Mead was!   For those of you in the same boat as me…I’ve pasted the definition from good old Wikipedia below:     

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mead (pronounced /ˈmiːd/) is an alcoholic beverage, made from honey and water via fermentation with yeast. Its alcoholic content may range from that of a mild ale to that of a strong wine. It may be still, carbonated, or sparkling; it may be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet. Mead is often referred to as “honey wine.”[1]

Depending on local traditions and specific recipes, it may be brewed with spices, fruits, or grain mash. It may be produced by fermentation of honey with grain mash;[2] mead may also be flavored with hops[3] to produce a bitter, beer-like flavor.

Mead is independently multicultural. It is known from many sources of ancient history throughout Europe, Africa and Asia, although archaeological evidence of it is ambiguous.[4]Its origins are lost in prehistory; “it can be regarded as the ancestor of all fermented drinks,” Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat has observed, “antedating the cultivation of the soil.”[5] Claude Lévi-Strauss makes a case for the invention of mead as a marker of the passage “from nature to culture.”[6]

At Zee-Bee we have sold alot of honey to Mead makers over the past few years, and because Mead-Makers are a very generous lot…..some of them have given us a sample of the finished project to taste.   Mmmmmmm!   We have tasted some that was carbonated, another that was fruity and sweet.   Fun to try new things!   Every year I plan to make some and it never gets done!  Maybe this year!!!!    I know where to go if  I need help.   I have recently learned about a great club located in Regina - ’ Ale & Lager Enthusiasts of Saskatchewan’  or ALES        (www.alesclub.com)     I believe they meet at Bushwakker Brew Pub (2206 Dewdney Ave)    Hmmmmmm!         Sounds interesting!

I am excited to announce that some of my customers have entered their homemade Mead….(made with Zee-Bee Honey of course) into the  ALES Homebrew Open Contest, and the results have been GREAT!

Our friend Kevin Bedel won a Silver Medal in 2007, and a Gold and Silver in 2008

Our friend Paul Compton won a Silver Medal this year for his “Big Bad Cyser”     (Cyser is a blend of honey and apple juice fermented together) 

Congratulations on your wins !    So nice when hard work pays off! 

Best of luck to all you future Mead Makers….including me!  Who knows maybe we will compete against each other some day!             

Cheers!

Hi everyone!

Guess what….summer is coming!  With summer comes the “Outdoor Farmers’ Market”!     Hooray!

Regina Farmers’ Market has had to change locations for the 2010 summer season.  Since there will be construction happening in downtown Regina this summer,  the Market’s Scarth Street home is now unavailable!!  The Market has moved to the 1900 blocks of Smith Street and McIntyre Street’s.  (Surrounding City Hall)  Outdoor Markets open May 1st., and will be open for business every Saturday and Wednesday thereafter  9:30 – 1:30!  We hope you can find the time to pop down for some fresh baking, jams, crafts, hot house tomatoes, peppers and yummy cucumbers, pies, perogies, beef, chicken, wild boar, jewellery, wool products, lefsa, pickles…….and of course honey!    If you enjoy buying local and eating fresh……you will have come to the right place!     See ya soon!

1 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup bran
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup plain yogurt or sour milk

1/2 cup liquid honey

2 beatten eggs
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 cup whole wheat  flour
3/4 cup ground flax seed
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup Saskatoon berries – Frozen or Fresh  (I used frozen….from our own tree’s…..Mmmmm)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In large bowl, combine oats, bran, salt, cinnamon and sour milk or yogurt. Mix well and let stand 10 minutes.
Add honey, eggs and oil. Mix well.
In another bowl, combine whole wheat flour, ground flax seed, baking powder and baking soda. Add to oat mixture and stir just until moistened then stir in Saskatoon berries.
Line muffin tins with paper, or spray with non-stick cooking spray, then fill to approximately 3/4 full.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5- 10  minutes.        Enjoy!

P.S.  Substitute your favorite fruit for the Saskatoon’s….eg..   apples (cut in chunks), raisins, raspberries, blueberries

Crumb Topping:
1 cup Flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup softened margarine or butter

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Stir in the softened butter with fork.  Mixture should be crumbly.  Set aside.

 Muffins:
1 3/4 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup liquid honey
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanila
1 1/2 cups pitted cherries (I used our own home grown sour cherries)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Blend flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a large bowl. In a seperate bowl whisk honey, eggs, oil until combined. Beat in the milk and vanilla, and add the flour mixture, mixing until smooth. Fold in the cherries and chocolate chips. Do not over mix.

Spoon the batter into muffin tins lined with paper. Fill approximately 3/4 full, then top each muffin with a tablespoon of the crumb topping mix.

Bake in preheated – 350 Degree Oven – for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let muffins cool in pan before removing.

Makes approximately 20 delicious muffins!    Enjoy!