Sunday, June 14, 2015

Bees, Honey and Flappers by Margaret Ullrich - Bee's Knees Cocktail Recipe


Bees have been in the news lately.
They’re under attack from pesticides and pollution.
Not good for agriculture, and basically, life as we know it.
Yes, they are that important.

The Fort Garry Hotel, at 222 Broadway, is pressing the City of Winnipeg to change a bylaw that would let it house five bee hives on its rooftop this summer.
The hotel said it wants to bring more locally sourced honey to the Winnipeg market.
Right now, beekeeping is only allowed on agricultural land, the city said.


If you’d like to help save the bees, include some of these plants in your garden:
Herbs: 
lavender, catmint, sage, cilantro, thyme, fennel and borage
Perennials: 
crocus, buttercup, aster, hollyhocks, anemone, snowdrops and geranium
Annuals: 
calendula, sweet alyssum, poppy, sunflower, zinnia, cleome and heliotrope

Back to how to use honey…
It’s an ingredient in these recipes:


         (Honey or treacle rings, Maltese Style)



      (Christmas Honey Balls / Doughnuts)


    (Fried choux pastry with sweet ricotta filling and honey coating)

          or Valentine's Day Cream Puff Heart




Honey is also an ingredient in the Bee’s Knees cocktail, a gin, lemon and honey classic that dates back to the Prohibition era. 
Some say that the drink was created because the honey hid the odour and taste of the bathtub gin which was popular with the flappers during that time.

The phrase “bee’s knees” was prohibition-era slang for “the best.” 
Perfect name for the Bee's Knees Cocktail.


                        Bee's Knees Cocktail

Pour into a cocktail shaker filled with ice
2 ounces gin
1/2 to 3/4 ounce simple honey 1:1 syrup
1/2 to 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
Shake well.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with
lemon wedge or lemon twist


About the moon this week…
According to the Farmers Almanac:

On June 16 there will be a New Moon 10:05 a.m.  The Moon is also at its highest, but you won’t be able to see it.  Really.
On June 18 look to the west after the Sun sets to see the tiny waxing crescent Moon beneath the sky’s two brightest planets: Venus and Jupiter.

On June 21 The Sun will reach its farthest point north of the celestial equator. The Summer Solstice will happen. Summer begins!

On June 25 the waxing moon will pair up with Spica, the 15th brightest star in the sky.
On June 28 the waxing moon and Saturn will be very close together in the night sky.
On June 30 Venus and Jupiter will pair up in the western sky after the Sun sets.

Sounds like they’re going to party in the sky!

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