August Newsletter

You  might notice that odd September date looming over the August Newsletter!  Ooops, I guess I let Back to School season wreck my nice schedule.  I hope you will all join us for the contest and as always, don't forget to bring a side dish or dessert to share with the other members.

Alamo Area Beekeepers Association

Next meeting:  Tuesday September 17, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.

At Helotes Independent Baptist Church

15335 Orange Tower Road

Helotes, TX 78023

Alamo Area Beekeepers Association

Rules for September 2013 Contest

By

Don Fraser, VP AABA

The AABA has a honey, wax and photo judging contest each September.  There are several goals: education and good fellowship.  The AABA is fortunate to have members who are both very knowledgeable about honey, wax and photo bee competitions and have achieved success at both the local (AABA) and state Texas Beekeeper Association (TBA) level.  Both new and more experienced beekeepers who choose to enter the contest will gain valuable insight into how the honey, wax and photo contests are run at the state level each November at the TBA meeting.

If you plan to enter the TBA contest in November please follow the TBA guidelines.  For the past few years the AABA has followed modified guidelines with respect to the honey and wax contests in order to have a larger number of contestants.

Do not place any identifying marks, name tags etc on the honey jars, wax or photos.  Place your honey, wax and photos in a container (box, folder etc) and hand that container to the person handling the contest entries.  She/he will place an identifying tag on your entry and take it back to the judging area.

Honey Contest

Our goal is to educate and to have fun. Please provide a 1 lb sample of your honey in a clear (non- colored) glass jar. The jar may be of any shape/size…if you have less than 1 lb of honey to submit for the contest that is okay since we are using modified AABA rules. 

The judges will evaluate all contestant entries and divide the honey contest entries into one or more categories (depending on the number of entries). Please make sure

that you honey is filtered (points will be deducted for bee body parts) and that you have a very clean bottle with no finger print smuges. Do not place any writing or other identification on your contest entry. All honey entries must have been produced by the contest entrants’ personal beehive during the 2013 season. The honey

judges will provide a brief overview of the process that they use to evaluate the honey.

Award winners will be recognized during the September 2013 AABA meeting.

In order to aid our judges experienced AABA beekeepers are encouraged to provide samples (current or prior year’s honey) in one or more of the following TBA honey judging categories that were used for the 2012 TBA contest: Water White, Extra White, White, Light White Amber, Amber, Chunk Comb, Square Section, Round Section and Creamed). The honey samples in the nine TBA categories will be used by the judges to help educate the less experienced AABA members. 

Wax Contest

New beekeepers may not have 2 lbs of wax to submit for the contest. Therefore, we will judge any and all wax entries. The wax may be any shape or size. Do not place any writing or other identification on your contest entry. The wax judges will provide a brief overview of the process that they use to evaluate the wax. Award winners will be recognized during the September 2013 AABA meeting. Note: For those who wish to enter the November 2013 TBA contest, the TBA has four categories for beeswax: 2lb block natural, 2 lb block bleached, candles – tapers (one pair molded, dipped or rolled) and craft (carved, molded, rolled, painted, decorated, coated). Block entries (flat bottom of at least 24 square inches and depth of at least 1 inch).

Photo Contest (6 classes):

Historical emphasizes beekeeping in the past. There are no restrictions on formats. 

Black and white, color prints and slides will be combined in the same classes (Bees in Nature, Bees and Man, Historical and Products of the Hive).  Each print will be limited to 8” X 10” overall.  Slides photos must be submitted as a print. Essay will be a group of prints mounted on a mount board (any type) not exceeding 16” X 20”, depicting a bee story or event.  The order of essay photos must be clearly indicated. Brief captions may be used.  Snapshot entries will be a 3” X 4” clearly depicting a relation to any facet of the beekeeping industry.  The photo artist is encouraged to provide the following

information on the back of the photo entries: camera, camera settings, and film type. This information will not be used in the judging. Photos must be from 2013 and taken by the photographer who enters the photo contest. Photographers are encouraged to enter one or

more of the six photo classes. Multiple entries are encouraged but should be limited to no more than three per class.  Award winners will be recognized during the September 2013 AABA meeting. The photo judges would like to make the following recommendations with respect to judging the photo contest. There will be only one (1) winner in each of the six photo categories. In addition, a Grand Prize Award will be given to the best overall photo (chosen from one of the six category winners). The Grand Prize winning entry is expected to be “unique and compelling.” The judges will prepare 8 ½ by 11 award certificates for the 1 st place finisher in each of the aforementioned six categories. Photo entrants are encouraged to be in attendance at the AABA Sept 2013 meeting.

Note. Please check the TBA (Texas Beekeepers Association) website for contact information and instructions for rules and entry forms for the November 2013 TBA contest.

Martha Stewart's Honey Cake with Caramelized Pears will add flavor to your fall and entice you to use your delicious honey yield to flavor the decadence of the season.

KEEP SCROLLING.....I MANAGED TO MESS IT UP AND CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIX THIS GAP.  ALL THE OBVIOUS METHODS WERE EXHAUSTED!!

PHOTOGRAPHY: CHARLES SCHILLER

INGREDIENTS

• Unsalted butter, softened, for pan
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons best-quality honey
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• Caramelized Pears
• Freshly whipped cream, or nondairy whipped topping,
•  for serving (optional)

COOK'S NOTE

If you keep kosher and would like to make
dairy-free versions of these recipes,
substitute margarine for the butter,
and soy milk for the regular milk.
The cake can be made (without the pears)
one day ahead, and stored in plastic wrap
at room temperature.

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform
pan.  Dust with flour; tap out excess.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda,
salt, and cinnamon in a bowl; set aside.
Mix eggs and sugars on high speed in the bowl
 of an electric mixer fitted with the
paddle attachment until pale and thick, about 3 minutes.

1. STEP 2

   Whisk together honey, milk, oil, and zest.
   With mixer on low, add honey mixture to egg mixture;
    mix until combined, about 1 minute.
   Add half the flour mixture; mix until smooth.
   Mix in remaining flour mixture. Pour batter into pan.

STEP 3

Bake until dark golden brown and a cake tester
inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes.
Run a thin knife around edge of cake;
carefully remove sides of pan.Transfer cake to a platter.
Top with pears. Serve with whipped cream or topping,
if desired.

SOURCE

Martha Stewart Living, September 

© 2013 MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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