Summer market dates

Posted: 05/4/13 9:06 PM

Summer is upon us, and Mellifera Bees will be out and about at various markets. Come say hello!

JUNE
14th-Beggars Banquet
22nd-Kerrisdale farmer’s market

JULY
6th-Kerrisdale farmer’s market
6th-(new) China Town night market
20th-Dundarave village market
20th-China Town night market
27th-28th Maple Ridge-Pitt meadows Country fest ( educational honey bee display)
27th-China Town night market

AUGUST
10th-Dundarave village market

SEPTEMBER
14th- UBC farm market (pending approval)

OCTOBER

5th- Kerrisdale farmer’s market

my mentor, Dale

Many Thanks to my amazing Mentor, Dale Dubberley

Posted: 04/17/13 10:43 AM

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I recently completed a 6 months one-on-one mentor-ship program through the Women’s enterprise center. They paired me up with the very generous  Dale Dubberley, based on her vast business experience including restaurant & packaged foods Thai away home and her newest venture Drive,  an online business analysis tool for small business owners. From the first meeting with Dale I was constantly learning from her suggestions and based on her recommendations surely avoided making costly mistakes. I’m appreciative of Dale for offering her time and knowledge to me, and look forward to the day when I have enough experience behind me that I can give back the invaluable gift I received to a young entrprenure. Thanks Dale, you are the best!

Neighbours

Posted: 04/16/13 7:44 PM

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As Mr. Rogers would say “Won’t you please, Please won’t you be my neighbour?” Via Lululemon Lab

MELISSA CARTWRIGHT

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Mellifera Bees

From Beekeeping to shoe design, to historical costuming, Melissa Cartwright is a woman of many talents. We have recently fallen in love with her creative entrepaneural spirit and want to share with just how wonderful she is.

We asked her 10 questions about their work, likes and inspirations.

1- How did you begin your career in design? 
I was the kid that was given used gift wrapping, toilet paper rolls and twist ties to add to my overflowing “materials bin’. I loved creating and making stuff. Once I learned how to sew I’d make outfits for my sister ranging from bathing suits to figure skating costumes, which she gracefully wore. It seems natural that I would go to art school where I learnt the fundamentals for a career in art & design. I’ve worked in costumes shops, as a shoe designer and most recently on my beekeeping & honey venture.
2- What inspires your creative process?
Most things in the creative field; Architecture, fashion, art, product design. Ideas and stories, seeing things from a new point of view. Falling asleep in the sunshine!
3- How do you see your work evolving in the next 5 years?
Lately I’ve been day dreaming of a Mellifera tea & honey Cafe.
 
4- How does the Vancouver culture and lifestyle inspire or effect your work? 
I love being able to put down my work and meet a friend for a walk, or swim.
My work goes parallels the weather sometimes a lazy sunny day other times a torrential downpour.
5- Whats your style? 
Comfortable and unique, often with a lot of colour. I love garments that are hand made and one of a kind.
6- Artist you admire? 
 I admire the creative people in my everyday life but I also love Alexander McQueen, Gaudi, Bjork, Daphnes Guinness, Tilda Swinton, among many others.
7- Favorite place to travel and why?
Hmm, I’m not sure if I’ve found my favorite place yet, but I love Barcelona and Buenos Aires as far as cities go. I’m always searching for a quiet warm beach to take nap on.
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8- What are you reading?
I have a half finished book in every room of my house mainly ‘how-to’ books, but next to me at the moment is Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Blink’. In addition I have 2 magazines in rotation including one on beekeeping plus one outlining ’100 new scientific discoveries’.
Listening to?
The knife, Rosin Murphy, Amalia Rodriguez
9- Last meal before you die and who would it be with?
Ice cream sundaes with Freddie Mercury.
10- Where will you go from here?
Outside for walk, its a beautiful day out there!

Hip eateries breath new life into Chinatown via the Globe & Mail

Posted: 04/9/13 10:39 AM

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There’s been a whole lot of media chit-chat about the new vibe of Vancouver’s old Chinatown. Are the hipsters ruining or saving this storied neighbourhood?

I can’t speak to the longboard shops. But I can tell you that many of these gentrifying restaurants and food purveyors are exactly the kind of boutique establishments that I really wish I could find in my own West End neck of the woods.

After a recent crawl through the fringes of Chinatown, I came up with this curated list representing the best of the new bunch. Although it doesn’t include The Union, a fun, casual pan-Asian restaurant that I’ve previously reviewed, I do suggest you either begin or end your crawl with a rooster shooter from its bar. This sweet shot of coconut rum with a chaser of apple juice, orgeat, calamansi and chili water makes a great sipper, too.

Harvest Community Foods

243 Union St., 604-682-8851. Harvestunion.ca

Who knew public democracy could taste as mouth-watering as Harvest’s fatty pork-shoulder ramen bedecked with candied bacon? This tiny grocery and noodle counter began as a community project 18 months ago, when owner Michael Leung canvassed the neighbourhood and held a vote to determine the use and name of the 600-square-foot space. Now leased by Andrea Carlson (former executive chef at Bishop’s and proprietor of the coming Burdock & Co. restaurant), the shop is stocked with locally made products (Sapadilla’s plant-derived household cleaners), artisan foods (Beta5 chocolates, Mellifera Bees cardamom-infused honey, puttanesca Sugo Sauce) and requested staples (almond milk, canned tomatoes, etc.). Fresh produce can be purchased à la carte or packaged into bi-weekly Community Supported Agriculture shares that include organic fruit and vegetables from local farms, grains, heirloom legumes and cool surprises (a recipe for nettle-hazelnut pesto was tucked into last week’s box). Go for the excellent ramen. But don’t leave without a scoop, or jar, of Earnest salted caramel ice cream. It’s decadently creamy.

The Parker

237 Union St., 604-779-3804. Theparkervancouver.com

A new addition to Vancouver’s blossoming vegetarian restaurant scene, the Parker punches above its size (20 seats) while keeping its waste weight astonishingly low (about one pound a month). The lack of trash is achieved by sourcing seasonal products from local farmers without any throwaway packaging. Truth be told, there’s probably no room to store any additional garbage. The open kitchen is a 60-square-foot corner nook that looks like a prep station at the end of the bar. Working within such narrow quarters, chef/owner Jason Leizert produces some surprisingly voluptuous small plates for his daily changing menu – velvety chickpea fritters; zingy Brussels sprouts garnished with walnuts, onions and crème fraiche; and a moan-inducing carrot cake slathered with salty butterscotch. Co-owner Steve Da Cruz (they worked together at Corner Suite Bistro De Luxe) shakes up masterfully meaty cocktails. Do try the Precious Twin (tequila and quince purée with pumpkin seed dust rimming the glass). The familiar plywood and mirrored decor, which often looks cold and unfinished in larger spaces, feels warm and cozy here. Great for date nights.

East of Main Cafe

223 East Georgia St., 604-899-2777. Eastofmaincafe.com

This isn’t the best Mediterranean tapas fare in town. The tomato-cucumber fattoush salad could use more sour tanginess to brighten its toasted flatbread. The Moroccan lamb meatballs in spicy tomato sauce are just a wee bit dense. But this high-ceilinged loft space is such a lovely little spot in which to lean back and watch a flock of origami paper cranes drifting above the bar. The classic cocktail and craft beer offerings compare to some of the city’s better known boîtes. And the restaurant, owned by sisters Maureen Webb and Donalda Weaver, has a great raison d’être. All proceeds go toward supporting the sisters’ other local venture, Project Limelight, a non-profit society that offers free theatre arts programs for youth who live in the Downtown Eastside. Bravo.

The Pie Shoppe

721 Gore St., 604-338-6646. Thepieshoppe.ca

There’s no such thing as too much pie. At this adorable cubbyhole, pie is the only item, other than coffee, on the menu. The niche selection doesn’t make it any easier to choose from classic apple, chocolate pecan, blackberry-apple and the wonderfully tart raspberry rhubarb. Flaky crusted and sprinkled with sugar, the fresh pies (sold whole or by the slice) are baked daily by owners Stephanie and Andrea French. The two sisters also own Panoramic Roasting Company. Their small-batch single origin coffee, roasted at a rooftop studio in Kitsilano, is brewed to order in single cups by Aeropress or manual pour-over. Get there early. The shop opens at 11 a.m. and closes when the pies run out.

ALEXANDRA GILL for the Globe and Mail

Apis Melipona (a stingless honey bee!)

Posted: 03/21/13 1:35 AM

After years of saying I was going to, I finally did it, I booked a holiday and flew south to Mexico for some sun, beach and bees. Before heading to Mexico my friend, Angalina did some research into where we could go see honey bees on our vacation and came across the amazing Apis Melipona, which are different than ‘Apis Mellifera’, the European honey bee I keep in Vancouver. 

Melipona bees vary from the European honey bee in multiple ways; they are about half the size, they are all black, and most notably are sting-less! Upon learning this we made it our mission to find some honey from these fantastic bees. As we moved around the Yucatan peninsula we bough honey from local vendors, mostly in unlabeled containers like water bottles, and while every jar felt like a victory it was not the special honey of the Mayan Melipona bees.

The Mayans used to keep these sting-less bees (or at least a variety of them, there are hundreds of species) and called them “Xunan kab”, literally meaning “royal lady”. The bees were, and still are kept in logs held horizontally to the ground. The hollow log houses the bees with the brood (eggs & larvae) in the center and honey production towards the capped over ends. There are still a few Mayan folk that keep bees in this way and they sell the honey at a higher rate than usual honey, as this bee produces much less on an annual basis than could be expected from the Honey bees I tend to.

One day Angalina and I on route to some Cenotes, stopped to check the air in the tire of our bike. A man walked up and puled out a small plastic jar of this honey! We couldn’t believe our luck! We had so many questions but as luck would have it his primary language was Mayan, and Spanish, the second for all made for a colourful conversation. We managed to figure out that he and his father were the beekeepers and kept the bees further down the peninsula in the jungle. Over the moon, we continued onwards only to stop again to be offered new Melipona honey , this time from a woman beekeeper. After 3 weeks of looking we had now, in the span of 20 minutes found 2 opportunities to buy!

Later,as we pulled ourselves out of the Cenotes I noticed a small black insect about to land on Angalina, my heart jumped! Could it be she? I moved in closer to look. YES! there was a tiny little bee, just like mine at home but miniature and black. As we looked around at flowers we noticed more and more, there must be a hive near by! So off we went, limited Spanish phrases in hand to find the home of these bees. We were lucky enough to find a generous grounds keeper willing to take us to the wild hive he knew of a short walk away. How neat it was to see these tiny dark bees flying in and out of the hole of a dead and hollow tree. He told us they had been in that location for years. We were on a roll, 2 jars of honey plus seeing the bees in the wild! Sadly that was the only day neither of us brought a camera. Instead the light bodied, sweet, fruity &slightly minty Melipona honey was our lasting impression.

(photo borrowed from here)

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Enjoying my last jar of Lavender infused honey

Posted: 01/20/13 3:57 PM

Last summer I made some ‘Lavender infused honey’ with locally grown lavender. I opened my last jar and made a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Organic crunchy peanut butter, lavender infused honey on locally made sour-dough bread, delicious! The down side? I now have to wait until when lavender is back in bloom for more!

How do you eat your Mellifera honey? Tell us on the Face Book page

 

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Dandelion honey

Posted: 01/15/13 3:33 PM

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I recently came across some Dandelion honey cultivated from blossoms on New Zealand’s south island. A very unusual honey, smooth and buttery in texture like a creamed honey. This golden ochre coloured treat has a rich, pungent and rather bitter quality with undertones of coffee. It has a certain astringent aftertaste, while maintaining a balanced sweetness.

Like other strong honeys, for example a Chestnut honey, try pairing it with a soft, ripened cheese like Roquefort. Here’s a canapé recipe I think would be delicious topped with a pearl of Dandelion honey. Pair with a bold red wine such as Bordeaux, Meritage, or if you are up for it, Port. This Blackberry port from Starling Lane winery, on Vancouver Island is out-of-control delicious!

Dandelions, while often seen as weeds are important to the bees as they make up one of the first nectar flows of Spring. The large amount of this blossom allows the bees to stock pile nectar to feed to the expanding population in the hive, which will buzz about through the summer months helping further pollination. Save your self the bother of weeding them out of your lawn and let the bees feed away on their rich nectar.

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Mellifera in Where.ca

Posted: 12/31/12 1:22 PM

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Here’s a little write up in the food section of the Dec issue of ‘Where. ca, Canada’s travel planner’

 

 

 

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Wine, Cheese, Meat & Honey. Some pairing suggestions

Posted: 12/27/12 5:52 PM

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Mid July of last summer Mellifera in partnership with Salt tasting room presented an evening of honey tasting. There were 6 pairings of wine, honey, cheese and meats. 4 of the honeys were produced by Mellifera along side a Chestnut honey from France and a Macadamia honey from Hawaii. The evening was a sold out success, and since we had to turn more than a handful of folks away, I thought I’d share some of the parings here, in case you feel so inclined to create your own at home version.

Pairing A)
Mellifera Lemon infused honey
sip Baillie-Grohman, Pinot Gris 2011
nibble Toma Cheese

Pairing B)
Mellifera Vanilla Infused honey
sip Cedar Creek, Chardonnay 2009
nibble on Aged Mahon cheese

Pairing C)
Mellifera Cardamom Infused honey
sip Koyle, Carmenere 2009
nibble on thinly sliced Coppa di Zibello