Every time I write one of these business updates I promise myself that I won’t leave it so long before writing the next one, but without fail it goes longer and longer between updates. To be honest, this Spring we had a bit too much going on and time to do the extra bits just kept disappearing, but here goes four months worth of updates! We are well and truly in to our second year of business and it feels like a long-term relationship now. The initial butterflies and fast-paced excitement has settled into a healthy rhythm and things feel like they are, for the most part, ticking along nicely. There have been a few changes in our world...
Honey bread I was recently feeling a little nostalgic for my old job where we would make bread with the children every morning so I decided to show my own kids the simple art of making bread. It is something that we have really lost touch with but it’s really quite easy and it’s so cool to see what an amazing little creature yeast is. Watching it turn sugar water into a bubbling, frothing mess is great for kids to see too, and another lesson in where our food comes from. As long as your yeast mixture is active and you don’t make your dough really wet or really dry, this recipe is pretty fool proof. You may need to...
Honey tiramisu Since we have moved to Raglan, we have developed a tiramisu obsession. It started when we started buying it from a local Italian cafe and then I revisited my recipe for it and have worked to adapt it to a honey version. The cream, honey and coffee combination is a dream. If you are prone to fizzing out when you drink coffee, you might want to eat this for breakfast so it doesn’t keep you awake at night. 1 egg 2 egg yolks 50g honey 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste or seeds (not essence) 3/4 cup cream 250g mascarpone 4 shots of espresso coffee (or 2 cups of strong plunger coffee) 1/2 cup water (you don’t need this...
We were extremely lucky that a speedy little horse that my dad put a bet on just before Christmas ran the race of it’s life and won him a handsome amount to cash which he very very kindly used to buy us a 5 day trip to Samoa for Christmas. We were so excited all autumn and winter, knowing that we had our first family holiday to look forward to. Samoa is a truly beautiful country and we had the most incredible time soaking up the sun, the beautiful food and the warmth and hospitality of the locals. We were also really lucky that a great friend of ours lives in Apia and knows Samoa’s resident beekeeper; Lester. She set...
Well, that felt like a bloody marathon but finally we are in our West Coast Basecamp! After the last update our financial woes have eased thanks to two massive factors. The first is family; where would we be without them? Our family stepped in and supported us with a loan and they also housed us and our kids while we got the build of our shed completed. As is the usual story with building we told them we needed a place to stay for 6 weeks, and that turned into 4 months, but their support has been a true life saver. The second factor is the ANZ. A friend of ours who works for them suggested that we meet with...
