Consider what might be nature's most versatile food and you may very likely come up with honey. All over the world honey is enjoyed for its sweet goodness, whether spread onto flaky biscuits, spooned into teas, whisked into salad dressings or baked into wholesome muffins.\nAbout 14,000 years before sugar packets came on the scene, it was bees who bore the principle burden of bringing sweetness to the table, their buzzing industry recorded on cave walls in Spain and Africa. In ages past, when people craved sugar as an antidote to the prevalence of salt, the very word honey became synonymous with generosity, abundance and honesty.\nThis might seem a little extreme today, but writers could not trumpet honey's cause too loudly. It is alluded to in the Sumerian and Babylonian cuneiform writings, the Hittite code, the sacred writings of India, the Vedas and in the ancient writings of Egypt. Moses famously promised the Israelites "…a land flowing with milk and honey," and Aristotle called honey the nectar of the gods.\nThroughout history, honey has also been valued as a medicine, soothing coughs and sore throats and aiding in the dressing of wounds and burns. Some contemporary research indicates that honey may also be beneficial in endurance athletics, aiding in post-workout recovery.\nBut while the jury is out on specific health benefits of honey, the deliciousness of honey is an open and shut case. The unique flavor of honey is dependent on the flowers from which the nectar has been taken. By moving hives, for example, beekeepers are able to produce the honey of a single flower, allowing a particular flavor to come through. Look for such specialties at Indiana farmer's markets throughout the summer to savor year-round.\nThe flavor of honey goes particularly well with nuts and with spices like ginger and cinnamon. It also has an affinity with lemon. Such combinations of flavors are found throughout the Mediterranean in such treats as baklava and halvah.\nHoney can also play a fermenting role, acting like a yeast to lift and lighten. French "pain d'epices au miel" is an ancient example, as is English gingerbread, which has a sticky texture that originally came from honey, and later molasses, making it a perennial childhood favorite.\nWhile for many honey may be most delightful unadorned, perhaps drizzled on a toasted piece of crusty bread for breakfast or in tea with a dab of butter, it is also an excellent ingredient in savory dishes. Think of honey glazes on Easter hams and honey BBQ sauces for sweet reminders.\nThis week's recipes use honey in ways slightly less familiar but also destined to become favorites. In each, the honey serves as an excellent foil to the savory components of the dish. Little else beyond a simple salad with the noodles and hot rice with the chicken are needed to make a full and satisfying meal fit for a quick weeknight repast.\nQUICK THAI'D UP NOODLES\n1/3 cup rice vinegar (white or cider vinegar may be substituted)\n1/4 cup honey\n2 tablespoons smooth style peanut butter\n2 tablespoons soy sauce\n2 tablespoons vegetable oil\n1 tablespoon sesame oil\n2 large cloves garlic, minced\n1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper\n1/2 teaspoon ground ginger\n1 package (15 ounces) extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and cut into1/2-inch pieces\n8 ounces fettuccine noodles\n4 ounces snow peas, trimmed and diagonally cut\n1 medium carrot, peeled and thinly sliced on diagonal\n1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, honey, peanut butter, soy sauce, vegetable oil, sesame oil, garlic, red pepper and ginger. Add tofu and marinate for 30 minutes.\nCook fettuccine in a large pot of boiling water, adding snow peas and carrots during the last two minutes of cooking, then drain. Rinse with cold water and drain. Place in a large bowl; add tofu and marinade. Toss it gently to coat. Add cilantro; toss to coat.\nMakes four servings.\nHONEY, GINGER & SESAME CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS\n1/3 cup sweet cooking Sherry\n1/4 cup soy sauce\n3 tablespoons honey\n2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger OR 2 teaspoons ground ginger\n4 large garlic cloves, minced\n1 tablespoon Asian toasted sesame oil\n12 chicken wing drumsticks\n2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
Combine first six ingredients in a heavy, medium, ovenproof skillet. Add chicken and turn it to coat. Cover the skillet and refrigerate the chicken, turning occasionally, for six hours or overnight.\nPreheat oven to 375 F. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Brush foil generously with vegetable oil. Remove the drumsticks from the marinade and place on the baking sheet. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan.\nBake the drumsticks for 45 minutes. Increase heat to 400 F and bake the drumsticks until they are evenly browned and cooked through, about 15 minutes longer. Meanwhile, boil the liquid in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it is reduced to a glaze (about five minutes).\nUsing tongs, transfer the chicken to a plate. Pour the glaze over the chicken and sprinkle it with sesame seeds. Makes six servings.
