Honey Muffins

Jeanette is still going strong baking and making delicious goodness using local ingredients, and at the office we are loving this!  We are getting our daily bread... or cupcakes, to have with our first coffee before we kick off with work!

This fine Monday morning we were treated to some Honey Muffins!  Honey is one of the most precious ingredients in a kitchen and for good reason. In Jeanette's words, honey is the only natural food that has all the ingredients to support life, including water.  Not solely used in food, honey has also been used as a natural remedy to treat a variety of ailments.

Here is Nina, Jeanette's cat, eyeing the muffins!!

Its prestigiousness also comes from the fact that it is a very limited product.  Pure raw honey availability depends on a healthy hive of bees foraging on the flora in their surroundings.  This year's biggest issue for our local farmers has been the lack of rainfall which of course affects the amount and variety of flora and therefore impacts on the amount of honey produced by the bees!

So whilst we pray and hope for more rainfall so as to be able to produce more pure local honey, below is the Honey Muffin recipe Jeanette has used thanks to www.simplefood365.com.  

 HONEY MUFFINS

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PREP TIME  15 mins

COOK TIME 18 mins

TOTAL TIME 33 mins

Author: Tara Kimball

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Serves: 12 Muffins

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• ⅓ cup honey
• 1 large egg

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3. Mix the milk, vanilla, butter, honey and egg in a smaller bowl until well blended.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing just until everything is combined.
5. Divide the batter into a sprayed or lined muffin pan so that each cup is ⅔ full.
6. Bake for 18 minutes, then remove to a rack for 10 minutes.

More interesting information about pure honey can be found in two other Merill Local Product blogs: Let's Talk About Honey, Honey!  Part 1 & Part 2.

Have a great week!!

Steph

Did you know...

...that there are different types of honey depending on the season it is harvesting in, because of the different flora available to the bees at the time?  Different season, different colour! At our speciality store we are currently stocked up on Autumn flora honey which is the darker shade and also some Thyme & Clover honey!  All very limited!!  Should you be interested contact us now - info@merill.com.mt or call us on 21411388.

Some of the honey can also be tasted during our weekly Olive Grove experiences happening every Sunday! Click here for more information.

Colours, patterns and imagination

By Steph Camilleri

This week we wish to shed some more light on our current collaboration with local artist and graphic designer, Stephanie Borg.  

Her use of bright colours and patterns makes her work stunning and interesting, and her love for certain features of the local scene such as the typical Maltese doors and old tiles are seen in most of her work.

She has creatively made her artwork available on items that can be used daily, widening her product range to include not just wall pieces but also wrapping paper, calendars, mugs, mouse pads, espresso cups and coasters.

Stephanie has been collaborating with Merill for a couple of years now, including designing our new jams and pure honey tags. We have also combined her lovely items together with Merill products into our Eco Hampers.

Stephanie Borg

One of the gift item ideas launched this year - #♥LOCAL

Quince...What is it all about?

"The quince (/ˈkwɪns/; Cydonia oblonga) is the sole member of the genus Cydonia in the family Rosaceae (which also contains apples and pears, among other fruits). It is a small deciduous tree that bears a pome fruit, similar in appearance to a pear, and bright golden-yellow when mature. Throughout history the cooked fruit has been used as food, but the tree is also grown for its attractive pale pink blossom and other ornamental qualities." Wiki

Yes... a couple of years ago I also had no idea that this fruit existed, let alone that it has been around us, on the Maltese islands, for the past 500 years or so. The Maltese name is Sfarġel (farmers we work with and some online articles also refer to it as Sfejġel). Somehow, maybe because of its scattered presence, through lack of awareness or due to expansion of imports, this mysterious fruit faded away into the lands of the forgotten - at least for the large part of today's generations.

Lately however, thanks to the revival of local products, we are observing a renewed interest in the fruit and our aim is to learn more about it. It is already clear from what farmers recount, together with modern studies, that the health benefits of quince are not to be discounted - they include anti-inflammatory properties, treatment of stomach ailments, antioxidant properties... the list goes on...

photo by jeanette borg

'Merill' Quince Jam - photo by lindsey cauchi

If you're the hands-on type of person (and you manage to get your hands on some of this fruit, here's a recipe for quince jam I found on this great blog.

Have you tasted the jam... how would you describe it? Do you have some more information on this fruit? We would love to hear from you and learn more. Leave us a comment here below or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or email.

Filo Parcels with fresh ġbejniet and local honey

Ingredients for 4 parcels:

2 fresh cheeselets (ġbejniet), sliced lengthways

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2-4 teaspoons local honey (according to taste)

12 sheets approximately 21x15 cm (A5 size) filo pastry

Sea salt

Choice of other fillings: fresh basil leaves, chopped strawberries, chili sauce / flakes or crushed walnuts

Recipe:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius with fan.

Pour the olive oil into a bowl. On a flat surface or chopping board, place one filo sheet and brush it lightly with olive oil. You don’t need to cover the whole surface or saturate it with oil.

Next lay another sheet on top with the corners a little off-set in comparison with your previous sheet. Brush this with oil too. Repeat with a third sheet.

Lay half a cheeselet, ½ or 1 teaspoon honey and any other filling of your choice in the centre of the top sheet. Add a pinch of sea salt.

Gently lift one edge of the three sheets and pinch about one inch from the edge, forming a purse-like shape all around. Push the pastry together towards the centre to close the parcel; the oil will help the pastry to stick to itself.

When all the parcels are ready, place on a baking sheet in the middle of your oven and cook for about 10-12 minutes, until the edges are turning brown.  As a main dish, serve two parcels with a light salad e.g. rocket leaves, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers.

Tips:

Always use a good quality olive oil as the taste of this will really come up, you’re not only using it to stick the pastry sheets together!  It’s easiest to lift two ends of the sheets at once and work with both hands to fold the pastry towards the centre to press together.

Merill products used: fresh cheeselets, olive oil, honey, sea salt, strawberries

written by Miriam Calleja

Merill Eco Hampers - 5th year exclusive collection

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The

Merill

Rural

Network

WHY?
Because we really want to make a difference.

WHERE?
We pride ourselves to offer products that are exclusively from the Maltese Islands.

HOW?
Local farmers and artisans are empowered to produce genuine local products of premium quality. This way we enable them to sustain generations of traditions.

WHO?
The Merill Rural Network brings together a number of hard working farmers and artisans. Along with their families they passionately maintain our landscape, while providing us with delicacies and handmade works of art.

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Other options available. We can offer delicacy items as well as artisanal handmade gifts such as weaving, filigree and pottery.

For more information email us on info@merill.com.mt or visit our Speciality Store at 75, Triq San Bartolomew, Qormi to prepare your own Eco Hamper.

21 411 388 | 27 411 388

Prices include 18% VAT

Merill Speciality Store - Local delicacies and much more - COMING SOON

Hey Merill fans,

It's finally cooling off here in the Maltese Islands. We still have lots of sunny days to enjoy before it gets cold (in Malta, cooler weather ranges from an average of 20 degrees Celsius during the day and 12 degrees Celsius at night). 

At Merill Eco Tours we're looking forward to Autumn. It is a great time for us, organising agri-tourism experiences and lots of delicacy tasting sessions. Olive oil, local cheese (known as gbejna) and wine tasting remain as favourites. 

We're also preparing for the festive season...Yep...Christmas is round the corner. This is the fourth year we're holding an Eco Hamper Campaign and it's getting bigger and better. A speciality store will soon open its doors to food and healthy lifestyle lovers who wish to taste and lay their hands on the most genuine and tasty local products. It will be located in the village of Hal-Qormi, the bread making village of Malta. Hal-Qormi is only 10 minutes away from the Historical City of Valletta and 20 minutes away from Mdina, the fortified city. 

Lots of Maltese products will be found under one roof. Hand made gifts, culinary delicacies and organically produced food will be available. Tasting and information sessions will be held regularly and also upon request. Village walking tours in Hal-Qormi for groups and individual travellers will be available. 

For more information contact us on info@merill.com.mt or find us on our "Merill Local Products" Facebook fan page.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Experience 

NOW AVAILABLE FOR INDIVIDUALS

every Sunday morning!

Sea Salt from Malta

Sun, sea and salads, ...three of my favourite things about summer. Living in an island surrounded by the sea, it's easy to take its richness for granted. The Mediterranean sea has a long history of trade and one of the items to make cargoes worth fighting for was sea salt. As a traditional product sea salt has lost most of its use here in Malta. The reason being that imported mined salt has been commercially introduced and marketed in supermarkets to a much greater extent. Traditions are very important and loosing this tradition would be a real pity.

As Merill Local Products we have teamed up with traditional salt harvesters who still have this activity at heart. The harvesting and packaging process is carried out by the harvesters while we do marketing of this authentic product. Jars of sea salt are attractively presented in hampers, ideal to give as presents. 

Feel free to visit the Merill Local Products Facebook fan page to find out more about our Eco Hampers.

Marketing the sea salt is definitely just one step towards the revival of this tradition! We are doing our best to create awareness about sea salt harvesting, the hardship behind it and health aspects related to salt. To start this off, we are setting up workshops of salt harvesting. These are being very well received, especially with parents who are enthusiastic about having their kids learn about local traditions.

For more updates about workshops being organised, visit and "Like" our Merill Eco Tours fan page

Here are some interesting facts about salt; 

Salt is a mineral made up of sodium chloride. It has an important role in the human body and its use has an intrinsic history. Too much of it can be harmful to us but a little of it is definitely a must! Sea salt is salt obtained by the evaporation of seawater, and is used in cooking and cosmetics. Generally more expensive than table salt, it is commonly used in gourmet cooking and specialty.

Iodine, a chemical naturally found in the sea is essential for human health. However, rock salt which naturally lacks iodine compounds compared to sea salt, is iodized industrially for use in treatments to prevent goitre and other iodine deficiency syndromes. 

Here are some vital functions of salt in the body:

• Most effective in stabilising irregular heartbeats and, contrary to the misconception that it causes high blood pressure, it is actually essential for the regulation of blood pressure - in conjunction with water. Naturally, the proportions are critical.
• Necessary for the extraction of excess acidity from the cells in the body, particularly the brain cells.
• Essential for balancing the sugar levels in the blood; a needed element in diabetics.
• An important element to the nerve cells' communication and information processing all the time that the brain cells work, from the moment of conception to death.
• 27 % of the body's salt is found in the bones. Osteoporosis results when the body needs more salt and takes it from the body. Bones are 22% water. 
• Essential for the prevention of muscle cramps.

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt and http://www.bonairesalt.com/products.html

Compiled by Jeanette Borg (31.8.2011)