Zucchini muffins with honey

Zucchini Muffins with Honey

So… here’s a muffin recipe that worked out wonderfully using no sugar, JUST HONEY (following the tips I’ve put on the Hunter Honey website).

I like to mix things up a bit by using a combination of zucchini and carrots – it’s more colourful and adds another vegetable flavour!  I use about half grated zucchini and half grated carrots, totally 3 cups.  Recipe doubles nicely!

INGREDIENTS

·       2 eggs

·       1 c. pure, unpasteurized HONEY

·       2 tsps. vanilla

·       3 cups grated fresh zucchini (or mix with carrot)

·       2/3 c. melted butter

·       1 ½ c. unbleached white flour

·       1 ½ c. whole wheat flour

·       2 ½ tsps. soda

·       pinch salt

·       2 tsps. cinnamon

·       ½ tsp. nutmeg

·       1 c. walnuts (optional)

·       1 c. dried cranberries, fresh or thawed frozen cherries (cup up), fresh or thawed frozen blueberries … (optional)

·       ¾ c. unsweetened grated coconut (optional)

DIRECTIONS

·       PREHEAT OVEN TO 325 F.

·       Mix together all the dry ingredients and set aside

·       In a large bowl, beat eggs.

·       Beat in honey and vanilla

·       Add grated zucchini and stir

·       Stir the dry ingredients into the honey mixture just until combined

·       Stir in walnuts, fruit and coconut (if using)

·       Fill lined muffin cups almost to overflowing.

·       Makes 12 muffins.

·       Bake for 25-30 mins.

·       Let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing.

·       Let cool completely before storing or icing

OPTIONAL ICING: Mix ½ block of cream cheese with 2 T. butter and drizzle honey in bowl to desired sweetness, continuing to beat until creamy.  Cool in fridge before icing the completely cooled muffins.  FREEZES WELL.

Extraction

Clamps go onto the frame to pull it out of the super.  It's full of honey and HEAVY!

Bees are gently swept and blown off the honey-filled frame to store it and transport it for extraction.

A super full of honey-frames is ready to be uncapped.

A hot knife cuts the capping off to let the honey flow out when it spins.

Frames sit like this, in the extractor.

When all the frames are in (this extractor holds ten), the lid is put on and the spinning starts.

It's SO COOL!!


















The spinning action pulls the honey out of the comb and onto the sides of the extractor where it drips down....

And comes out into a big tray.


After passing through a number of filters, the honey is packaged and ready for you to enjoy!

Bee Rescue

The bees are located in a fallen tree.  They need to be moved to save them.

Cuts are made around the location of the hive.

A piece of wild comb is removed from the tree and installed into a frame.

Wild comb in the tree hive.

Bees are gently brushed from the tree-hive into the super.

The super is left overnight to have the colony establish themselves into the super.

Poppy Pollinator

Fun Facts

• Honey bees fly at 12.9 km/hour - empty, and 9.7 - 14.5 kms/hour - loaded with nectar or pollen 

• Each bee (except for the queen) during honey season, lives for only about 6 weeks. Within this short lifetime, she will fly approximately 800 kms.

• To make 68 kg. of honey, it takes the equivalent of 13 round trips to the moon!