Local is Lovely

Taking part in the Audubon Community Market has introduced us to some great local vendors. Trying to learn more about the different vendors that are apart of the Market and within our wonderful community, I came across this video, by Big Wheel Provisions and thought I would share:
Farmer's Market from Big Wheel Provisions on Vimeo.

Big Wheel Provisions has really embraced the idea of making more people aware of how great local ingredients can be.

This is such a great concept and way to promote local businesses. Having such great vendors at the Market has given us a chance to incorporate some of the local ingredients into our sweets. Joe, from Dansk Farms, is considered "the honey guy." He is selling organic honey and fresh homemade jams. Most recently, we have used some of the Orange Blossom Honey into our Orange Honey cupcake & frosting. This weekend, we have an order for a Bride's parents and we are going to be using Ginger's Raspberry Jam in the frosting.



By using such fresh ingredients, we feel that it adds so much to the taste in our sweets. Markets are such a great way to help support local businesses and also have that "feel good" feeling that you are using good products. By thinking locally, we are also supporting the local community we live in. Check out the OURlando local indie list of businesses. It's a great resource if you want to support local independent business around the Orlando, FL area. As OURlando states on it's site: "The OurLando movement encompasses far more than just our local businesses; it promotes and unites our diverse art, music, recreation, and health & wellness communities and, most importantly, engages our citizens with pride of place."

Featured on Design*Sponge Blog!

YAY - we can't tell you enough how awesome it feels to have been mentioned on the Design*Sponge blog under the Orlando City Guide. It's so great to be recognized for our lovely work & even if it's just a quick mention, it's huge!



Since we have been apart of the Audubon Community Market for almost 2 months, it's great to see this event being promoted and bringing more awareness that it's going on. Something that is so important to us, especially with some of our ingredients, is to help support local vendors. We try to use as much local/fresh products in our sweets. Just recently, we have had the chance to use one of the other vendors at the Market, Joe's local Orange Blossom honey in our recipes. We are going to be using some homemade Raspberry jam in another one of our recipes for an order this weekend. The Audubon Market is a perfect example of a event that we enjoy being apart of every week on Monday nights.

Being this particular article is listing some of Orlando's hidden treasures, it's pretty cool to see some of our local friends listed as well. Talking about other retail stores, restaurants, and even mentions Redlight Redlight! This is a great article if you are looking for things to do locally that you may not have found, unless you know someone who lives around the Orlando area.

We get so excited when people mention us and to have The Bee's Knees Sweet Treats becoming more involved within the community for different events. Another event we are going to be looking forward to is the Alchemy event for Yelp at the end of June.

Keep you eyes out for more of The Bee's Knees Sweet Treats!

Logo

So as you can tell, it's been awhile since we have last posted anything of interest. I know we have both been busy trying to get things in motion for The Bee's Knees Sweet Treats. We now have finalized on a logo, thanks to a good friend, Adam Smith. He has been so kind to help us design the look of The Bee's Knees Sweet Treats! We have now also moved on to having a banner for everyone to recognize. Here it is...

Some other updates: We have officially joined the Twitter world. Hoping to generate more awareness with all these social medias, we are just trying to keep up with the times. We are still trying to work on our official website and then create some type of menu flyer for those to take with. We have had much success at the Audubon Market on Monday nights. If you swing by, you can check out some really sweet local vendors and taste some of our fresh treats!

As for SWEETS, we have ventured into trying some new ideas. At our last market, we had hand dipped chocolate marshmallows in nuts & sprinkles. They were a hit and who doesn't enjoy a nice chocolate marshmallow? We have also made sure to try to incorporate fresh ingredients into our sweets. What ever is in season, we want to use local ingredients in our recipes. It just adds to the touch of why we are the Bee's Knees of sweets. In addition to Audubon Markets being a regular thing on Monday nights, we have also made sure to be present at Redlight Redlight on most Thursday & Friday nights. Here we will try to incorporate some of the special beers on tap into our sweets. Recently, we have had whiskey truffles, absinthe cupcakes complete with a sugar cube on top, and even a midnight oil chocolate truffle for the Swamp Head Brewery Release Party - Flight Night!

We are still keeping busy with orders for events and really enjoy trying to cater to each individual's needs. It's nice to hear that we have "made someone's day" or that the person we were providing the sweets for throughly enjoyed the treats. That is why we are doing what we are - to make sure everyone has a little bit of sweetness in their lives.

We are definitely excited about the upcoming events. Make sure to mark your calendars for the Pink Light event on June 6th. We will definitely be sharing some delicious sweets and will have some new ideas for you to try!

"There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love chocolate, and communists" - Leslie Moak Murray.

Audubon Park Community Market!

We are so happy to be a part of the Audubon Park Market this upcoming Monday, April 5th!

We love the mission of this weekly event: To bring people together around truly local food, music, art and more to build pride of place in the Ourlando community. The market includes everything from local produce, art, music, and starting this Monday, sweet treats from yours truly! You can definitely expect some tasty deliciousness in the form of truffles and mini cupcakes.

The market takes place in the Stardust parking lot at 1842 E Winter Park Rd. It starts at 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. We can't wait to see your bright smiles and lovely faces!!

Dessert for Dinner.

Confession: I had dessert for dinner this week. Okay, that statement is sort of a lie. I really made a quiche, which by American and French standards equates to a tasty meal. Funny enough, the word 'quiche' comes from the German word 'kuchen' which in fact, means cake. As some of you may know, I'm definitely no cook. While the pre-marriage version of me was known to have the occasional cupcake and milk for dinner, I have started to take my new title of housewife quite seriously. The quiche is definitely my answer to creating a lovely dinner for my husband of 7 weeks.
I love how quiche is a wonderful way to get rid of all your "odds and ends" that accumulate in the refrigerator. Mine included some of the usual dairy staples of milk, eggs and cheese. I added some sun dried tomatoes, green scallions and ham, threw them in a pre-made frozen pie shell (don't judge me!), placed in the oven for 45 minutes, and ta-da! dinner is served.

P.S.

In anticipation of cherry season, I wanted to share our lovely Cherry Cupcakes. No need for frosting but mind the pit!

An Ode to Strawberries

Dearest Strawberries,

I really wanted to tell you how happy I am that you are currently in season. I rush to the fruit section of the grocery every few days to stock up on your juicy deliciousness. Not only limited to the usual shortcake, you can also be found in other delightful desserts. But lets not forget that along with a balsamic vinaigrette and walnuts, you compliment my salad quite nicely.

Oh Strawberries. Springtime wouldn't be as sweet without you.