I can't believe it's already 2015 and I still haven't shared with you one of the highlights of my road trip this Summer through the USA. We flew from Zürich to Miami in August. After a few days of soaking up some very tropical sun and playing in the humungous bath tub called the Atlantic, my husband and I packed our three kids, five suitcases, one pound of sand and buckets of seashells into a very large car and started off on our first ever road trip through the USA. Final destination: Michigan. Our four-day, 2500 kilometer journey took us through Savannah,...

Advent, Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt... Yes, it's almost time to light the first candle on the advent wreath. In celebration of the four weeks of Christmas, I'm offering you a 10% discount on the purchase of any four candles from apidae candles. Just use the code ADVENT2014 at www.apidaecandles.de for my customers in Europe or at Etsy for those of you in the USA.     But where does this tradition come from? After a bit of research, it doesn't seem quite clear. Some evidence indicates that the wreath was already around in the Middle Ages. Other evidence shows that the...

Heading to Paris this weekend? Then you absolutely must head to the southwestern edge of the Jardin du Luxembourg (one of my favorite places on this planet) to discover the "ruches", the beehives that reside in the garden. This hidden corner will come to life this weekend for the "Fête du Miel", the honey festival. The beehives have been in the garden since 1856. And as expected in Paris, the hives are fit for a queen. Each wooden hive has its own copper roof. The bees even have their own fountain to quench their thirst. The French capital has been...

With the abundance of produce coming from the garden, it's canning season right now. But you can do so much more with your recycled Weck jars. Let's bake cake!     For the Cake: 150g unsalted peanuts 150g butter for the jars 200g natural peanut butter 150g sugar (I use brown) 4 eggs 50ml milk 350g flour (I use spelt) 15g baking powder   For the Icing: 150g whipping cream 100g bitter chocolate   Makes 6 - 7 1/5l Weck Jars   1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 with air circulation). Use a mortar and pestle to chop...

"A good day is when no one shows up and you don't have to go anywhere." - says Burt Shavitz, the Burt behind Burt's Bees. You know his picture, the guy with the long beard on the top of the beeswax lip balm tins. Well, he's real. And quite a character. Back when he was just Burt (now 79), he was a celebrated news photographer. Then life took an unexpected turn when he quit his job and moved to the backwoods of Maine. During this time, he discovered his passion for beekeeping and met an ingenious hitchhiker named Roxanne Quimby...