Have you noticed? The flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing. And the sweet taste of honey is a delicious reminder of Spring. 

 

It amazes us how honey can enhance the flavor of a dish...and not just sweets. Here are some of our favorite honey-infused products and a few recipes to help awaken Spring!

  

Let's begin with our favorite honeys. It is worth keeping a few varieties on hand, so you can experience the distinctions in flavor. 

 

Fleur de France Chestnut Flower Honey--The flower of the Chestnut tree is one of the most popular honeys of the 21 century. Darker in color and with stronger flavors, it's is just what the lonely heart needs.

 

 

BeeRaw Varietal Honey--This is honey as nature created it-raw, real, and from the single floral source near the hives. The bees gather nectar and create a honey that is the essence of that flower. Humans just put it in the jar. 

 

Branches Wildflower Honeys--They seek out distinctive California flora which produce honeys that have the qualities in aroma, taste, texture and color reflective of their particular species of flower

 

Bay Area Bee Company Honeycomb--San Francisco based, harvesting local honey in small batches, hand-managed hives with no use of chemicals. This attention and care makes some delicious honeycomb!

 

To drink... 

Hey Honey Artisan Lemonade--A sippin' kind of lemonade, decadently sweetened with pure raw honey, and plenty of it. 

 

Crispin Honey Crisp Hard Cider--A small batch, hand crafted, super-premium hard apple cider smoothed with real organic honey for a rich, creamy, full-bodied crisp taste. Smooth over ice.

 

To enhance your dishes...

Stonewall Kitchen Honey Barbecue Sauce--Adds just the right amount of sweet, smoky zest to barbecued meats. Use it as a glaze for meats or poultry, or add it to homemade baked beans for a delicious kick.  

 

Olivier Orange Honey Grilling Sauce--This amazing sauce is great for grilling barbecued chicken, pork, ribs or oysters. A staff favorite. 

 

Terrapin Ridge Ginger Miso & Honey Salad Dressing--Young ginger, sweet carrot, honey, and a rich white miso create a perfectly balanced salad dressing. Wonderful as a base for stir fry or as a dipping sauce for sushi and egg rolls.

 

And don't forget the sweets!

Noci Bella Walnut Terrazzo--Please your taste buds. Hand made from California's finest walnuts, with a little honey, maple syrup and sea salt to create this super luxury food. 

 

Honeymoon Ice Cream Southern Pecan--Handcrafted in Mill Valley using farm-raised, grass-fed Jersey milk, fresh seasonal ingredients, and packaged in a freezer safe, re-useable mason jar.

Vendor of the Month 

Caggiano Sausage

 

Delicious hot off the barbecue grill!

 

Visit our butcher depart­ment for some of the finest, local sausages avail­able. The Caggiano Company ­specializes in fresh sausages made from naturally-raised pork and chicken, and always fresh, locally-grown herbs.

 

Some of our staff favorites are: Chicken Italian, Black Olive, Chicken Curry, Tequila Habanero, and Andouille Sausage. Read More...

 

 

They Call Me...'Tater Salad

 

My mom had her birthday over the weekend, so we celebrated at my house with one of her (and my) favorite dinners: Baby Back Ribs, Coleslaw, Corn­bread, Beans and Potato Salad. Oh! And don't forget the coconut cup­cakes...again, Mom's favorite. My sister and I split the cooking duties, and I admit we may have gone a little crazy-but we had a couple good excuses.

 

The best excuse was Mom's birthday. So, why not? The other excuse? My sister and I are trying to cook as many dishes for our next Cook­book Club dinner as we can and we had a captive audience. So again, why not?

 

The required book this time around is any­thing written by The Bare­foot Contessa, Ina Garten. She has a number of cook­books, and most of her recipes can be found on foodnetwork.com. Her cooking is approach­able, uncomplicated, and always tasty. For Mom's Birthday BBQ, the beans, potato salad and the cup­cakes were all Ina recipes.

 

Read the rest of the article and get the recipe...