Our article, No More Orange Juice With Breakfast, discussed the state of Florida's citrus trees regarding a currently incurable disease, citrus greening. If you have or are considering acquiring a citrus tree, click our Read More link for advice.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
Fear the Fritillary!
This caterpillar looks formidable with its spiky bristles, but the bristles are not the main reason that smart predators give the gulf fritillary wide berth. This little guy is poisonous! How did the gulf fritillary acquire such an arsenal? The old adage, "You are what you eat," provides the clue. The larval gulf fritillary eats passionflower vine (also known as "maypop") almost exclusively. And maypop is... poisonous. Learn more about the fritillary by clicking the Read More link below.No Bake Walnut Honey Granola Crumbles
Ingredients:
3 cups granola cereal
1/2 raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons cinnamon
|
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey*
1/4 cup butter
|
Preparation
- Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Mix rolled granola, cinnamon, and walnuts together in a large bowl
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; add brown sugar, and honey. Whisk until sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. Pour over oat mixture; stir to combine.
- Spread oat mixture into prepared baking dish. Press raisins into top. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
*Honey local to St. Johns County made by the St. Johns County
Beekeepers Association was used. 1-Pound
jars for $10 each are available at: the
University of Florida Extension Center, 3125 Agricultural Center Drive, St.
Augustine, FL (904) 209-0430
See more about honey at the Garden Club of Switzerland’s
Resources page: Honey: Making Good Use
of It.
Wild Sour Orange Marmalade Balls (no baking)
Ingredients:
12 oz package of vanilla wafers, finely crushed
16 oz package of confectioners sugar
6 oz frozen orange concentrate , thawed
2 oz wild sour orange marmalade*
½ c melted butter
1 cup coconut, shredded
Preparation:
Combine vanilla wafer crumbs, confectioners sugar, orange
juice concentrate, wild sour orange marmalade, and butter into a bowl and mix
well. Use a 1 ¼” scoop and shape into
small balls (rolling them between your palms) and coat each with the
coconut. Store in an airtight container
in the refrigerator.
One batch makes 70 balls.
Do NOT double the batch!
*Wild sour orange trees were introduced to Florida by the
Spanish. The tree is used as a rootstock
for other citrus hybrids, less suited to Florida’s soil. Sour orange is used in Cuban, Latin American,
and Caribbean cooking. The Seville orange variety is used in English-type
marmalades. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitter_orange
Wild sour orange marmalade, along with other marmalades at
$3 a jar, pickles, and other relishes made from local St. Johns County produce
is available for purchase at the University of Florida Extension Center, 3125
Agricultural Center Drive, St. Augustine, FL (904) 209-0430
Recipe courtesy of the Friends of the Agricultural Educational
Foundation.
Honey: Making Good Use of It
Honey is touted for its medicinal value as well as for its taste. It has some wonderful properties, but not all the claims made for it are true. And some individuals should NOT consume raw honey at all.
Too Young or Frail for Honey
Don't feed a baby raw honey - at least for the
first year. Honey can contain Clostridium botulinum spores. Infant botulism is
caused by consuming these spores, which then grow in the intestines and release
toxin.
The Centers for Disease Control, the American Academy of
Pediatrics and the National Honey Board recommend that you not give honey to
infants under the age of 12 months. Children over age 1 and healthy adults have
the mature digestive systems necessary to prevent botulism spores from
thriving.
To be on the safe side, pregnant women should refrain from
consuming honey while expecting, and if they nurse, until the baby is weaned. The same advice applies to bee pollen consumption. People with compromised or low immune systems should avoid
raw honey and bee pollen.
Honey
Benefits:
Raw honey is a natural source of minerals such as calcium,
iron and potassium as well as vitamin B complex. Pasteurized honey has been cooked to kill any
spores that in its “raw” state make honey an “iffy” sweetener for persons with
low immune systems. However, the
pasteurization process destroys the vitamins, which diminishes the health
benefits.
Raw honey is a source of carbohydrates, both glucose (for
instant energy) and fructose (providing slowly metabolized carbohydrates for
sustained energy). Any products
containing fructose or complex carbohydrates are healthier sources of energy
than pure glucose, such as refined sugar.
Some findings indicate that treating wounds with honey
dressings promoted healing, caused less tissue damage and reduced pain
associated with dressing changes. The
causal mechanism is not understood. More
study is needed to make a definitive assertion.
Honey and bee pollen have not shown any scientific evidence
of preventing or ameliorating allergies.
Talk to your doctor if you plan to eat honey (especially raw
honey) or bee pollen for medicinal purposes.
Sources:
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