An almost forgotten beauty: Black Boy Peach

You wont readily find these little gems at the supermarket, but you might just be able to find them at your local farmers market between march and late April!
The blackboy peach is a very old hertitage variety with characteristic purple skin and fleesh and the most devine juicy fragrant flavour! They are just delish!
I was so excited when we moved to our new property a year and a half ago because we were lucky enough to have one very old black boy peach tree laden full of peaches!
I have stewed them, made peach pies and frangipani and peach tarts. MMMM!

We had an aborist come in a few months ago to attack out giant macrocarpa hedge but tragically our lone little peach tree lost half of its limbs in the process! 😦

And today i was looking sadly at the little fruit forming on the remaining branch and longed for autumn to eat one again…

Luckily i still had some stoned and frozen from last years crop, so today i made my thrird attempt at jam making.
(The first was kiwifruit jam i made for the restaurant i was working at gosh it was about 20L of the stuff, and i burnt it! *Cringe!* Second attempt was blackcurrant jelly with my own grown currants and my mums “NEVER FAIL RECIPE”! And i proved her right! It set beautifully and was absolutely delish!)

This time around i couldnt find a single recipe for Black Boy Peach jam- so i loosely based it around the currant recipe, though with extra ingredients and instead of taking 15min it took about 50. It turned out beaut! I grew the peaches, blackcurrants and the rhubarb and my brother grew the lemons. And i think that is what is so special about it, growing your own, and taking the process right through and being able to share them with family and friends.

You are welcome to try my recipe below, i hope you enjoy it too!

Rosie’s Blackboy Peach Jam

Blackboy Peaches halved stoned (frozen is fine) 1100g
Sugar 972g
Water 240g
Vanilla Pod (Half)
Rhubarb sticks x 3 red ones chopped finely
Frozen Blackcurrants -Small handful
Lemon Juice 1 and half lemons

Boil together the sugar and water and vanilla rapidly for 5minutes it will become like a thick syrup.
Add the peaches and rhubarb and bring back to the boil and boil rapidly for 40min being sure to stir! Add the Currants and lemon juice and boil for another 5min or until a little spooned onto a saucer wrinkles on the surface when cool. Push through a seive for a smooth jelly like jam. Pour into hot sterilized jars and lid immediately.
Gorgeous served on pikelets with whipped cream!
Enjoy!!!!

*NEW* Milk And Chai Spice Soap!

The gorgeous Milk & Chai Spice Soap is all cut into bars and smelling absolutely delish! Warm, Sweet & Spicy! ♥ Available for PRE ORDER now to secure yourself a piece!Only $8.50 each and there is only a limited number of bars! Grab yours Here!
Made with my own spice infused earl grey tea reduction, blended with pure essential oils of Cinnamon, Cloves, Star Anise, Ginger, Cardamon, Vanilla, Fennel and Sweet Honey and Creeeamy Goats Milk!
Absolutely. Delish!

Pre Order NOW! To secure yourself a bar! It will be a lovely little surprise on your doorstep come the end of september, probably when you have forgotten all about it!

And i have to say a big thanks to Emma for this Milk & Chai request. The scent combination is fantastic!
-Just a reminder if YOU have any special requests be it a new soap scent or a custom order for an occasion- weddings favours, corporate thank yous, baby shower gifts etc…. do get in touch! -just flick me an email to Rosie @ honey.and.spice.soaps@gmail.com I would love to hear from you!

And do stop by our website for more goodies and information! ~ www.honeyandspice.co.nz

On the Spice Rack: Green Cardamon

Green Cardamon is an exquisite spice with a characteristic fragrant perfume. It is also one of the most expensive spices around, alongside Vanilla Pods and of course the most expensive, being Saffron.

The scent of Cardamon is absolutely gorgeous! and a little goes along way. The fragrance comes from the seeds which are snuggled up inside the little green pods. To get them out you need to either crush the pods open with the back of a knife or motar and pestle, or cut them in half.

In cookery cardamon is most commonly found in curry mixes and also makes up the spice blend in chai tea. Some of my favourites include shortbread scented with lemon and cardamon, and orange and cardamon creme brulee! Mmmmmmmmm! I used to make these among other goodies for Fluers Place.

I just love the combination of sweet zesty orange combined with the floral & spicy scent of the cardamon. So naturally i had had to take this gorgeous scent combination one step further, and create something special for the Honey & Spice shop. After several blends of essential oils and a few test batches of soaps the Cardamon & Orange soap was born!
And while making my 8th batch of Cardamon & Orange Soap this afternoon i fell in love with it all over again and had to share it with you too! It will be available in our Shop again in just over a months time for $8.50 each.

1000 Facebook Fans Giveaway!

Wow 1000 Facebook Fans is quite a milestone! I am very humbled and inspired by all the support of our fans! To celebrate i am giving away a sweet little “Taster” gift box of Honey & Spice goodies!~~ Worth over $60!!

Our Gift Box includes

• our gorgeous new 60g Lavender & Rosewood Before Bed Buttercream,
• our Lavender & Lime Hand & Body Shea Butter Sugar Scrub,
•  a classic bar of one of our all time favourite soaps Honey & Oatmeal,
•  a super cute Gingerbread Man Soap made with Goats Milk and Manuka Honey,
•  and last but not least a lovely bar of our Special Edition Rosewood Whisper Soap!!!

To be in to win all you need to do is leave me a comment below (here on our blog) &  Make sure  you leave me your NAME & EMAIL ADDRESS. (A special thank you to all those who have shared on Facebook we will pop you in for an extra entry!) Winner will be drawn on the evening of Monday 18th and notified by email- So MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOU EMAIL ADDRESS!!!- Good Luck Everyone! *NZ fans in this giveaway only please*

 

Rosewood Whisper our gorgeous new special edition soap can now be purchased through our website. But be in quick they are selling fast and there is only a handful left!

NEWS! : New Packaging, New Products New Prices.

Well well well! The last 3 weeks have been really busy down in the Honey and Spice cottage. We have been working on new packaging for our Lotion range, Sugar Scrubs, Buttercreams and Conditioners! And with new packaging of course that meant new labeling!- (Something i have been marinating over for the last 12months!) So i have been tinkering away day and night with the label designs and possible new packaging for the last few weeks and i am now very pleased to have the REAL THINGS! in my hot little hand! Absolutely thrilled with them!

We now have classy looking clear wide mouth jars for our Sugar Scrubs and Conditioner. – Glass although lovely- was a safety issue for the sugar scrub as wet slippery glass and the shower dont mix! Conditioner and Sugar Scrubs both come in our two most popular natural scents – Lemongrass and Ginger and Lavender Dream!

We also have a gorgeous new range of 200ml lotion pumps bottled in lovely amber glass to help protect those precious essential oils from the uv light. We have 3 lovely scents!- Rosewood Ylang Ylang, Lavender Dream and Lemongrass and Ginger! -Silky smooth new recipe, formulated to feel perfect!- Not greasy, not waxy not sticky, and not a lotion that evaporates to quickly, it absorbs beautifully and leaves your hands feeling so silky and soft and they smell absolutely divine!!

Also we have gorgeous new Buttercream Pots! in beautiful amber glass to also protect those precious essential oils from the UV light. The buttercream now comes in two sizes 60g and 120g and these pots will last you a very very long time as a little really does go a long way! New recipe with even more lashings of Organic Shea Butter Organic Cocoa Butter and Organic Coconut Oil! – This sure is one heavenly body butter. It leaves your skin OH – So Soft and the scent of Lavender and Rosewoood ……MMMMMM! just beautiful before bed to help you drift away!

Hubby has also been head down tail up- building our first wooden retail display! Must say it has turned out fantasically!! Better than i could of even imagined! This handy display is destined for our newest stockist in Wellington!- If you are nearby do pop down and test out our products! – Matchbox Studios (Handmade boutique on Cuba St) it is opening this saturday!!!

So there we have it, a sneak peak of our new range! Keep an eye out!! They will be available for purchase soon! MOST exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And now the pricing news: All products will have a slight price increase to meet the risen costs of our precious raw ingredients. We love what we do and want to keep doing it, but to do so we must raise our prices a little .

Good news is, i still have some products in the old packaging : Conditioner, Buttercreams etc so you can grab these now at a great price before they are all gone! and before we start our styly new packaging with fabulous new waterproof labels! www.honeyandspice.co.nz

Rosie xx

Our Wedding, Part 1: The Ceremony

Our Rustic Handmade Wedding!

Setting the scene……. wine barrels, handmade buntings & hay bales ~

Beautiful buttonholes made with flowers and feathers from our own garden- by my clever mum!

The guests arrive!

Last minute touches!

Hit the music cody! Here comes the bride!




At Last…..

………….. say the mums!


Husband and wife!!! xxx Release the Doves!!



…..to be continued!!
Have you seen the previous post about our special soapy wedding favours?
Happy Easter everyone! xx

*Wedding Sneak Peek!* Our special wedding favours!

For our wedding favours we had natural, individually handmade wedding soaps!!

I had so much fun making these thoughtful little “Thank Yous” for all of our wedding guests to take away, and they went down a treat!!
These handcrafted soaps made for perfect wedding favours as they were functional, interactive and personlised.!
We laid out all of the soaps in a lovely basket beside the drinks barrow. It was fun and interactive for our guests as they enjoyed picking them up and discovering all the different flavours and scents throughout the evening. I made each soap a personilised label with a little message on the back saying ” Thank you for making it so special! ~ Kwon & Rosie Oh 03/03/12″
It was really important to us to make the favors meaningful and personlised to show our thanks for all of the generosity, love and support our family and friends have given us!
Soaps made the perfect little “Thank You” as of course our guests could all take them home and actually use them!!! – Everyone uses soap! Men included!!
And the personalised label made a nice little souvenir!!

I now excited to be able to offer fully customisable wedding favour soaps!
Personilsed to your every whim!, your very own custom soap label- with your own message and image, your choice of wrapping from papers, cellophane, ribbon, AND I can even make your very own custom soap scent! (With 9weeks notice as the soap first needs to be made, then cured, then cut, labels designed, cut and wrapped and then couried out!) These are a great sized soap, a really decent chunk -half size of my large bars approx 55g-70g each! These will be a long lasting, special momento your guests will indulge in again and again! Handcrafted wedding favour soaps just $5 each!
If you are interested please visit our website for more information www.honeyandspice.co.nz and send your inquiry to honey.and.spice.soaps@gmail.com Would love to help make your big day extra special!

Dry, Itchy, Sensitive Skin?

Eczema, Psoriasis, Dermatitis are conditions where the skin can be dry itchy painful, flaking, blistering and so on. One of the most common irritants is harsh commercial soaps, creams, and washing powders which obviously directly come in contact with the skin.

Honey and Spice soaps will not aggravate sensitive skin, in some cases people have found a huge improvement from using our soaps and complexion bars. Our soaps are made to be creamy, nourishing and conditioning. It is best to choose soaps etc without fragrances or essential oils as these too can irritate some skin types.

The best choices of soap are……

Gentle Calendula Soap -100% Ricebran Oil base- gentle conditioning and very soothing with Calendula Petals (which are also recognised for the ability to help heal wounds and abrasions particulary in creams). $8.50 each or Three for $24 available on http://www.honeyandspice.co.nz

Creamy Milk and Honey Soap– Goats Milk is a natural emollient that helps balance the skins natural pH. Goats milk is high in protein, triglycerides, Vitamin A, B6, B12 and E making it an excellent natural moisturizer that helps hydrate and nourish skin. Honey also soothes the skin and has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties too, together are wonderful creamy soap. $8.50 each or Three for $24 available on http://www.honeyandspice.co.nz

Honeyed Oats- . Oats are very moisturising, they are full of healthy lubricating fats and contain polysaccharides, which become gelatinous in water and leave a fine protective film on the skin, preventing dull, flaky dryness.: The proteins in oatmeal help maintain the skin’s natural barrier function,and they also gently exfoliate and remove dirt and oil from the pores. Honey soothes the skin and is known for its anti flammatory and anti bacterial properties. $8.50 each or Three for $24 available on http://www.honeyandspice.co.nz

Cocoa Cream Dream Soap. Is made with only olive oil and cocoa butter. This has the creamiest lather and the olive oil contributes with its incredibly conditioning and mild gentle bubbles. $8.50 each or Three for $24 available on http://www.honeyandspice.co.nz

Green Tea and Manuka Honey Soap. Is made with conditioning Olive Oil, soothing Manuka Honey and Green Tea. This is added for its soothing and calming affects on the skin and also for its antioxidant and anti- aging properties. $8.50 each or Three for $24 available on http://www.honeyandspice.co.nz

For your face we have special Complexion Bars designed to very gently cleanse without drying out and irritating your skin. $12 for four available on http://www.honeyandspice.co.nz

Heres what some of our customers are saying about these products.

“Hey Rosie, just a msg to say I LOVE ur complexion bars! After years of using ‘sensitive’ facewash which stung and irritated my psoriasis I am happy to say your bars are a dream!! I’v only been using it for a couple of weeks and already my psoriasis have almost disappeared and my skin feels so soft! Thank you soo much 🙂 x”

“This is great,I know this for a fact as this is my sister,has made an AMAZING difference to her! thank you Rosie”

“Gorgeous facial soaps, leaves my skin lovely and soft, and very clean”.

“Hi Rosie, i used that Cocoa Dream soap when i shaved my legs the other day. I get really yuck itchy red sore skin when i shave, BUT guess what! I didn’t with your soap!! Very pleased, will need to get some more soon as the kids have been into it all and are loving your soaps as much as me :)”

Online Handmade Therapy…

What do i find myself doing when the To Do List gets overwhelmingly long?! Procrastinate with a little dreamy Felt.co.nz wishlist! Here is some super sweet handmade goodies i have just found. Tasty Christmas pressies. Yes! x

littleminx

$45.00

apronstrings

$56.00

roseinthorns

$30.00

houseshoes

$25.00

paperbirdsoc

$25.00

rochelleandrews

$15.00

seasnail

$23.00

misscrow

$12.00

ironweed

$60.00

wendyj

$18.00

myheartsings

$22.00

blackswan

$22.00

Christmas Giveaway Gift!!!!

Wow i cant believe we are into the Christmas season already! This year has absolutely flown by! I would like to say Thank you to all our wonderful customers! We treasure and value all your feedback and interaction, and thank you to those who have come and introduced yourselves at the markets, you are all just awesome! This Christmas to say thanks, we are giving something back! We have an amazing Christmas Gift Pack filled with an fabulous selection of Honey and Spice goodies! Valued at $150!!!!!!

Prize Pack contains: Lavender and Rosewood Before Bed Buttercream 200g, Lemongrass and Ginger Shea Butter Sugar Scrub 200g, Rosewood and Ylang Ylang Luxurious Conditioner250g, Sweet Orange and Patchouli Moisturising Lotion 120g, Rose Bath Bomb, Spearmint Complexion Bar, Cinnamon Indulgence Soap, Lavender and Lime Soap, Lemon Honey Soap, Honeyed Oats Soap, Chocolate Mint Lip Balm, Lemon Lime Lip Balm, Baby Gingerbread Man Soap.

To be in the draw all you have to do is….

1)Purchase something from either our website www.honeyandspice.co.nz or from us directly at one of our markets (Between 12th November and December 15th). You will be given a card with your unique code.

2) Become a Fan on Facebook.

3) Go to our NOTES page (on Facebook, found on the top lefthand side of our page under our profile picture.

4) Once there, leave a comment with your Unique code, your Name and Email Address and you are in the draw to win some serious goodies in time for christmas!!!

Sound good!? Pass it on! – Share with your friends on your Facebook page for an extra entry. (*Extra entry only applies to those who have followed all the steps above*)

** NZ customers only**

The winner will be drawn and the parcel sent off 16th December so make sure you leave your all your details so i can contact you for your postal address to ensure the parcel arrives before Christmas!

Goodluck! and Merry Christmas! xx