Honey – Francois et Moi

The Great Labor Day Honey Harvest

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 13:44:47 +0000

Honey bees are quite the extraordinary creatures, and we’re reminded just how extraordinary they really are each Labor Day, as we, the Francois Family, gather down in Manchester, Iowa to harvest the pure and sweet overflow honey from my beekeeping father-in-law’s 7 hives. A weekend I look forward to all summer long! After one honey harvest under my belt, check out last year’s harvest here, I felt as if I had a solid understanding of the amazing process: the bee colony teamwork, the formation of the honeycomb, and the transformation from flower nectar to honey, but I couldn’t help but find myself a little star struck again this year by the honey bee’s handy work. It’s just so cool, you guys, the way these self-sustaining, micro bee metropolises transform wildflower nectar into a healthy overflow of decadently sweet, non-perishable, all-natural honey! In case you’re not familiar with how honey bee hives operate, here’s a little on their M.O.: Each colony, which consists of about 50K-60K bees (a queen bee, 3000 male drone bees and 50K female worker bees), work together in tandem to produce honey (their food source) by gathering nectar from flowers and mixing it with enzymes in their […]

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Pink Grapefruit Sno Cones

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 13:31:45 +0000

It’s been HOT HOT HOT here the past few days, so I’ve been doing all I can to embrace the heat and not shut all the windows and screen doors to pump the A/C. Afterall, isn’t this the season we wait all year to arrive? In an effort to stay cool, I decided to juice and freeze the citrus we had in the house, and make grapefruit sno cones. Essentially it’s granita, a flavored frozen juice, but in the dead of summer why not serve it as sno cones? Two ingredients and you’re on your way to a cool summer treat! Ingredients: 4 ripe red grapefruit at room temperature 2 tablespoons honey (more or less to taste). Juicer (optional) Shallow glass dish with cover. Plastic wrap will also do. Cone-shaped water cups Prismacolor markers (for the watercolor effect) 1. Cut grapefruit in half, and juice all four either with a juicer or simply by squeezing the heck out of the grapefruit. Grapefruit is easiest to juice when it’s at room temperature. 2. Run the juice through a strainer to remove most of the seeds, pulp and pith from the juice. It’s difficult to remove everything–just do your best. 3. Thoroughly […]

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Happy (Labor Day) Weekend!

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 12:05:23 +0000

Lately, I’ve been working on some bigger DIY projects , new marketing strategies for Francois et Moi and also trying to relish every last moment left in summer. So of course something’s got to give and thus I’ve temporarily lightened my posting schedule to three times a week and am feeling pretty darn guilty about it. I love the daily posting schedule, and will get back to it in September, but right now it’s gotten to be overwhelming especially with a full-time day job. Thanks for stickin’ with me during this growing moment for F&M! And with that note, Happy Friday and Labor Day weekend! What are your plans?! Heading to the cabin? Relaxing at home? I’m pretty excited; we’re headed to Ken’s Family Farm for their annual honey harvest. My father-in-law is a hobby bee keeper, so we’ll be extracting and bottling honey and scheming up all kinds of creative ways to use it! Herb infused honey, beeswax candles, Bit O’ Honey Candy, uffda! the possibilities are endless! Do you have a favorite recipe involving honey? Please share! Have a wonderful Holiday weekend however you plan to spend it! Photo via Kinfolk.

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Homemade: Bit O’Honey

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:05:08 +0000

Ever since my father-in-law began bee keeping at their farm 3 years ago (and producing honey by the gallons), Ken’s family has been trying new recipes like crazy to find ways to incorporate their honey surplus. Over Easter, Ken’s Grandma Ruth made a homemade batch of Bit O’Honey candies and brought them to the farm for everyone to try. They were so delicious, chewy like taffy, creamy and sweet (and relatively sinless as sweets go!) Lucky for us Grandma Ruth was willing to share her recipe. Hope you enjoy! Ingredients: 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup powdered milk parchment paper 1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. Place peanut butter and honey in a microwave safe bowl and heat in the microwave at 20 second intervals, stirring in between intervals. 3., Once the peanut butter and honey are combined, stir in powdered milk, and heat for 10 more seconds. 4. Press mixture onto prepared baking sheet, and let cool. 5. When cool, cut into 1/2″ to 1″ pieces, and wrap with parchment cut into 2″ x 3″ rectangles.

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Sunday Morning Sweets

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 14:22:36 +0000

I love checking out new food establishments–although now that I’ve said it out loud (on here), this statement seems like a pretty obvious one; I mean who doesn’t? From farm to table start-ups to food trucks to sweet locally owned bakeries, us Minneapolites are pretty lucky to have such a burgeoning food scene on our hands. It seems like we hear of a new place opening almost monthly, and I’m always excited to go check each one out. Most recently, bakery/coffeeshop, Honey and Rye Bakehouse, started by two Minnesotan women, opened it’s doors in our neighborhood, so my hubby and I stopped over on Sunday morning to see what they’re all about. We were greeted with a friendly smile by one of the owners as we arrived, and I’m pretty sure I let out a squeal of delight when I saw the cake stand loaded with buttery croissants before me. They also had a gorgeous array of fresh-from-the-oven cinnamon rolls, muffins, quiches, cookies, and artisanal breads made with locally sourced ingredients. Ken chose the cinnamon roll and we both swooned as we discovered the icing was actually more of a whipped cream cheese frosting–yum! This sweet, bustling cafe was furnished in a vintage-modern, […]

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