Rosemary Infused Honey

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 I 've been busy as a bee the past couple of weeks preparing for opening day of the farmers market that I manage here in my home town. It takes months of work, hundreds of phone calls, and thousands of emails to get the farmers market ready for business each year. I helped build our local farmers market from the ground up. It took well over a year of planning just to get it off the ground. Last summer was our first season. It was so gratifying to see those tents go up and the people in our community line up to buy fresh produce from our local farmers. I feel very strongly that we need to support our local growers and think more locally when it comes to eating.
Having a year of experience under our belts, made planning and executing this years market a little easier. The best part, for me, of managing the market is getting to know so many of our local farmers and producers. They are a wonderful hardworking and independent group of people. I look forward to seeing them each week and love buying what they've grown. It's so nice to have a face attached to the food your eating. 
The Beekeepers Association has a booth at our market. Each week different beekeepers run the booth and bring along the honey they've collected from their bees. They encourage their customers to sample the different honey. It's amazing how the honey for one grower tastes completely different from that of another grower. Their hives may be only a few miles apart, yet have a completely different taste and color.
I can't help myself, I always buy too much at the market. I end up having to freeze, or can, or throw a party, to use up everything I've bought each week. I decided, since I had quite a bit of honey, I'd try infusing some of it with herbs and see what happened. I went with rosemary this time because I think that rosemary and honey are a terrific combo and because I have the world's largest rosemary bush. Seriously, it's like some mutant plant or something. Anyway, I used the quick method of infusing my honey. With the slower method, you don't heat the honey at all. The herbs slowly over time infuse the honey with their flavor. The honey has a longer shelf life if you use this method, but I'm too impatient to wait several weeks for the honey to be infused! So I used the quick method. It's quite easy and I loved the end result. Rosemary is perfect with honey. I've already used this honey in so many things: salad dressing, drizzled over cheese, on fresh fruit, and in my marinades. It would be perfect in place of regular honey in the grilled figs I made here.

Quick method for infusing honey with rosemary

1 cup honey (such as clover honey)
a good sized handful of rosemary

Place honey in a double boiler with water in bottom. Squeeze rosemary
leaves to release flavor and add to honey. Bring water to a boil; bring
honey to 185°F and keep at 185°F for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and
let stand for 10 minutes. Strain while still warm. Strain into a clean glass jar.
Makes 1 cup. Store in the refrigerator. Honey should be good for several months.
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Stop by your local farmers market and pick up some local honey and infuse some for yourself.
P.S. Infused honey would make a great gift.

Honey Shortbread

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I love shortbread cookies. All that flaky buttery goodness. What could be better? Well how about shortbread with a toffee-like layer on top and just a hint of saltiness? Oh yeah it's really good and super easy to make as well. The honey melts into the top of the shortbread and kind of caramelizes on the top. Paired with the salt and the buttery shortbread...in short (pun intended) yum!
Honey Shortbread
Nonstick cooking spray
7-1/2 oz. (1-2/3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
6 oz. (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. kosher salt (I used gray sea-salt)

Spray a 9-1/2-inch tart pan with removable bottom with cooking spray.

In a food processor, briefly pulse the flour and sugar. Add the butter and pulse until incorporated and the mixture is sandy and uniform. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan with your fingers. There will be some loose crumbs around the edges, but most of the dough should be solid and compact. Refrigerate until chilled, least 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Using the tines of a fork, dock the dough evenly all over. Bake the shortbread until golden in the center, 40 to 45 minutes.

Heat the honey in the microwave until warm and liquid but not boiling, about 10 seconds. Pour the honey over the shortbread and spread with a pastry brush over the entire surface. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the honey. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 3 minutes more.

Transfer the pan to a rack and let the shortbread cool slightly, about 15 minutes. While still warm, remove the tart pan ring and cut the shortbread into 12 wedges with a sharp knife. Cool completely before serving or storing. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.
Source: Fine Cooking
October 23, 2008