I found an interesting series of posts on Stefan’s Gourmet Blog about Understanding What Happens To Meat When You Cook It. I really like the experimental approach.
Even if you’re not doing sous vide cooking, I think there is some good information here.
My beekeeping “career” began 24 July 2015–and it looks as if it’s ending for this year slowly but surely. I’ll not be overwintering bees this year–short of something like a miracle which is almost certainly not going to happen. For a while I had two booming colonies–then found both (apparently) queenless. Even though it was late, I attempted to requeen both colonies. One didn’t take but on the last inspection of Salvia hive the queen 
cage was empty, and we did see some larvae on 16 October and LOTS of bees.
Over the last few days I had noticed that there was not much traffic in and out of the hive, which was rather ominous as the weather was warm enough that I expected to see more.
I opened that hive today and found very few bees, no larvae, eggs, or newly capped brood. That “new” queen was not in the hive. Much to my chagrin, there the “old” queen (blue dot) was trucking around the hive with the few remaining bees–but no eggs, no larvae, and population at a critical level–I’ll be dismantling that hive before long.
I am now a very frustrated beekeeper–I thought I had done a careful, thorough inspection before I introduced the new queen; however, obviously not careful enough. I’m not sure what should have done to be sure that the “old” queen was really absent from the hive. Had I seen her there with no eggs or brood, I’d (obviously even for my novice state) removed her. Now I can only assume that the new queen that I tried to introduce was killed, though the cage was completely empty of attendants as well as the queen.
It’s definitely been one of those things we call a “learning experience”–but although I’ll be looking forward to giving it another try in the spring, I’m totally bummed right now! Meanwhile, there is an almost full super of honey on that hive for me to deal with. while I spend the winter considering all the things I’ve learned so far!
Taking down a hive in the midst of robbing is not fun! I finally got everything except one hive body and two frames in and stored before I became a total wimp. The more I took away, the more the bees buzzed (definitely buzz, not hum) aggressively around what was left there–and the farther they followed me with my load of supers and frames. The followed me all the way back to the screened door of my deck even with the frames shaken and brushed before they were put into a closed plastic bin–The one you see in the photograph.
Despite vigorous shaking, thumping, and brushing I still got a few bees onto the back porch where I was bagging the supers and frames so the doors are closed (and Frankie can’t go out so he is having a bad hair day).
When I finally wussed out about those last frames, no amount of shaking, bumping, or brushing was getting them remotely clear of bees–being the wimp that I am I gave up on that and decided that those could simply stay outside until the bees had cleaned all the honey from them because when I got to the screen door to go inside I realized that I had a LOT of bees on me. Despite all the bees following me, I had to take off the bee suit outside. I did that quickly and dashed inside and closed the screen door on them.
As I started to write I heard least one honey bee that has been carried into the house buzzing frantically at the office window. (I actually found two.) The old cup-and-paper trick works pretty well. If you’re really persistent you can get more than one bee in the cup at a time. There are still a bunch on the back porch–too many for that trick.
All the supers and frames are now sealed up so that honey bees can’t get to them. so they are congregating in the sunshine on the screen, trying to get out. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to address this issue–except sweep up the dead bees tomorrow–or whenever–since these are not going to be house pets and there are too many to catch and put back outside. There are also honey bees outside the screened back porch trying to get in. I hope those ladies will depart and not come back tomorrow.
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My big mistake on this whole process was sleeping through my alarm–this would have been much easier much earlier while it was cooler very early in the morning. Since I wussed out on those last frames and body, I guess I’ll make sure I don’t oversleep in the morning and finish the job.
There didn’t seem to be much robbing going on at Salvia yet. I have to wonder if those “foreign” bees will switch their attention to Salvia when there is less for them to attend to at what was Rosmarinus. There was no way to get a robbing screen on this morning after my sleep-in–that was another thing I had intended to do. I’ve got the entrance reduced and it is still a strong colony. Fingers crossed–and up much earlier tomorrow morning!
With Matthew approaching NC–or not so much–I’m still relieved to have the new queens tucked into the hives. This was not an experience that I really, really wanted right 
now, but it was just thrust upon me.
As noted on my inspection on the 3rd of the month, I found both hives to be queenless–for unknown reasons. I suppose it was a little consolation to know that a couple other beekeepers in the area had found the same thing. The big question for me was what to do. While some beekeepers seem to swear by re-queening hives in the fall I thought this was a bit late to be a really good time to put in new queens. But not to do that was to condemn both hives. Not what a beekeeper likes to do.
After deliberation and contemplation, I called my local bee store (Bailey Bee Supply) to see if they still had queens. No such luck although I wasn’t surprised–as I said I don’t think beekeepers are doing much “re-queening” at this time of year unless it’s a necessity. Without local queens, I ordered two new queens from Rossman Apiaries (recommended by my local bee store).
The day started cool and sunny and my box of bees arrived late morning. So far so good. I lit the smoker (and it actually did stay lit for even longer than necessary) and headed for the hives with my little white box.
The ladies of the hive Rosmarinus were not particularly pleased to have me tearing off the roof, ripping up the ceiling, and generally messing about especially as this entailed as much shifting of brood boxes and supers to be sure I put the new queen in the optimal locations. While I was moving everything about I did all the shuffling necessary for preparing the hives for winter. (Note optimism here–I’m hoping this is successful and I’ll have this hive next spring.) The new queen in her little cage with attendants was inserted between two frames in what I hope will be a brood box.
If you’re wondering–the queen bees are put into the hive in the cage to protect her until the workers of the hive accept her as the queen. Bees are not necessarily kind so the queen and the colony need to get used to each other–you can’t just pop a new queen into a colony of thousands of worker bees or she is likely to be killed. The white that you see at one of the queen cages is candy (sugar). Yep, sweet stuff that bees will eat. The worker bees of the hive will gradually eat away the candy to expose an opening through which the queen can emerge into the hive and (I hope) do her thing! That whole process will take several days and during that time she will be secreting “queen pheromone” and (with luck) the hive will adopt her and take good care of her–and continue getting ready for winter.
This same process was repeated with hive Salvia–but by this time it was overcast, breezier–not prime time to skulk amongst the ladies. These ladies were just a tad bit testier than usual but their hive is now also shuffled for winter as well as having a new queen “installed”. Makes her sound a bit like software, doesn’t it?
Now my anxious waiting starts–to see if the ladies of the hive and the new queens accept each other. The waiting is not going to be easy–I’m anxious and curious because this will make the difference in having bees and not having bees.
Now battening down the hatches and hives. Although it looks as if Matthew may miss us it still looks as if we are in for rain for the next several days. I’m much relieved that the new queen bees are in the hives–those little travel cages were not meant for long-term residence.
Cool weather inspires cooking! Something warm and cozy–confit as a “pantry” staple for a starting point for multiple dishes. With the weather a bit up in the air I decided to make something that would give me lots of possibilities even if Matthew decides to visit.
Confit was originally made as a method of preserving meat–often duck or goose, but it’s a method that can be applied to other meats, fish, and seafood–e.g. tuna which I love for summer salads and cold meals but it’s a great starting place for cool-weather meals too. The traditional method is to poach meat in fat (oil) at low temperatures which yields meat that is intense in flavor, and absolutely luscious in texture. If you’re wondering, it’s NOT greasy! The Science of Cooking addresses many of the questions often asked about confit.
With cool weather here I decided to opt for my favorite meat–pork–and to try a slightly different method of achieving the end results. This inspiration sprang from finding country-style spare ribs on special at my local Harris Teeter market. Since the weather wasn’t quite cool enough for me to want to have the oven on for hours, I decided to use the my multi-function pot in slow-cooking mode to make pork confit.
Since country-style spare ribs have a lot of fat on them I decided that I didn’t need to submerge them in oil–the fat would render from them as they cooked in the slow-cooker. From experiments when I was trying to do monk fish sous vide, I knew that the slow-cooker mode would keep the temperature at 185ºF. Most confit recipes suggest temperatures between about 190ºF and 200ºF. I thought 185ºF would be workable (especially since the confit will be refrigerated after cooking) but will be covered with the rendered pork fat.
I took my country-style spare ribs and salted them liberally over night–e.g. “dry brine”, then rinsed, and patted them dry. Because of the fattiness of this cut, I added only a couple s tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of the cooker and packed in the meat. I didn’t add seasoning other than the previous salting so I have a flavorful (but kind of “blank” canvas) to build other dishes. I set the cooker for eight hours and went on to do other things–like hive inspections.
The liquid which (intensely flavored broth/gelatin) was separated from the fat that was rendered and will ultimately make its way into soup or as “au jus” with the confit. The meat is now tucked away in the fridge sealed in the fat. Since this was originally a method of preserving meat, now with the addition of refrigeration, there is a long shelf-life if you separate the broth/gelatin liquid from the fat and then “seal” the meat in the fat. Old method, but useful in modern cooking.
This cooking method works with any meat–a favorite in this household is confit made with chicken (especially leg quarters or thighs). I think that this fall as “turkey” season rolls around I will try to find thighs to cook this way. It might improve my attitude toward turkey given the flavor and texture changes that result from the confit process.
The result? Absolutely as good as if I had done it in the oven though requiring less added fat than I would have added for that method. Enough fat rendered to submerge the meat about three-quarters of the way up the sides. Even without additional seasonings the meat is luscious immediately after cooking–pure unadulterated pork flavor.
What’s on the menu for supper? Well, I’m thinking cabbage steak (done under the broiler) with pork confit that has been quickly reheated and browned (also under the broiler) but with the tahini sauce replaced with the juice from the confit process.
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I seem to be on a honey kick. A friend just sent me this link about Israeli honey that I though was interesting. From Tablet magazine Keeping the Honey in the Land of Milk and Honey.
If you’re curious about varietal lavender honey here is a post you should read–from HoneyBeeSuite.com. I’ve never had any except the French and some that I believe is from the Pacific Northwest. Love both–though I have some other likes, too, I think lavender is an all-time favorite.
I know I’ve been missing–I’m back now. I’ve just finished an BIG indexing project that was horrendously complicated by software and file difficulties and thus expanded to consume all possible time.
In the process the kitchen is a disaster–my eating has consisted either of going out (simply to get away from the computer and out of the house) or simply grazing. Needless to say, that kind of eating has made it’s mark when I step on the scales. Now it’s time for me to get back to cooking like the Always Hungry? meal plan calls for. It’s depressing when I realize how much I slipped cooking that at least kept in the spirit of the plan.
But…time to get things back on track. The one thing I did do during this work time was to modify the cabbage casserole from the Always Hungry? plan to work in the slow cooker. Took a bit of doing, but the final dish tasted just as good. I’ll update that in a couple days. Meanwhile I’m just having a lazy Sunday to recuperate from the work schedule.
The hives are quiet–I think mostly the ladies are hanging out at the feeders as there’s not much blooming right now. Goldenrod is anticipated but it’s hot and dry. I need to go for a walk on the Third Fork Trail to see what is happening there since I’m sure my bees make it that far to forage. Judging from the rate the sugar syrup disappears there’s not much coming into the hive.
It’s about time for me to do another inspection but I can’t do mite treatment right now because of the heat, and I doubt that there’s been an increase in food stores yet, so I’ve put it off (and hoping for some cooler weather to don the bee suit since the ladies were so testy last inspection).
I did make a trip to the bee store (Bailey Bee Supply) to get some jars for the honey that will go on display at the state fair (No, not the little bear ones). As I was driving along looking at the roadside I did see a tiny bit of yellow showing on the tips of the goldenrod as I approached Hillsborough–but not around the Durham area; certainly no asters yet.
Now…must go buy more sugar!
‘Tis the season to feed the bees–at least until the goldenrod and asters start blooming. 
I’ve been hearing comments from other beekeepers about starving bees. After inspecting the hives last time I decided it was time to start feeding the ladies until the dearth ends–and keeping the feeders filled until the autumn flow begins.
I put 1:1 sugar syrup feeders on both hives. After my sticky mishap when I was starting my first colony, I’ve found that my preferred feeding method is quart Ball/Mason jars with lids that have a number of small holes punched in them. They sit in a frame on top of the inner cover of the hive, covered with an empty “super”. The great thing about this method of feeding is that the bees cannot get into the upper chamber so the beekeeper can check food and replace as needed without using smoke or putting on protective gear.
This system works so nicely–quart jars are easier to handle than gallon buckets, and it’s really easy to raise the telescoping top and see how much the ladies have imbibed–IF the beekeeper has done what the beekeeper should do. If not, well disaster awaits.
When I went back to check the feeders on hive Rosemarinus I got a real surprise–I had noted in last hive report that because of the weather and the dearth the ladies were a bit testier than usual, but I wasn’t expecting to encounter bees in the chamber with the feeders so no suit or smoke needed. WRONG! Surprise!
When I approached the hive I heard more buzzing (not humming) from the super just below the feeders. Had I been really paying attention that should have warned me that something was amok. But no, I just blithely popped the cover off the feeding box–and then ran like–well, like I had a lot of bees chasing me! The feeder area was full of bees and they didn’t like my intrusion at all.
After making my escape into the house and taking Benadryl to counteract the stings that I had gotten, catching the bees that had ridden into the house on me and putting them back outside, I lit my smoker, suited up, and went back to the hive to find out why I got that nasty surprise.
I think most beekeeping problems are, like most computer problems, human error. This one certainly was. This beekeeper had made two errors. First, because the ladies were so irritable when I placed the feeder I did it quickly. My quickness resulted in that feeder frame not sitting flush on the inner cover, so bees that would normally only have access to the underside of the frame could bet into the box around the feeders. But those should have been MY bees and since they really couldn’t get syrup from there, should really have been a big deal.
But my other BIG beekeeper boo-boo was that I forgot to close the external entrance to where the quart jars lived (that was fixed, too). Neither the canted frame nor the external upper entrance would (by themselves) have been such a nasty surprise. By my doing both at the same time, I managed to create a nasty situation for both the ladies of the hive and for myself–robbing. (This was not robbing that would have been prevented by the screens.)
The bees in that were in with the quart jars were able to bet under the feeder frame and get to the syrup–as were my bees coming up out of the lower part of the hive. Fortunately, Rosmarinus is a good strong colony and was able to defend the honey super–that’s why I was hearing the major buzzing from the box just below the feeder, but because of needing to defend the hive, they were very testy! (Can’t say that I blame them at all.) I think most of the attacking bees came from the robbers that I disturbed.
After I set the feeder frame properly (with the help of some smoke) that batch of bees dispersed–and not in the direction of my hive (making me even more sure that I had some robbing going on). My ladies were still royally PO’d though.
Refilling the feeders today went well–without smoking or bee suit. Despite heat, humidity, and dearth both hives were nice and calm–no bees where there should not have been bees. The beekeeper has learned a lesson from this–keep my brain in gear, go slowly, pay attention to what sounds I hear from the hive, and check that I have done what I think I’ve done!
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a-single-serving.com 