Smorgasbord Health Column – Cook from Scratch with Carol Taylor – Honey – Nectar of the Gods

Here are some wonderful recipes from Carol Taylor to ensure that you add beans regularly and their health benefits into your diet. This post is complementary to the current Food Therapy Honey

Honey, Nectar of the Gods.

What a brilliant post from Sally on the benefits of honey, there is nothing like locally produced raw honey if you can get it, if not buy the best honey you can either Manuka or Propolis honey, you will reap the benefits health and taste wise.

Where do I get my honey? Well my first bottle ……I was sitting on the beach with my sun downer…..fending off the ever-present sellers of touristy bits and bobs……when a man appeared carrying a very heavy-looking bucket ….what did he have…Well I had to look and what a surprise…it was fresh, very fresh honeycomb..and he strained the most glorious bottle of fresh honey…I just had to purchase it…the taste was so fresh and very slightly scented…amazing and a beautiful golden colour.

Just the thing to make some delish Honey, Coconut and Lemon Pancakes.

This recipe makes 5-6. Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup of coconut flour.
• 1 tbsp of honey.
• 1 cup of coconut milk.
• 8 eggs.
• 1/4 tsp of baking soda.
• Coconut oil or butter for frying, lemon wedges and extra honey to serve.

To prepare:

Place all of the pancake ingredients in a large bowl and combine well. Heat a frying pan on medium-high heat and add one teaspoon of coconut oil, covering the base of the pan while it melts. Add a large scoop of pancake batter into the frying pan and cook until the top of the pancake begins to bubble and has started to cook. Flip the pancake over and cook for a further 1-2 minutes or until the pancake has cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter then serve with a drizzle of honey and a lemon wedge for squeezing the juice over the pancakes.

And enjoy!

Now I have moved to the North of Thailand I get my honey straight from the comb…I am so lucky and I know that and it is beautiful.

I always take a little apple cider vinegar with a spoonful of honey in hot water first thing in the morning…on an empty tummy I have been taking it for a couple of years ..it is said to fight off joint inflammation and I don’t suffer from joint pain or anything…..

Almond and mixed nuts

Need a quick gift or a healthy snack then these almonds or mixed nuts are delicious and super easy to make. Just mix honey into some raw almonds or nuts of your choice and sprinkle them with sea salt. Bake for about 25minutes in the oven…You can even get creative with the spices…a little chilli or cinnamon….

Honey mixed with Dijon mustard makes a lovely glaze for BBQ meats. Or one of my favourites is ¾ cup of honey, 1 tbsp red chillies finely chopped, 1 tbsp green chillies finely chopped and 1 tbsp lime juice. Mix all together and leave for 1 hour in fridge it is then ready to use.

Another wonderful dip for a cold meat platter on a summer’s day…

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp oil,
• 3 garlic cloves chopped,
• 1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes,
• 1/3 cup honey,
• 2 tsp soy sauce,
• 2 tsp rice vinegar,
• ¼ to ½ cup water
• and 2 tsp cornstarch.

To prepare:

1. In a small bowl stir together the honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ¼ cup of water and the cornstarch.
2. Put the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat and let the mix warm up for about 30 seconds, add the garlic and cook until fragrant and just starting to colour, 15-20 seconds max.
3. Add the red pepper flakes and cook for another 15-30 seconds until garlic is very lightly browned.
4. Restir the honey mixture and pour into the saucepan, bring to a simmer stirring, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 mins stirring frequently.
5. Add more water if desired.

You now have a lovely dip for your cold platter.

What I also love is chilli infused honey… Place honey in a saucepan and warm until it reaches 180 degrees on a sugar thermometer. Watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn. Then pour your honey over a jar of chillies. Cool to room temperature.

Beautiful with meat or fish….

For a lovely honey, ginger and mint tea which not only tastes great but is full of health benefits as it is anti oxidant and anti flammatory.

• Take a 1 inch piece of fresh ginger and chop finely or grate.
• 2 cups of water
• The juice of 1 med lemon or lime about 3 tbsp
• 2 tbsp honey
• Mint leaves.

 

1. Bring the water to the boil and steep the ginger fro 10-15 minutes, add the honey and lemon juice then strain to catch the ginger bits although if I have grated the ginger then I leave it in. Add the mint.
2. Serve hot or cold …I like it chilled and keep a jug in the fridge.

Well, we can’t leave you without a cake to have with your elevenses or afternoon tea… Can we???

This lovely honey cake is beautiful and lasts for 4-5 days wrapped and stored in an airtight container.

I definitely need airtight and ant proof container here as those pesky little sugar ants get in the smallest of gaps they even get in unopened packets…grrrr

Honey Cake.

1. Oven 140C Fan/160C/Gas 3.
2. Grease and line a 20cm round loose bottomed cake tin.

Ingredients:

• 250 gm clear honey plus 2tbsp to glaze cake.
• 225 gm unsalted butter
• 100 gm raw cane sugar
• 3 large eggs beaten
• 300 gm unbleached SR flour

To prepare:

1. Cut the butter into pieces and put in a pan with the honey and the sugar once it has melted then increase the heat and bring to a rolling boil for 1 minute. Then leave to cool for 10- 15 minutes as you don’t want the eggs to scramble.
2. Once the mix has cooled down beat the eggs into the mix then add the mix to the sieved flour. Beat until smooth.
3. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes until well risen and golden brown. A skewer should come out clean.
4. Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and melt 2 tbsp of honey and brush the top of the cake with the melted honey.
5. Leave to cool.

Well that all for this week I hope you have enjoyed mine and Sally’s collaboration because we love doing it.

©Recipes Carol Taylor

If you love it then please share with your friends or reblog as we want to show as many people as we can that good, healthy food need not be expensive or hard to find it is just normal foods you can grow yourself or buy from your farmers market or local store.

My thanks to Carol for another fantastic array of foods that bring honey into the spotlight.

About Carol Taylor

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetables ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use have to improve our health and wellbeing.

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology:  Amazon US

Connect to Carol

Blog: Carol Cooks 2
Twitter: @CarolCooksTwo
Facebook: Carol Taylor