Walker went on a field trip recently to Bee City (www.beecity.net) as his science class is studying pollination and the different parts of a flower. He had a ball! In addition to the bee hives, they have a petting zoo with llamas, lemurs, monkeys, miniature horses, etc. The best thing though was that he came home with a big plastic bear full of honey. He promptly asked if he could try it, and so he opened up the squeeze top and squeezed a little into his mouth. I am so sad that I didn’t have my camera with me because his face was priceless. 
His eyes opened so wide and he said, “That is not at all what I thought it would taste like!!!” I was shocked that he had never tried honey before. How had I let this happen? Honey is not something that I keep around- I don’t put it in tea or on toast. I love honey, but I just never use it. I have no idea what he thought it was going to taste like, and of course, he really couldn’t describe what it did in fact taste like. He is an extremely adventurous eater. He has tried blood sausage, tripe, quails eggs, escargot, any kind of liver pate, he loves caviar, so I had just assumed that honey was on the list as well- I guess not. I, on the other hand, have been known to be a touch picky when it comes to food. I have to say that I am much much more adventurous now, thanks to Walker, and that it really has never been a fear of what food will taste like, but it is more about the texture. I was recently out to dinner with friends, and the chef brought out a dish of breakfast radishes for us to try. Everyone was raving over them, and I thought about Walker and his surprise with the honey. So I tried the radish, and it wasn’t anything like I thought it would taste. Isn’t it amazing that food can taste so different than how you thought it was going to be. But, back to the honey. Now that I have a big plastic bear full of honey, I started looking for a recipe that would use the wonderful and “surprising” taste of honey to make the dish. I found this Classic Honey Flan recipe and photo on www.honey.com which seemed like a pretty reliable source for all things honey.
Classic Honey Flan
Ingredients:
3 eggs beaten
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1/2 cup of honey divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions:
Combine eggs, milk, 1/4 cup honey and vanilla. Beat until mixed but not foamy. Combine remaining 1/4 cup honey and cinnamon in small bowl; mix well. Place 4 (6-ounce) custard cups in 8-inch square baking dish. Spoon 1 tablespoon honey-cinnamon mixture into each custard cup; divide egg mixture into each custard cup. Place baking dish on middle rack of oven; pour boiling water into baking dish around custard cups to 1-inch depth. Bake at 325°F 30 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.
