I’m all about dessert. In fact, anyone who asks me to bring a salad to a potluck misses out on my better efforts. My love of sweets is likely hereditary. My father could not finish a meal without asking about or eating dessert. I’d have to say ice cream was his favorite, as it is mine. So after a day out in the sun, pulling weeds and muscles, I sat down to a lazy dinner (tuna salad sandwich) and pondered the big question, “What was I going to have for dessert?”
I thought, well there’s nothing wrong with a bowl of vanilla ice cream. At that moment, the clouds parted (I swear I heard angels sing), and the sun lit up my jars of honey and an old peanut chopper on the counter — divine dessert intervention, no doubt.
Two scoops of vanilla ice cream later, and I forged ahead with the toppings at hand: homespun honey and Virginia peanuts. Upon contact, the honey solidified into a rich sticky toffee, perfect alone, but happier as a vehicle for some crunch. Chopped salted peanuts finished the crown of this confection, and before I could say Pooh Corner, my spoon was stuck in the middle of the opulent mess. Only three ingredients, and one of the best things I’ve ever eaten — the perfect combination of sweet, salty, creamy, crunchy and rich.
How to Make a Honey of a Dessert
Step one: Scoop up a bowl of your favorite vanilla ice cream.
Step two: Drizzle a generous spoonful or two of honey over the ice cream.
Step three: Add a tablespoon or two or three of chopped, salted peanuts.
Now for the floor show…
And just in case you need a little entertainment with your dessert, here’s a clip from my friend Heidi who caught me extracting some of the world’s best honey (in my humble opinion). A big thanks to her husband David for being my O-Bee-Wan Kenobi, and sharing his knowledge, equipment, and love of bees. As Thoureau once said, “The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.”
Oh, and one more thing, speaking of sweet things, my pal Eileen of Passions to Pastry takes desserts to a whole new level. Check out her blog for some seriously delicious inspiration.
“ ‘Well,’ said Pooh, ‘what I like best,’ and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Oh, that does sound like a good combo!
Just remember, though—all things in moderation. Maybe one scoop next time……
😀
Moderation, Sue? I’m unfamiliar with this word, please do explain. 😉
Great action post, Tom! Not as great as that peanut chopper O.M.G! Not seen anything like it.
Jacqui, I’m with on that. Love that nut chopper jar. They are still pretty easy to find in most antique malls, or some thrift shops. Also, works well with pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts.
😉
I probably had a big smile on my face reading about the ice cream + honey + salted peanuts. And then I got to the end… thank you!
Eileen, we were on the same page I believe, writing about gooey, nutty desserts. Yours looks amazingly decadent, can’t wait to try it.
It looks absolutely scrumptious! Sadly, our bees didn’t make it. But we’re trying again this year, with actual “treatment-free” stock and all the things we learned from last year’s efforts. So we shall see! Or should i say, we shall bee … 🙂
Barbara, I have two hives and sadly one did not make it. Oddly, that would be the one with all this honey leftover. The Italian honeybees don’t seem to fare well in our wet winters as the Carniolan honeybees do, which I have in the top bar hive. Keep up the good fight. I’ve been at this for ten years and I’m still a novice.
Interesting! Ours were Italian as well, but this year, we’re getting hybrid Russian/Carniolan’s. Fingers crossed!
Are you going to split the hive that survived? Try to catch a swarm? Purchase a nuc?
Hi Barbara, I’ll be prepared to split the hive should a swarm emerge from the top bar hive, but I am also going to purchase a nuc for the Langstroth hive. I’ve have an extra box available in case I get lucky and have to deal with both options. Here’s to honey on your plate!
Sounds like a great plan. Hopefully, we’ll both have better luck this year. 🙂
Tom, I have been following your blog for quite sometime. You are so interesting. I love reading about your charming house, farm, pies and of course your bulldogs. Thank you for sharing. Kelly from Birmingham, Al.
Hi Kelly, thank you for such a kind and generous comment. The best part of the blog for me is connecting with folks around the country and world. There are a lot a good eggs out there, and I’m so grateful to make their (and your) acquaintance. I follow a gentleman’s gardening blog from your neck of the woods, Chris of The Redneck Rosarian: https://redneckrosarian.wordpress.com/ You may know of him as he’s from Birmingham. Well wishes from the soggy northwest.
I want! I want!
I was a beekeeper for four years before I developed a dangerous allergy to bee venom. I miss the bees so much. On a day like today they would be all over gathering nectar and doing bee stuff!
PS – Tom, did you build your top bar yourself?
Hi Margaret, long time no hear from. So glad to read your comment, but sorry you’ve developed an allergy. I did not build the top-bar hive, my friend David did. He even put in a glass viewing door for fun. David is the bee whisperer and I’ve learned so much from him, though still not nearly enough to call myself proficient. Take care!
Uh oh, I can sense an ice cream-making session coming on. My sweetheart adores peanut anything, and any excuse to make ice cream gets him motivated. Love the video of you extracting honey. In our soon-to-be new house, I will no longer be able to keep chickens. Instead, I am setting my sights on a flock, er, a herd of bees! Maybe I too will get some honey. If not, I don’t really care, I have simply always loved bees and now excited about finally getting some for my own garden. bzzzzzzzzzzz
Hi Tom,
Glad to see that some of your bees survived. I don’t keep bees, but there is an active wild hive that is pollinating my plants like crazy. It seems to have survived one of the longest, coldest winters that North Louisiana has seen in a long time. Hope you see lots of sun soon. I sure do need to!
Carol
Tom,
Thanks for chiming in my blog about waffles, I’m glad you did, because now I can peruse your interesting blog entries. This dessert looks so fantastic, and so simple. I make something similar with greek yogurt, blueberries, maple syrup, and any kind of cereal on hand. Have a great day!
So great to meet you Dave, I’m practically living off of those waffles, they’re so good. Welcome!
[…] storage jar and it nut-chopper topper of tenacious tines. Simply turn the jar over a salad or a sundae and twist the turn-key to release a hailstorm of chopped nuts. I’ve managed to […]