This Saturday, April 20th at the Resort at the Mountain…Bee There! The Bite of Mt Hood returns with  fun, food, great auction items and entertainment. We will be serving up some of our specialities and some surprises too.

Butter, Sugar and lots of love…

It’s been a little crazy around here lately! This week we had the chance to feed a few hard working Nike employees in Government Camp. They need to get away  out of the office and distractions to get their work done. Thank you for the opportunity, hope it was mission accomplished!

Next comes Grimm! I need to start watching the tv show now. The staff we have met  so far have been great and the comments on the food have been good too.

Bravo Wedding Show at Embassy Suites downtown was well attended and fun. We even tied with Premier Catering for best caterer at the show!

The Bite of Mt Hood is coming up in April. Great Blue Lodge is having some squealing good deals on mid week stays in Government Camp and there is still snow in the forecast.

Who said February is boring?

Wedding planning for 2013 is in full swing and while we are not in the kitchen as much this time of the year, we are definitely hammering away on quotes! We are seeing a trend towards some really large affairs and the cost for feeding these large groups can be staggering. One solution is in the timing…later start times after dinner, a romantic candle light ceremony, champagne and appetizers and a really special dessert. Dancing in the moonlight. Not only can this kind of reception set you apart from all of the others, it can save some precious $. Consider too a morning ceremony and enjoy the day with friends and family. Picnics are great fun and a mimosa filled brunch starts the day off with a bang. Busy Bee Catering is always thinking out of the box to help make your day one to remember.

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I have posted any news to the website. After the busiest fall and holiday season ever, we thank our customers for the opportunities we have had to cater for their businesses, families and friends. Your vote of confidence really means a lot to us and we are grateful. Now on to this new year… wedding bookings are going strong and we are looking forward to our favorite show, A Country Bridal Affair in Boring on January 5th. Please plan on attending this free and fun event. I have just unpacked some new props to make our buffet tables even more interesting. Lots of great vintage accessories, porcelain china and eclectic little touches. I’m excited to start using everything! Todd has added a new feather to his baking cap, but this time he is out of the kitchen. An opportunity to manage a wonderful property in Government Camp called Great Blue Lodge has brought him new friends, new challenges and much happiness! Check out Great Blue Lodge on Facebook or Google the website. It is the perfect location for a rehearsal dinner or family reunion. And guess what? We cater there! We are also the preferred caterer for The Canby Wedding Chapel and Black & White Events. Both venues offer a unique environment for your special day.  XOXO

I thought we were Busy Bee’s in 2011, but 2012 had our heads spinning! Weddings, weddings, rehearsal dinners, weddings… Now it’s time to plan for 2013 and we are making some changes that will accommodate our clients and their guests even better than before. Now all of our wedding packages include an after ceremony appetizer. With all the rushing to get to the ceremony, people are hungry! Even a small nibble after the ceremony can buy the bride and groom some alone time, take some of the impact off the bar and just set a nice calm pace for the evening to come. This year more than in the past  we had our grooms taking a huge part in planning the day. One groom, Alex, even made homemade pies for 100+ guests. We baked them, but he got the credit and did a great job! What ever your plans, give us a call. We would be honored to play a part in your most special day! XOXO

Business at our hive is definitely buzzing! We have had some great events in the past few weeks, Johnson RV Open House and Spring Sale, The Bite of the Mountain at the Resort was a huge success as well as East County Pray Prayer Breakfast on National Prayer Day. Great people eating all of our goodies with smiles on their faces…. warms a caterer’s heart! Our online store is ready to be launched and we are very excited about that too. We look forward to the new opportunites this allows our company as we start to reach out even more to meet neat people and make them great food. Check back and do some shopping. A freezer full of bread, cookies, cinnamon rolls… it’s a very good thing. XOXO

Yesterday was an eye opening shopping day in the big city. We always try to leave the mountain fueled, (both car and tummy) so to get the job of BIG shopping done fast. Well, the phone was ringing and all other things happening as we were leaving and we committed the cardinal sin…no breakfast! Bad idea…We were both starving, in a hurry and not in a position to take time to eat a proper meal. So we opted for fast food. Again…bad idea. Everyone else eats it, we were in a pinch. Todd in his younger years liked a Whopper (Calories 651, Sodium 1.063 g your salt for the day), back in the day when he could have it his way, it was filling and tasty. I think his experience yesterday has cured his further cravings for B King. This Whopper looked nothing like the picture and the only real word to describe the flavor was hideous! I chose a grilled chicken sandwich. We watched as it was heated  just enough to make that upscale ciabatta roll into a condensed mattress and warm the rubber chicken patty to meet requirements. It was an eye opening experience to say the least. We  both came away knowing that we are on the right track with our business, making our niche in catering with the quality of our foods . Our continued commitment to cooking and baking from scratch, keeping it fresh, holding the salt, making foods taste good (like they should) and not using pre made foods. After our scary experience at BK we finished our shopping trip at the dreaded “C”. Well, I am known to love a big box store just like the next guy, but BEWARE of the prepackaged foods available to feed your families. We spent our time reading labels yesterday and were horrified! We even had to search for vitamins that were not full of a bunch of extra stuff. The point is, you do get what you pay for and that can be a bad thing. So, we are going back to where we started making meals available to busy people who want to eat fresh, homemade foods. We will be launching a shopping cart on this very website full of breads, casseroles, pastries, soups etc made with no preservatives, using as many local products as possible, created in a sustainable kitchen. Pick up will be available in various Portland locations. So, give yourself  a break. Eat healthy, feel better and know your food is real food!  XOXO

Well, the primroses are purchased, pinched back and in full bloom. I have pinned more pictures of wanna be gardens then I will ever get around to planting and still the snow continues to fall. Instead of building a fire pit we are stuck inside looking at quarter sized snow flakes. Although it is beautiful I am left no choice but to spend my time in the kitchen baking the month of March away. I have had loads of fun and made some really good recipes. Some of my favorites have included the most divine rustic bread. How I love that crunchy crust and chewy inside. Hot out of the oven, it brought a tear to my eye. On the sweeter side, I created a towering Lemon Cake filled with a lemon buttercream. I was obviously needing sun as I went a little crazy on the yellow food coloring. It wasn’t scary, but I admit next time I will go for a more mellow yellow shade. I had apples and pears just crying out to be baked into a tender Crostata Crust. Sprinkled with coarse sugar, it was enough to make a gluten free person weep. Still aching for improvements, but never the less tasty were the new Rice Crispy Treats I tried. Mini Peanut Butter Cups are a welcome addition to any recipe. Well as the saying goes…Make hay when the sun shines…I’ll just bake as the snow flies….

XOXO

I have had every intention to continue my goal of regular blogging, but instead of writing I have been reading other food blogs and I must say enjoying myself. Typically this time of the year the catering world is not moving at the hectic pace of Spring, Summer and Fall. Of course  in this down time I have had every intention to clean and organize supplies, get caught up on paper work etc. Well this year Pinterest has entered into all of our lives and all of the bets for cleaning are off. I am addicted. That being said, I have had loads of fun trying new recipes (mostly goodies) and seeing styles of the past recirculating to the present. Beside the recipes I think my favorite pins are the crafts and ideas that people are dreaming up to reuse stuff. As caterers we strongly believe in recycling as can be measured by the mountain of cardboard and assorted items that decorate the driveway every garbage day. We even recycle our food waste to some very happy pigs living on a farm outside of Sandy. So keep turning in your cans and separating your food scraps from your paper garbage. It’s the least we can do for our beautiful surroundings.  Here is a recycled idea for an favorite old treat.We all know how to make rice crispy treats so for your special Valentine fill a funnel with the marshmallow goodie and viola you have an instant Hershey’s kiss! Wrap in foil, add a love not on paper for the pull tab on top of the kiss and you’re set. Go make something sweet and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day…

XOXO

The Busy Bee

Well not really… It kind of looks like Alaska right here in Welches with 4+ inches  of snow on the ground. This was a fun and busy week and we even got to feed some hungry miners!   We had the pleasure of  making lunches (Mexican one day and a hardy Shepherds Pie the next) for a crew from the Discovery Channel and the Gold Rush cast of Jack, Todd, Dave, Thurber, Chris, Harness and Parker. Not to mention the fabulous women in their lives, Georgia, Shelly and Parker’s wonderful Mother, Nancy. Blue the dog was on hand as was a grandkid and a very cute new puppy. It definitely feels like a family affair and everyone appeared happy. Let’s hope they hit the mother lode, so continue to watch as the story unfolds….