Mixed greens

Photo: Martha Williams

CATCH A BUZZ The bees at Kress Apiary have been busy as…er…well, let’s just say Bob and Darlene Kress have plenty of honey and beeswax products available, including squares of virgin honeycomb. Praising the honey’s health benefits, Darlene suggests the comb can be spread on warm biscuits, sliced thin on salads or enjoyed as a chewy candy. But with a little effort and patience, it also can be made into a liqueur. In a clean, glass jar add the honeycomb, the zests of one lime and one orange, a handful of desired herbs such as lavender or lemon balm, and a 750-milliliter bottle of reposado (lightly aged) tequila. Leave in a cool, dark place for two weeks, shaking occasionally, then strain through a cheesecloth. This honeycomb-tequila liqueur can be chilled and sipped on its own or used for a twist on a margarita by combining 1.5 ounces of silver tequila and 1.5 ounces of honeycomb liqueur with the juice of one lime. Shake, strain and welcome the summer. Honeycombs are $7 each at Near North farmers’ market (50 W Division St, Saturdays 7am–2pm).

Each week Peter Vestinos, head mixologist at Sepia, hits a different farmers’ market for inspiration to concoct summer libations. For a downloadable PDF of our farmers’ market planner click here.