Homemade Honey Food

HOMEMADE HONEY

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring water, sugar and alum to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.
• Take off heat.
• Rinse off blossoms in strainer and drain well (be sure not to leave any green parts on blossoms or honey will be wild or grassy tasting).
• Stir in blossoms and steep for 3 hours.
• Remove flowers, strain through cheesecloth if necessary.
• Reheat to a boil, then pour into jars and seal.

HONEY CORNBREAD MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Into a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the whole milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.
• Place muffin paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.

HOMEMADE HONEY MUSTARD DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Whisk the mayonnaise, honey Dijon mustard, yellow mustard and lemon juice together.

HONEY-MUSTARD DRESSING

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the mustard, honey, vinegar, and salt. Gradually whisk in the oil to make a creamy dressing. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.

HONEY BUTTER

Steps:

• Cut the butter into chunks using the dough scraper.
• Place butter into the mixer?s work bowl and beat at low speed, using the whisk attachment to loosen the butter. Increase the speed to medium and add the honey, cinnamon, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove butter from bowl and spoon onto parchment paper or plastic wrap. Roll into a log and refrigerate for 2 hours.

HONEY BUNS

Steps:

• Whisk ⅓ cup (40 g) bread flour and ¾ cup water in a small saucepan until combined. Set over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened to a runny paste, 1-2 minutes. Transfer tangzhong to a small bowl and chill, uncovered, until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• Whisk 2 Tbsp. whole or nonfat dry milk powder, 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, 2 tsp. instant yeast, and remaining 4¾ cups (570 g) bread flour in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined. Whisk 1 large egg, room temperature, 1 cup whole milk, room temperature, and 2 Tbsp. honey in a medium bowl until combined; add to dry ingredients along with tangzhong and 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 4 pieces.
• Fit bowl onto stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment and mix on low speed, stopping motor and scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until a shaggy dough comes together around hook, 12-14 minutes. Increase mixer speed to medium-low and mix until dough springs back when you poke it, 7-9 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky but should slap and clean the sides of bowl.) Remove bowl from mixer and scrape dough from hook into bowl.
• Lightly coat a large bowl with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Transfer dough to bowl and lightly coat top of dough with nonstick spray. Cover with plastic wrap and chill dough at least 4 hours and up to 1 day. (Dough should double in size; the longer it ferments, the more flavor it will develop.)
• Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (packed; 100 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, 2 Tbsp. honey, 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon, ½ tsp. vanilla paste or vanilla extract, and a pinch of kosher salt in a medium bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Spoon filling into a pastry bag or a 1-qt. resealable plastic bag. Set aside at room temperature.
• Do ahead: Filling can be made 1 day ahead; chill in pastry bag. Bring to room temperature before using.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; dust top with flour. Using your hands, gently press and stretch dough to an 11x9" rectangle, then slice dough into nine 1" strips (alternatively, weigh out nine 135 g pieces). Using moderate pressure, roll each piece into a 30" rope, dusting surface with more flour (as little as possible) to prevent sticking if needed. Let rest 5 minutes.
• Pat down each rope with your palms to flatten until about ¾" wide. Make sure filling is soft and pliable but not melted; if using a resealable plastic bag, snip off one corner to make a ¼-½" opening. Pipe a thin strip of filling down the center of each flattened dough rope. Working one at a time, roll up each rope to create a spiral, then lay down on surface and tuck end underneath bun to finish. The buns should be a slightly domed, but gently push centers in to keep in line with the rest of the bun (if it sticks out too far, it can burn).
• Arrange buns on a large parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, spacing ½" apart. (You should be able to fit all 9 buns on the baking sheet; you want to give them just enough space so they proof into one another slightly.) Cover buns loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let sit at room temperature until almost doubled in size, 75-90 minutes.
• Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 450°. Bake buns 10 minutes. Rotate baking sheet and continue to bake until buns are golden brown on top, 6-8 minutes (Some filling will seep out onto baking sheet-that's okay). Let cool 5 minutes.
• While the buns are cooling, vigorously whisk 2 oz. cream cheese, room temperature, 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature, ¼ cup honey, ½ tsp. ground cinnamon, ½ tsp. vanilla paste or vanilla extract, and a pinch of kosher salt in a medium bowl to combine. Sift in ¼ cup (28 g) powdered sugar and whisk to incorporate.
• Generously brush buns with icing (it will melt when it hits the warm buns), then sprinkle lightly with 1 Tbsp. bee pollen, crushed to a powder, if desired.

HUMMINGBIRD FOOD

Steps:

• Bring the water to a boil.
• Take the water off the heat and add the sugar.
• Stir to dissolve completely.
• Let the nectar cool.
• Place in a clean hummingbird feeder and hang outside for the birds.
• Note:.
• Change the food at least every three to five days with a new batch to keep it fresh. Remember don't use food coloring.
• Check the bird feeder regularly and every time you change the food to see if any gray mold has formed inside the feeder base, or, any ants have crawled inside to get at the sugar water.
• If you see any take the feeder down and throw the bird food away. It's not good for the birds to drink this. Chances are they won't drink it anyway.
• Clean the hummingbird feeder by rinsing with warm water. Then, put a few drops of bleach into the water inside the feeder and clean with a bottle brush.
• Once clean, rinse thoroughly with fresh water and let dry.
• Fill up with new food and place outside.
• The birds will love you for it!

HOMEMADE HONEY MUSTARD

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.
• Stirring constantly, boil until thick-- this happens very quickly.
• Pour into a sterilized jar or even a clean tupperware container and store in refrigerator-- has a long life.
• Triple this recipe to fill five 1/2-cup size jars, like baby food jars.
• Makes a great gift!

HOT HONEY

Steps:

• Combine honey, vinegar, red pepper flakes, thyme, smoked paprika, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature so flavors infuse, about 30 minutes. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

HOMEMADE HONEY GRAHAMS

Steps:

• Whisk together first 8 ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly. In another bowl, whisk together honey and water; gradually add to dry ingredients, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; cover and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to an 8-in. square. Using a knife or fluted pastry wheel, cut each into sixteen 2-in. squares. If desired, prick holes with a fork. Place 1 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. , Bake until edges are light brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

HOMEMADE HONEY OAT BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the flour, oats, yeast, and salt.
• In a small bowl, or two cup (450 ml) measuring cup, warm the milk so that it's hot enough to melt the butter, but not boiling. Add the butter, stirring until melted, then stir in the water and honey.
• Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, mixing with a dough hook until it just comes together to form a dough. Knead in the mixer, with the dough hook attachment, for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic (if you're making this recipe by hand, the dough will be very sticky at first; flour your hands and work surface generously and be patient). If the dough is still very wet and sticky after 5 minutes of kneading, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is barely tacky. If the dough is too dry, add water, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) at a time, to soften it up.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled, about 1/2 to 1 hour.
• Once doubled, place the dough on a clean, dry work surface. If the dough is too sticky, lightly flour the surface before continuing. With your fingers, flatten the dough into a 9 by 12-inch rectangle. Tightly roll the dough, tucking the ends as needed, into a loaf. Place the shaped dough into a 9×5-inch loaf pan, cover with a clean dry towl, and allow to rise until doubled, about 1/2 to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Place an empty loaf pan on the bottom rack of the oven and bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
• When the loaf is doubled again, brush the top with the warmed honey and sprinkle with the oats.
• Place the bread in the oven and pour the boiling water into the empty loaf pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the bread is deep golden brown and the internal temperature is about 190 degrees.
• Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.

HOMEMADE HONEY GARLIC SAUCE

Steps:

• mix above ingredients.
• add cornstarch if you desire a thicker sauce. Heat until thickened.
• serve with stirfry's, meat dishes, etc.