“Honey you so sweet,

Sugar got a long way to get you…”     Erykah Badu

According to Greek mythology Zeus was born in a cave and raised by bees, where each day a nymph by the name of Makris fed him honey, making it a “food of the Gods.” The word Honey has many applications, it’s a term of endearment, a way to describe something sweet, and has given a whole new meaning to the existence of bees. Honey has graced the earth longer than we have and simply put, it is something that gives me an ecstatic sensory experience.

Somehow bees have this mystical power and knowledge of the earth, resulting in their laborious creation of such an incredibly useful and raw substance. A few years ago I went through a phase where I gulped down a tablespoon of honey every morning and ate a bowl of yogurt every night. This lasted for almost two years, I wasn’t disciplined enough to do it everyday, but this little ritual took place at least 5 days a week.

The yogurt idea came from a T.V. interview I had seen years ago with my friend Damon’s great grandfather Setrak. Setrak Boyajian, a.k.a. the “Yogurt Man,” was born in 1884 and immigrated to the U.S. from Hajen, Turkey in 1906 and lived to be 107 years old. One of the local news channels interviewed him a couple of years prior to his death during which Mr. Boyajian attributed his long and healthy life to his commitment to a daily bowl of yogurt, and specifically the particular culture that he used to make the yogurt. He swore that yogurt prolonged his life and helped keep his brain intact. After seeing this interview and talking about it with Damon, I took this piece of wisdom from this Armenian elder and began to believe in the power of yogurt and eventually made it a part of my regular diet.

The inclusion of a tablespoon of honey came from the voice of my childhood, Julie Andrews. Life sometimes can create a sour taste in your mouth so the silly girl in me thought “if I have a spoon full of sugar every morning, it will make my day just a little sweeter.” I tried the sugar and it was way too much. I didn’t like it, so honey came to mind. After a practice run I decided that a tablespoon of honey was much better than a teaspoon of sugar.  Even though the honey was much sweeter, its appeal also had a lot to do with acknowledging the hard work of many, many busy bees. One twelfth of a teaspoon of honey equals the entire life’s work of a single bee.

Everything about honey excites me, its history and cultivation, the distinct smell, varietals, its sticky texture, and those beautiful light and dark shades of glistening gold. For those couple of years, its sweet nectar coated my throat and heart almost every morning, and in my mind it truly brought an extra sense of sweetness to my life. The yogurt ritual continues nightly but the honey has adopted new ways to make its way to my stomach. Nowadays when I’m cooking, I use honey more often as a substitute for sugar, and sometimes when I need a substitute for honey I use Agave Syrup.

Since the blog is called Honey, I felt a little pressured to have to drum up some spectacular Honey recipe for you. Instead, I decided to use honey in the simplest form by pairing it with cheese. I’m always being asked by friends “so what do you think I should serve with this and that?” Food pairing is such an imperative part of what I do daily that I have become a sponge, learning all that I can about flavor profiles. I’m lucky that I lived in the Bay Area and had easy access to wander between Napa and Sonoma and soak in all the fresh produce, wine and cheese that I could.

This non -recipe is a simple cheese plate that’s a great starter for a dinner party or just an excuse to taste the wonderful things that happen in your mouth when cheese, wine and honey come together. I chose a few cheeses that lean on the French side, my favorite, Goat cheese being among them. Just a drizzle of honey on top, paired with a chilled glass of wine smoothly brings out the flavor of each of these fromages. Both red and white wines are easily paired with cheese but when adding honey to the mix, white somehow works better. Chardonnay, Chenin, Pinot and Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier are what I usually like to pair with cheese and honey. You can also include reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel.  There are no finite rules when it comes to pairing, for me it is all about the chemistry. I also love pairing honey and cheese with a good Belgian Ale, the ale acts as a great medium for honey.

The power of Honey has been immortalized by history, mythology and human consumption. The famous Armenian writer Hovhannes Tumanyan wrote the story “A Drop of Honey,” as a reaction to the troubling issues of the 20^th Century. The fable is based on an Armenian tale from the Middle Ages about how one spilled drop of honey caused bloodshed between two people who lived in neighboring villages, and then between those two villages, and then between states. I remember reading that story as a child and learning that life can become very complicated even by the smallest of things. I’m happy to say though, as an adult, honey has become a reminder and an inspiration for the simple and sweeter things that life has to offer.

Cheese

Blue (Stilton or Castello)                             Goat (Humbolt Fog, herbed)

Brie                                                                  Gruyere

Camembert                                                    Parmegiano- Reggiano

Comte

I buy most of my cheeses from Nicole’s Gourmet in South Pasadena. She has an incredible array of amazing cheeses and products. If you live in L.A. head over to Nicole’s, she’s very sweet and informative. Serve the cheeses with Black Mission figs (if they out of season, Trader Joe’s carries dry figs), a French baguette or crackers, honey and your favorite wine. It’s an exercise in simplicity that is a weekly ritual I gladly partake in and as the Armenian fable goes, a little drop of honey goes a long way.

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