Chilly, windy and brisk are three words that describe our weather here in Georgia. Those of you who live in the Northeast are probably looking at our temps and thinking, “Looks balmy to me!” But we are cold. Our answer? Soup!

What goes better with soup, than a simple side of Goat Cheese and local honey flavored with thyme and lemon zest. According to the National Institutes of Health, honey is an antibacterial and an anti-inflammatory. Who knew the product of flower nectar transformed by bees could be so wonderful? And when you add thyme leaves to the soup you also get potassium, iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium, and selenium. We always say the more power in your dish the better!

Serve your Lemon Thyme Honey Goat Cheese with whole wheat bread for dippers as we did here – or it’s a tasty way to get more veggies when you add crudités. If you have leftovers of the delicious cheese, use it to make a wonderful grilled cheese sandwich, or as a spread on a pita pocket, filled with shredded Napa Cabbage and Sliced Roasted Red Peppers.

You can make the dip with thyme and lemon, or shake it up with basil and orange, or sage, or even one of our favorite herbs, parsley. Choose your herb, choose your citrus and have fun.

Lemon Thyme Honey Goat Cheese

1 Cup Local Honey

1 TB Lemon Zest

1 TB Chopped Thyme Leaves

1 Log Goat Cheese

Whole Wheat Baguette

Crudités

Warm the cup of honey over low heat until barely simmering. Remove from the heat and add in the zest and thyme.  Let sit for fifteen minutes until you pour over the goat cheese and serve it with baguette slices or crudités.