Why Bees, Travel and Food?

Greetings Blogworld!

I think I set up a blog spot a while ago but then I forgot about it. Now I have a theme: Bees, Travel and Food. Other stuff will certainly appear on this blog with some hope that I will keep it going. Remind me to Blog.

From a serious viewpoint, I am an entomologist who works with honey bees and beekeepers—just which of these organisms is the more interesting creature to study will be a topic of future discussion. I have a book publishing business and I write for myself and for two trade journals serving beekeepers. However, I refuse to be All Bees, All the Time. There are other sides to my personal universe that need to be explored.

The travel is a part of speaking to beekeepers and putting on training events, often with bees. I like to teach new beekeepers. I like to teach beekeeping teachers. I like to teach beekeepers how to make queen honey bees and to breed honey bees. Lately that has become more interesting to more people, and I am happy to see that. Visiting different parts of the country is a benefit or curse of this teaching, depending on my mood. Most of the time I like to get out on the road and travel.

The Food part is part of all our lives. For me this blog is an excuse to dig out a manuscript I purchased at least twenty years ago. It is a revision of the first honey cookbook every written in the United States (as far as I can determine), and was published by a major book publisher. It is time to get this book out and share it with folks, and I decided that one of the focus points would be to print recipes here and ask for responses to them.

Here is my first recipe posting:

Soft Gingerbread

1 teaspoon each of cinnamon,nutmeg, cloves, baking powder and baking soda

3/4 cup boiling water

3/4 cup molasses

3/4 cup granulated honey (I am sure liquid will work just as well)

3/4 cup sifted flour

Mix all ingredients together. Beat 2 minutes or 300 strokes. Bake in 350 degree F oven and serve with honey-sweetened baked apple and cream. Freezes well.

—Juliette Elkon Hammelcourt, The Honey Cookbook.

The recipe does not indicate what shape pan to bake this in: cake pan, bread pan or in a flat pan. I guess we are just to know what to use! It does not say how long to bake this either, so you better watch it carefully or it may burn around the edges with all that honey inside.

Let me know if this is a thumbs up or thumbs down. I hope it is good and you enjoy it.