The making of a gingerbread house

I feel like a slacker because I've not been very active with my beekeeping blog.  And this post is not going to be about bees except perhaps mentioned in passing. This post will be about making a gingerbread house with my family.

It all started with some ad on a website and I clicked on it.  It was a very cute gingerbread house that McCormicks had posted.  I remembered when my kids were little, I made a gingerbread house and thought I'd have a nervous breakdown as a result.  Everything seemed to go wrong with that house and I very much was looking for perfection.  While the kids loved it, I don't remember them helping to build it.  I must have started it while they were in school.  Not sure.

completed gingerbread house

So I sent the link to my daughter and we decided to make this one with the kids...they are 8 and 3 and I was hoping for a better result this time.

The making, cooking, assembling and decorating the house took 3 days because large chunks of time are needed between steps in the process.  The directions had to be read very carefully!  That is my advice to anyone who wants to build one of these things.  Read those directions....a lot of pertinent information was tucked into the end in a 'hints' section...so read it all before you start.

I started it by making the dough, created templates using cardboard from the pattern, and cut out the shapes and baked each piece...two fronts, two sides, and two roofs.

After they were cut out, they needed to sit for at least 1 hour to give the dough a chance to expand, (I believe that's why), before cooking.  After they were cooked and just slightly cooled, they needed to be trimmed again, using the template as a guide.  They do lose some shape after they are baked so this is a necessary step. 

You want to get the trimming done quickly because these pieces become so hard, you'd need to sand them down otherwise.  I used a pizza cutter while they were still soft.

The recipe recommended (at the end of their instructions which I almost missed) to pipe in the windows before you assemble the house.  It would have been very difficult to do from an upright angle, especially from someone not skilled in piping frosting such as myself.

The next step was assembling the pieces.  And the assembly needs several hours of drying time so I did this the day before decorating and let it sit overnight to dry.

Start with something they call "royal icing".  This icing gets real hard when it sets.  This is your glue.  I started with the front and side pieces and used a piping bag for the frosting and "glued" the fronts and sides at the corners.  Then this needed to sit for at least a few hours to dry.  (I let it sit for two hours.  Next time, I would double that time, or even let it sit overnight before going to the next step, which is to add the roof pieces)
I propped up the front and sides with various canned goods which were a great help.  Have them within reach before you start.

Gingerbread house propped up while frosting dries

Don't be skimpy with the frosting.  If the corners are not neat and pretty at this stage, don't worry...you will add piping over these corners in the decorating process.

So a few hours into the drying process, the 4 pieces were holding together nicely.  I tested to make sure it wasn't going to fall apart on me.  It seemed fine.  So I began adding the two roof pieces by gluing the peaks together and the top of the sides with a thick ribbon of frosting.  Then, as I was adjusting them into place, the sides fell apart.  I begin shaking.

gingerbread house ready for decorating

Somehow, I got it all put back together with more frosting.  I propped the roof pieces a bit, which the recipe didn't call for, but I wasn't about to take chances of having one, or both, slide off and break.  We needed to decorate it the next day.  So I let it sit overnight.  The recipe said for at least 3 hours.  I wanted it to have even more time to dry.

The next day, itt made the 5 mile trip from my house to theirs and now we're ready to get going on the decorating. Decorating began with making gingerbread cookies and other gingerbread pieces we might want to use on the house.  In the end, only a few of the cookies were used on the house...others were kept for eating.

Melissa adding piping to make the base for candy fence

Frosting piped around the edge provides a base for adding candy fence

gingerbread house front entrance using vanilla wafer cookies, licorice around front door and piece of candy for doorknob. Parchment paper under house is removed at the end.

Tristan thinking creative thoughts.  Also notice the gumdrop candy fence 

What was so fun about this project were how much the kids were involved.  They were participants for hours and I was surprised it held their attention that long.  Especially for the little one. Here they are sitting next to the finished gingerbread house and very proud of their work.  What will be interesting is how this house looks over the next month.  Already that front green marshmellow tree fell down (accidentally on purpose?) and has been eaten! But mother has more of the candy to replenish pieces that disappear over the next month.  It's all part of the fun.

Winterizing the beehive

Today is November 7th in Southern Vermont.  We have snow in the forecast for tonight so earlier today I tried to insulate my hives beyond the bales of hay surrounding three sides.

I bought a roll of tar paper, or roofing paper, and stapled it around it, leaving just the entrance uncovered.

Then, under the inner cover, I added a piece of foam insulation to hold in the heat.  Then, to channel any water from condensation  down and away from the bees, I tilted the top cover slightly so it would run off.

 I did the same thing for the small nuc hive and tucked it right next to the bigger one.  The bales of hay were put back into place.  Now I think I'm all set with them except periodically checking on food and brushing away any dead bees from the entrance.

Fondant for feeding bees

While I was in there, I replenished their food (the fondant) and brushed any dead bees away from the entrance on the large hive.
Notice how thick the fondant is. It stays this taffy-like consistency and the bees lick it off.

I also was going to remove the electric fence from around the hives, a seasonal remedy for bears.  I thought they must be in hibernation.  I was wrong.  My neighbor told me the bear visited their suet just a few days ago. So today, I need to get more batteries because I noticed there's no more charge.  I will take care of this today.

Now, a day later, there was no snow here at all.  I saw a few flakes this morning and that's all.  But I'm glad I got the hives set for the winter anyway.

I will get a wreath to decorate it for Christmas and probably leave it up until spring.

First frosts are a relief

Our first frost here in southern Vermont, at least at my house, was Friday night.  Sometime after midnight probably which really makes it October 13th.  And there was a frost the next night too. So gardens are pretty much gone.

In some ways, it's a relief.  Now I can clean out this year's garden remnants and start with a clean slate in the spring. 

The broccoli survived these two frosts.  As did the kale (no surprise there) and the chard.  Both were covered at night  because I want to eat them as long as possible.

The beeshives are now side by side and protected by bales of hay on three sides.  I will cover them with either plywood of a piece of tin roofing material.  And just hope they survive.

Fall activities for beekeepers and farmerettes

I remember someone in my past calling me a little farmerette.  I doubt it's even a word and should probably look it up. But some days, that's just how I feel.  Well, most days actually :).

Tonight it's going to get cold.  The coldest this season.  Down to around 40 degrees.  No frost yet, but it will feel like it's imminent.  Probably because it is.

I found myself wanting to pick a bunch of flowers, thinking they  may be my last fresh ones in the house this year.  I finally got out and have them on my dining room table.  I will miss their presence in my life over the winter. I dry some to give me some reminders of seasons past but we all know it's not the same!

Autumn does have it's own garden pleasures too...with orange bittersweet wreaths and gourds dressing up a shed or a front door. Pumpkins, fresh apples, indian corn. Mushrooms.  I'll be talking about  mushrooms in another post since I spend a little bit of almost every day hunting them at this time of year.

In the autumn, I rediscover meals like baked beans and biscuits,...last night's meal.  It'll be tonight's meal as well. I tried one of Alice Waters's recipes for pork chops.  So simple.  And so good.

Salt and pepper both sides of a pork chop
leave out for a few hours
Press fresh herb into the sides of the chops (I used rosemary sprigs)
Heat olive oil
fry for 5 minutes over medium heat
flip over and fry another 4 minutes on the other side
let stand for another 5 minutes

I found them to be perfectly done, a bit of au jus left in the pan, and still moist and juicy. Delicious.

Chops went very well with the beans and biscuits.

How to make fondant for feeding bees in the winter

I have decided to feed my bees over the winter in case there is not enough honey for them in the hive.

Certainly the little nuc box won't have enough honey so they need to be fed so I will feed both hives and hope they survive the winter.

My plan is to make fondant and I found a bee fondant on Youtube from DC Honeybees that I will try.  Here is the recipe based on that video.

4 cups water in 8 quart pot
Karo syrup (1/4 cup)
juice of 1/2 lemon
8 lbs of sugar

Add karo syrup and lemon juice to the boiling water
Add sugar to pot
Stir and cook until dissolved
Until mixture is 238 degrees (using candy thermometer)
Cool to 180 degrees without touching it at all

Transfer to mixing bowl on Kitchen Aid and begin mixing using wire whisk, low for 15 minutes, then high.
Run it on and off for several hours until it cools down. until it becomes translucent and gooey with the consistency of heavy icing or taffy.

This accomplishes these things:
1) helps to cool it
2) incorporates air to change structure
3) crystals begin to form and mixing it helps keep them small...again, to obtain correct consistency

Add cooled mixture to plastic container to store mixture using one gallon plastic container and let it cool to a consistency so that it won't run out when tipped upside down.

Put the plastic container on top of the top bars of the hive, tip it upside down, with newspaper under it...so bees will eat through it and get to the mixture.  Check to see if it's gone after a few weeks.

The outcome of making fondant

Here we are on October 7th and I finally did make the fondant above and placed it into the hives earlier today.

After rewatching DC Honeybee's video again, I saw a note that said turning the plastic container upside down didn't work out very well so he just put some of the fondant onto a paper plate and put it on the top of the top bars so the bees could get to it easily.  So that's what I did too.

I wasn't sure if I should also put on the inner hive cover now since I also removed the top hive feeder today.  The fondant will replace the sugar water I've been feeding them in that top hive feeder.

So I put it on and will hope for the best!

My fondant seemed to come out as described.  It had the texture of a thick taffy.  The bees were all over it immediately.  I'll check it in a week to see how they are doing. I'm anxious to see how long the fondant will last.  I didn't even use one-quarter of it today.  I would think this quantity would last at least a week and hopefully more.  We'll see.

Part of beekeeping is preparing beehives for winter - Part one

I'll call this post Part One because I'm sure I don't know enough about wintering over my beehives yet.  I still have some studying to do on that.  But last weekend, my friends at imaginethathoney@hotmail.com over in Swanzy, NH came to southern Vermont for our last class.  Wintering over was discussed and you need to prepare the bees for these cold winters here in the northeast.  Here are the steps I learned.

1.  Keep them warm (I will use bales of hay, with a 1 foot air around three sides of the hives and maybe a plywood or other roof).  I picked up 8 bales of hay and hope that will be enough to protect them. I have them in the hive area now, ready to be moved into place when the time is right.

 Move your hives close together to keep them warm.  Mine were only about 4 feet apart so I can move mine a foot or two a week until they are side by side.  I guess the bees get confused and not find their way to their hive if you move it too far too soon.

  Some folks make an insulated ring that slides over the hive (leaving an opening for air and an exit for bees)

2.  Provide the bees with an exit from the hive (they leave hive to go to the bathroom, even in winter)

3.  Plan for condensation that will accumulate inside the hive and if it drips on the bees, you have issues (this is the part I need to figure out as it was new to me). There are various ways to deal with this apparently. I'll get back to you on this part once I've looked at, and understand, the alternatives.

4.  If you have taken too much honey and have not left the bees enough for the winter, then you need to keep feeding them in the winter.  A few weeks ago, toward the end of August, I switched the bees sugar water to a thicker syrup, now two to one.  Two parts sugar to one part water.  On October 1st or so, I will stop supplying syrup.  At that time, it could freeze. So then I will switch to something called "fondant" which is a sugar patty, for lack of a better term, that you place on top of the frames in the hive and that takes the place of the sugar water.  I'll be looking for recipes over the coming days and try to make this fondant myself since I am not sure how much they will need to consume. More on that later.

5.  It's time to put on a mouse guard over the entrance to the hive.  As the weather turns colder, they'll be looking for a home so I believe mine will be going on very soon, if not this morning.  The mouse guard, if you recall looks like this image below with holes large enough for bees to enter and exit, but no mice.

6.  Periodically, I'll need to go to the hive during the winter to clear out any dead bees from the entrance.  Otherwise they could clog up the entrance and living bees wouldn't be able to get outside.

7.  Inspect the hive - I'll need to go in and clear out any comb built where it shouldn't be. And I need to get to the very bottom board to look for any mites, insects or mouse droppings.  I think I got the mouse guard up there before the mice are looking for warmth.  Plus, I have a greenhouse where mice like to nest. I'm prepared there with something to get rid of mice so if I had a choice, I'd rather they go into the greenhouse.
But, that being said, I really wish I didn't need to deal with mice and chipmunks at all!

Local honey from Southern Vermont in 2012

Here is the bottled honey crop this first beekeeping season.  I had been saving jars for some number of months and I thought I had plenty but used them all up quick enough. My grandson helped me bottle the honey and he was pulling them away and adding new ones pretty fast when that honey was flowing into them. Nice job T!  Then I pulled out canning jars too.

I guess I should start saving jars for next year's crop...thinking optimistically.

Next, I need to order beekeeping labels that indicate where the local honey was produced. I'll do this before giving as gifts. I have that order almost ready to place.

Local honey from southern Vermont in 2012

I also need to find more recipes that use honey in place of sugar, or just start by experimenting.  I did read that honey is sweeter than sugar by about 50 percent. So if the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sugar, I would try using 1/4 cup of honey and see how that works out.  I'll keep this blog informed as I try out some recipes over the coming fall/winter months.

Naturally the blog will change somewhat over these months but I will keep you up to date on bees too but there will be less activity with the bees.  But there is beeswax candles to make and get ready for gift-giving and food to prepare and lotion to make. I also have in mind to use some of my lavender flowers to make a few sachets from drawers...if I ever get to that. We'll see.  Stay tuned.