I love making shortbread and lately have been giving my newly created biscuits as gifts. Rather than make the traditional shortbread, I wanted to do something different.
Why not add freshly squeezed orange juice and zest to the shortbread?
I visisted Todarello’s Katoomba Village Fruit Marketto stock up on Valencia oranges to make my zesty orange shortbread. Todarello’s have a great array of fresh produce to choose from and it is my one stop place to get quality ingredients.
Yummy Valencia oranges at Todarello’s Katoomba
I used the recipe from the McKenzies Rice Flour box, but with an added twist of orange juice and orange zest.
The Valencia oranges are so juicy and sweet
INGREDIENTS
225g plain flour, sifted
115g McKenzie’s Rice Flour
115g caster sugar
1 pinch salt
225g butter, at room temperature
Juice of 2 fresh Valencia oranges
Zest of 2 Valencia oranges
Very orangy shortbread dough ready to roll out and create duck shortbread
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C or 356 F.
Step 1: Combine flour, rice flour, sugar, salt, add melted butter, add the juice of 2 Valencia oranges as well as the zest of 2 oranges (TIP: grate the zest first and then juice the oranges). Mix ingredients into a dough.
Step 2: Roll the dough onto a floured surface, make sure you have flour ready for the rolling pin, as well to help with the cookie cutters. Carefully roll to desired thickness and using a cookie cutter, shape into whatever shape takes your fancy. I used many different shapes, stars, a duck, a dog, and also the number 7.
Step 3: Place onto a tray lined with baking paper, prick with a fork, or add any decoration that you wish before the cookies go into the oven. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool before moving from the tray (If you move too quickly after coming out of the oven the biscuit can fall to bits – it needs more time to cool and harden).
Dog shaped Zesty Orange Shortbread ready to go in the ovenThe baking paper where the dog shaped zesty orange shortbread wasSuper cute zesty orange shortbread about to go into the ovenThe baking paper where all the ducks were
Don’t the little shortbread ducks look cute
The zesty orange shortbread dough with a number 7 cookie cutter
Zesty Orange Shortbread 7’s for a little person’s 7th Birthday!
Number 7 shortbread waiting to go into the oven
All cooked and ready to eat!
Number 7 Zesty Orange Shortbread cooked and ready to eatCute duck Zesty Orange Shortbread all cooked
The shortbread tasted delicious and the zest added a nice texture and added to the flavour too.
The star-shaped Zesty Orange Shortbread
POST FEAST REVIEW
Shortbread is yummy but zesty orange shortbread really is wonderful. The added tang of the Valencia oranges really gave it something special.
Zesty Orange Shortbread with some orange zest for decoration – I need one now with my cup of tea
WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN?
Adding fresh Valencia orange juice and zest to shortbread was a great idea, it was very tasty. I would definitely make this again. For the next batch, I want to make it even more orangy and also add dark chocolate to create a jaffa shortbread.
The star shaped Zesty Orange Shortbread looking very yummy. I want one right now!
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All my ingredients for my slow cooked beef and vegetable casserole. I did leave out the capsicum so don't worry about that item.
I love going to the Veggie Patch in Blackheath. As the name suggests they sell fresh produce: fruit and vegetables. However, they also sell pasta, sauces, and all sorts of yummy things.
The Veggie Patch at Blackheath. This greengrocer supplies lovely fresh produce with great service.Pasta, sauces and other yummy things available at the Veggie Patch at Blackheath.
The produce always looks so fresh, the staff that work there are super friendly, and seem to really care about what they are doing. Everyone that works at The Veggie Patch treats the produce with such care.
The wonderful fresh produce from the Veggie Patch at Blackheath. They even have FREE delivery.
Another nice thing that makes me love this fruit and veg shop is that it is a small business and I am helping the local economy by shopping here.
I even purchased my meat from the local butcher (The Blackheath Butchers) and the crusty bread for this meal at the bakery (The Sourdough Bakery in Blackheath) both located in Blackheath, just doors down from the Veggie Patch. Hence, it makes all the shopping so convenient.
Sourdough with sunflower seeds. This bread is so yummy you just want to have more of it.
My slow Cooked Beef & Vegetable Casserole
I don’t have a slow cooker but I have a fancy looking casserole dish (It is a pretty blue and has white spots – very funky and retro looking). Due to not having a slow cooker my casserole dish ends up acting like one instead. I add all the ingredients. Put it in the oven and let it cook for hours. Job done, and a delicious one too!
You might say that this is rather old school regarding slow cooking, and you are probably right.
I have looked at getting the new slow cookers but they are very big and will take up an enormous amount of space that I don’t have in my small kitchen with limited counter tops.
This recipe for slow cooked beef & vegetable casserole is perfect for those cool autumn nights and when it gets even colder in winter. You can have a nice piece of crusty bread with this dish, and a glass of red wine. I’m sure you would not want much more after this. Aside, from having a roaring wood burning fire that is.
So how do you make my scrumptious casserole? Read on to find out how easy this really is.
All my ingredients for my slow cooked beef and vegetable casserole. I forgot the capsicum.
Before you get started, make sure to heat up the oven. Set it to 180 ℃
INGREDIENTS:
2 carrots
A big handful of beans
6-8 small potatoes cut up finely
3-4 pieces of broccolini
1 onion chopped to small or bite sized pieces
6-8 mushrooms roughly chopped up
1 tin of Diced Italian Tomatoes with Basil, garlic, and onion. My tin was from Woolworths but you can have any really, it is up to you and what type of casserole you are making.
Beerenberg Taka Tala Sauce and Marinade – I added the whole jar (This sauce was also purchased at the Blackheath Butchers). It is up to you what sauce you use. You could use a red wine slow roasting casserole or any sauce for slow cooked meals. I know that this sauce is really a marinade but it works very well as a casserole or in a slow cooker.
You can serve this with mash potato or sometimes I like to add carrots or other vegetables to the mash as well. It gives lovely different colours and add to the flavour of the dish
If you decide that mash is not what you would prefer, then you can choose rice or maybe some leafy greens for a nice side to balance the meat and vegetables.
Note: You can substitute any vegetable or ingredient that you would rather. Also, if you have things in the fridge or cupboard that would work, use them, and have a tasty meal with items you already have.
I was going to have mash potato with this meal but decided against it due to adding potatoes to the mixture. Instead I’m having some rice and serving it with some crusty bread.
Another view of all the fabulous fresh vegetables.
METHOD:
Cut up all the vegetables and add the sauce as well as the tomatoes to the casserole dish.
Make sure to mix up all the ingredients before you add the meat.
Once the meat is added stir the ingredients again in the casserole dish.
Add the casserole into the oven and cook for a couple of hours. Check every 30 minutes or so to making sure to stir and to check if all is cooking okay and not sticking to the dish.
Once done the meat should be tender and the vegetables should be soft and melt in your mouth.
If you are having mash potato or other vegetables it is a good idea to get this ready now. You can take out the casserole from the oven as the dish would be extremely hot and keep the dinner warm.
I hope you enjoy my take on a slow cook casserole without using a slow cooker.
All cooked and finished. This slow cooked beef and veggie casserole is ready to eat.
The Veggie Patch have a community spirit and update their window to help local groups and causes.
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I had such lovely Valencia oranges from Todarello’s Katoomba Village Fruit Marketand thought why not try making orange syrup? How about making it even more orangey, so that each bite just screams summer oranges, even the smell instantly makes you know that it is orange.
Looking online for recipes for orange syrup, all the recipes tell you to use the juice and not pulp. Why not use the pulp? Why not use the super fresh orange puree to ensure your orange syrup is like eating a fresh orange?
Wouldn’t this be AMAZING to have a syrup that just screams tangy fresh tasty juicy oranges?
So how did I make this extremely yummy orange syrup?
This orange syrup can be used for cocktails, refreshing drinks (plain water and sparkling), syrup over ice cream, and also sauce to bind cakes together for a creative cake creation.
INGREDIENTS
2 Valencia Oranges = 1 cup of orange puree
1 cup of water
1 and a half cups of sugar
Orange skin (Use the skin of the 2 Valencia oranges so that it infuses the orange flavour).
All the oranges before they went into the blender
METHOD
This recipe takes around 20 minutes to make. Not long to then enjoy your orange syrup.
Step 1: Cut up the 2 Valencia oranges, remove the skin and just leave the flesh of the orange. Put all the orange flesh into a blender and make sure it is thoroughly pureed. Pour out into a measuring cup, you should have 1 cup.
Step 2: Put the orange puree, water, and sugar into a saucepan. Melt the sugar and wait till the mixture thickens up a little. Depending on the amount of sugar added depends on how thick the syrup gets, if you wish to have a thicker syrup you can add more sugar. (I put my syrup in the fridge and it thickened up a bit more after a few days.)
Step 3: Add the orange rind to the mixture so that the orange flavour gets stronger. I cut up all the orange skin and added it all.
Step 4: Once cooked to your desired consistency strain the mixture and once cool put it in a jar/jug and then in the fridge. The syrup will keep in the fridge for around a month.
I added orange juice and orange to ice cubes – It made my orange syrup gin drink taste amazing!
POST FEAST REVIEW
I had no idea that fruit syrup was really easy to make. The syrup had a nice caramel taste when it was added to vanilla ice cream. I added orange zest for taste and decoration, the zest added bursts of flavour.
Having the syrup in the fridge for a few days allowed it to thicken up a little more. It was a better consistency after about 3 days in the fridge.
There is an amazing amount of uses for orange syrup, drinks, cakes, ice cream, and desserts.
Now that I know how easy it is to make, I will make different types of syrup for desserts. How about raspberry, blueberry or mandarin syrup? I am now thinking about another ingredient could be syrup.
So refreshing with fresh orange syrupYou can add a little or a lot depending on your taste
WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN?
Yes, I would make this again, however, I would make some changes when making it next. I would add more orange and up the sugar a bit. Creating a thicker syrup that is more like an orange concentrate from fresh oranges. Adding the zest to the syrup would be a great addition as well, this way there is a different texture for taste and it will look amazing too.
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I am very excited to announce that I have been selected as 1 of the 4 finalists for this year’s Fresh Content Awards. The other finalists are:
• Anita Garrido – Created by Anita • Mary Politis – Mary’s Kouzina • Tilly Pamment – Tilly’s Table
Congratulations to everyone that has been nominated and I am super keen to be attending the in-person event in June. The last in-person event was in 2019, in 2020 the whole event was cancelled due to COVID, and 2021 the event was postponed and then cancelled and the winners were announced online.
I have entered this competition since it started, and was lucky to be a finalist last year and also again this year. I would so love to win but am just happy to be acknowledged for my content and hard work.
Passionfruits used for my Passionfruit recipes
What is the Fresh Content Awards?
“The Fresh Awards program and gala awards event are an opportunity to showcase heroes within the NSW and ACT fresh produce industry who excel at their profession. Relaunched in 2015 to amalgamate Sydney Markets’ long-running retailer excellence programs (Greengrocer and Florist of the Year Awards, and the Fruit & Vegetable and Flower Grower of the Year Awards), the Fresh Awards has grown to also include awards to acknowledge fresh produce wholesalers and bloggers who champion fresh produce and the people grow or sell fruit, vegetable or flowers.”
What did I enter for the 2022 Fresh Content Awards?
This year I chose passionfruit as my key ingredient. It was in season and I just love passionfruit. My aim was to do something different with the fruit that wasn’t icing on a cake or in a slice.
Passionfruit at Todarello’s Fruit MarketStunning looking tomatoesTomatoes looking so ripe and tasty
Todarello’s Fruit Market at Katoomba
Now I need to find an outfit to attend the awards night in June. I do have an idea of what I would like but it is a matter of seeing it and it also being priced just right.
Wish me luck on the night!
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Check out my Q & A article, it was so that the lovely Kiddipedia readers can get to know me.
I know many of you might already know some of these things that I mentioned in this post, but some might not. Take a read and learn more about me and the blog.
Each month I will be posting a new article on the Kiddipedia website. I hope you pop over to read my new articles.
While you are there, please take the time to look at all the wonderful resources that this great parenting resource offers.
Kiddipedia is very thrilled to announce our partnership with Mummy to Twins Plus One.
Founded by Suzanne, this blog was created as a project for her to work on and a way to document what is happening with her and the children.https://t.co/ApZ3pzgqdO#MummyToTwinsPlusOnepic.twitter.com/b6wGgVPWOZ
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Today is the first day of the new year. It is finally the first of January 2018.
In six days my little boy will be two…yep we will have a two year old. How those two years have flown by already. He is saying more words, being more independent and of course a very cheeky, funny little boy.
It feels like the day of my little boys birthday sneaks up on me and I am not ready. No invite done, no party organised. I will have to get moving….also make a plan to be better at this January party in 2019.
The girls turn ten this year, yes finally they will be in double digits and more grown up. I don’t know how ready I am for more grown up kids, I suppose it is good that it happens gradually so that you get used to it.
The blog also has a HUGE year in 2018, it turns the big 10 years old… how exciting I hear you say.
To celebrate this fabulous milestone there will be great prizes for my wonderful devoted readers that have been with me over the years. Stay tuned every month to not miss out.
What did I do in 2017
Change the look of the blog on the 1st of January 2017. The blog got a whole new look and feel.
Work with some great brands and offer amazing giveaways to my readers.
Meet some wonderful people through the Problogger conference. I met Pat Flynn and Jadah Sellner…. I was very excited about doing this.
Accepted more opportunity.
Think, plan and try and do more.
Spent time with the kids, played and had fun.
Alexander had his first full year in childcare and loved it after a rocky first few months. He now really wants to go even when we just drive by the place. He yells, “play” and points to the building.
Try to de-clutter. I managed to rid the house and us of a few things but more still needs to happen.
Did things at the twins school.
Housework and all the other mundane things that keep the family running.
2017 was not good as I lost another friend due to cancer. He did not want to share his illness so to not burden friends and therefore hubby and I found out very late. We are saddend by this news. I hope that everyone is healthy and if you are worried about something please get it looked at. Early intervention might save your life. I have no idea if this would have helped my friend and upset for his other friends and family.
2017 was also a good year, my sister had her second child on the 23rd of December. I’m an aunty again! My sister had another little girl. She came early and therefore has spent some extra time in the hospital.
What would I like to do in 2018
More blogging.
Work on the strategy and plans for my blog and more.
Travel.
Meet more people.
Get our house built or part of it.
Finish writing my book and course…yes something exciting is on its way. I hope you will all love it.
Exercise more.
Remove excess clutter that I don’t need to empower more relaxation.
More meditation.
More relaxation.
Fun time with the kids and family
Hopefully a family holiday at some point.
That the family is healthy and well. (this includes everyone)
Be more organised for Alexander’s next birthday.
So take care everyone.
Spend time with the ones you love.
Make time for things you want to do.
Have fun and may 2018 be great for everyone!
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I love cool new products and if they look awesome on my desk all the better.
The VQ Team sent me a VQ Retro Mini to test out. The Retro Mini is now my best pal while I work.
Watch my unpacking and review video on youtube about the VQ Retro Mini is and how I tested it out.
What is the VQ Retro Mini?
The VQ Retro Mini is a digital radio that can also use Bluetooth to stream songs and podcasts. Yes, you can listen to your podcasts via this new digital radio. (As a blogger I find this super cool and helps me work and learn at the same time).
You also you can use USB to charge your device while you stream. How cool is this!
With Father’s Day around the corner, this super cool digital radio is a great gift for dad.
VQ is a British brand that is “passionate about design, colour and innovative materials combined with premium technology.” The company creates quality digital radios and Bluetooth speakers. The products are all retro looking and I think this adds to the quirkiness of the brand and products.
Love my new VQ Retro Mini Digital Radio. I’m listening to my podcast while working away at my desk.
My Retro Mini is sturdy, stylish and well made, which means that it will be on my desk for years to come and I will be listening to all sorts of things from my new digital radio.
The Retro Mini is a fabulous gift for anyone, get one for yourself and enjoy working with this super cool radio on your desk.
Actually, this stylish and multi purpose digital radio is a fab gift for anyone.
More details about the VQ Retro Mini
“The VQ Retro Mini is small but perfectly formed with making it a stylish and functional addition to any home. Retro Mini will compliment any décor thanks to its premium leatherette wrap which is available in 11 design influenced colours.
Retro Mini features DAB, DAB+ and FM radio reception which means you have access to the full range of digital and analogue services across the UK, Europe and Australia.”
Thanks so much to theVQ Team for gifting me a Retro Mini to review and to try out. I love it. If you wish to purchase one for you or dad this Father’s Day visit your local David Jones store or visit www.MyVQ.com.au to get one today.
I love this product so much I had to share. I hope you love it as much as I do and have fun listening while you work with your stylish retro digital VQ radio.
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What a great thing to get in the mail, it is so lovely to be recognised for your work. It put a HUGE smile on my face.
Top 20 Mummy Blogger
It is is lovely to be on this list as there are a number of other blogs that I love and admire as well. Some of them are:
Grace from With Some Grace, Kat from the Organised Housewife, Nicole from Planning with Kids, Maxabella from Maxabella Loves, Kelly from Be a Fun Mum, Essentially Jess, Easy Peasy Kids, Kid Bucket List, and Life Love and Hiccups.
I have met Grace, Kat, Nicole and Kelly. So it is good to be again in good company with them in this list, as well as the other fab bloggers.
When have you been surprised by some good news? Was it gift? An award or winning something?
Maybe this is the start of good things to come? I hope so.
I am not to concerned about winning awards, although it is nice to be recognised, I am just striving for a greater website that grows and helps the community.
It would be nice to win prizes and to get more acclaim. I know comes in time and with more people knowing what I am doing.
I hope you have had a good start to May so far. May for me is a huge month filled with birthdays, Mother’s Day, Wedding Anniversary, more family birthdays and possibly other things that I have forgotten or left off the list.
A HUGE thank you to those who work at Mr Promo Code and added my website to this great list of top 20 mummy bloggers.
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They make me feel good and put a smile on my face.
If I want to cheer myself up I buy a bunch of flowers. It would be nice to be given one but I don’t wait for this to happen.
When I was working in the city I used to bring a nice bunch of flowers from my garden to put on my desk. If I could not get ample flowers to take to the office, I would stop by the florist on the way to work and grab a bunch of whatever is in season.
My lovely bunch of Dahlias and Alstroemeria that I purchased from Pam and Debbie at Fine Flowers. These look so pretty and put a big smile on my face.
The flowers were lovely smelling and cheered me up. Normally I would pick a bunch of Gerberas or the lovely smelling Jonquils.
I did the same thing when I was at home. I purchased flowers from the local florist and decorated the house with pretty and fragrant flowers.
My favourite local florist is Fine Flowers in Katoomba, I have been visiting them for over ten years now.
Fine Flowers in Katoomba.
Pam and Debbie are the lovely ladies at Fine Flowers. Pam has owned the business for ten and half years and worked in the business for another fifteen years previously. So this is over 25 years of floristry experience.
I love coming in and having a chat and finding out what is in season and maybe what might look great to brighten up my desk and house.
What is in season currently?
Tulips and dahlias.
The pretty Tulips on sale.
What has changed?
I asked Pam what have customers been asking for lately?
Normally Pam said that customers would order a bunch of flowers and have a bunch styled and designed by herself or Debbie. However she has noticed that customers are liking the idea of picking their own designs and choosing what flowers go with other flowers.
It is more of free form design.
Posies with roses that were tiny and cute were very popular for weddings. Now the trend is to have larger flowers not so styled and have them look like you have just picked them from the garden.
Customers like the brown paper and natural wrapping for bunches of flowers.
The lovely ladies at Fine Flowers Katoomba. Debbie on left and Pam on the right.
I even did a free form design. I combined two different flowers to make a big pretty bunch.
Popular Celebrations for Flowers
Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas, Birthdays and New Babies are huge.
I asked Debbie and Pam if Easter was a busy time as well. They said it was, and that a lot of people come and purchase daisies for the Easter period. It is up to the individual which bloom takes their fancy but it is interesting that Easter is still a busy time. I suppose daisies make me think of rabbits, the Easter Bunny and nice roaming hills and lush lawn.
Brightly coloured flowers.
With Mother’s Day soon approaching I was keen to know what flowers or items were in demand at Fine Flowers?
I thought that red roses might be the flower of choice. However I was surprised by the answer.
For Mother’s Day all pastel/light coloured flowers were extremely popular and not just roses. Anything that might be pale pink, creams, pale everything. It does not even matter the age of the mother here, it could be for a new mum pale blooms will be purchased more so than brightly coloured ones.
Interesting don’t you think? Mums get the dainty, pretty and pale pastel coloured flowers.
I do love them and they do look pretty but I fall in the other percentage that love some bright blooms. I love colour and some nice bright Gerberas or maybe some vibrant purple Irises with some yellow Tulips or Daffodils.
So pretty and textural, the bright yellow Chrysanthemum Disbud (Spider).
The ladies at Fine Flowers said that bright coloured flowers are still purchased but not in the same quantities as the pale or pastel shades.
Do you love bright flowers like I do? Or prefer the pastel shades? Let us know what your favourites are.
My nice bunch of Dahlias and Alstroemeria on the hall stand at home. It the first thing you see when you come home and walk anywhere in the house. A perfect place for pretty flowers.
I loved my in season bunch of flowers that I purchased from my local florist. I am now keen to go back and get another bunch. This time I think tulips will be in order. They were so pretty and colourful. A good flower to brighten up a space and lift your mood this autumn.
Do you love flowers as much as I do?
I really like the fact that you can get such a great variety of flowers. This variety allows me to change the look of a room easily and helps lifts my spirits as well.
What is your favourite bunch to get from your florist?
Do you have some of your favourites in your garden? Let us know.
Do you wish to stay current with all the things that are happening on Mummy to Twins Plus One? Don’t miss a thing by signing up to my newsletter. This newsletter will list all giveaways and fabulous things that are happening.
We all went to Ballarat for the winter holidays in 2015. Read below to find out what we got up to.
——————————————————————————————————————–
Okay it was our winter holiday.
I was drooling over sunshine, beaches, swimming and just balmy days.
Just so you know, the Blue Mountains is freezing during winter, so a nice warm change was needed and deserved.
So where did we go for our ten day winter holiday?
We flew to Melbourne to holiday in Ballarat. Yes the weather as you can imagine was very much the same, COLD! Although I was not keen due to the cold … we had a fabulous time. Yes a wonderful time was had by all.
There was plenty to do and we kept ourselves very busy indeed. I must say due to picking a colder location there were not a lot of people where we were. This surprised us due to it being school holidays, but maybe it might have been different if we chose Fiji as a destination instead. So think about this for your next holiday. Go were others are not, and you will avoid the crowds and still have a brilliant time.
So our first hurdle was to get to the airport with everyone intact, no tantrums and everyone relatively happy. We managed this and then made our way to check in our luggage and get our boarding passes.
My tips to keep kids happy on a plane:
1. Have electronic devices fully charged and ready to go. I make sure to charge the iPad and iPhone the night before so that they have full battery power. This way the kids can make use of the inflight entertainment.
2. If they get bored with the electronic entertainment I make sure to have pens/pencils in a bag with a colouring or activity book. Even a blank book to allow creative drawing is ideal. This way your little artists can go mad and draw their masterpieces.
3. Have some snacks just in case they don’t like what is on offer on the plane. I have two very fussy kids so making sure they have some snacks that meet their approval is ideal and also creates less arguments and annoyance. (Mainly for the parent – really this is for you to make sure you have a calm and stress free flight)
4. Since I have twins (even if you have more than one child) one parent sits with one child one way and then we swap on the way home. This way each child gets a chance to sit next to mummy/daddy.
5. When we book in and get our seats we try to get a window seat so that each child can have the view if there is any out the window.
6. One big tip is we make sure the kids go to the toilet before we all board the plane. I know they might not really need to go but I make them anyway. If the worst does happen, there is a toilet on board but you don’t want an emergency dash to the loo to happen when you have to remain in your seats for take-off!
We arrived at Melbourne airport, got our hire car and then we were all on our way to Ballarat.
Due to the fact our kids are fuss pots with eating we thought that a good pizza would be the way to go. The kids I am sorry to say are not that adventurous, so they stuck to the cheese pizza.
The Forge had a great cheese pizza for the kids and was kind enough to take off anything green like parsley or fresh herbs. Yes if there is anything green on it, it gets met with a confused look and the kids just freak out. The team at this pizzeria understand kids and made sure that the pizza was all cheese!
For the adults they have an excellent choice of pizzas with all sorts of wonderful ingredients. Anything from pumpkin, pulled pork, garlic prawns to sauerkraut.
While we waited for our pizzas to be cooked the kids occupied themselves with colouring in and drawing at a big table at the end of the restaurant. This was great as the kids were happy being there and due to it being at the end of the restaurant it was safe and you could keep an eye on the kids.
The environment is rustic and very warm. The tables are recycled and some are very long that it allows big groups and families to all share dinner or lunch together.
Once we received our pizzas we were amazed at how wonderful they tasted. The dough was so light and just melted in your mouth. Devine! Simply amazing. I was not planning on eating the whole pizza but ended up finishing it due to how tasty it was. I could not help myself.
We were so taken with the place that we had to come back. A few days or so after our first meal at The Forge, we came back for our second meal. The waitress that helped us when we were first there was working that night and remembered us. She even remembered what drink I was drinking and organised it all for me. She was very helpful and how amazing to be remembered.
If you are ever in Ballarat you must try The Forge Pizzeria. You will be in love with it as much as we were. It is family friendly, tasty meals, kids had a blast and so did we.
I was craving dumplings and due to having fussy eaters we did not entertain going to a dumpling restaurant for dinner. However we stumbled across Fu Man Lou and saw that they had Chicken Sang Choi Bao, Fried Rice, Prawn Chips and more. The kids would love this and they can try the dumplings.
We love dumplings well hubby and I do and have been craving some while in Ballarat. This place looks amazing and so groovy. Cannot wait to try some!
The first thing you will notice about Fu Man Lou is that the place has a sense of humour. Even their menu is fun. Instead of saying entrée, they call it the small stuff, the mains are referred to as the bigger ones. If you wish to have just water or soft drink that is in the no booze category. Plastered all over the walls is Fu Man Lou propaganda poking fun of the Maoist Regime.
If you are like me and crave dumplings every now and then, you can have a dumpling taster or just order a few dumplings and then see how you go.
It was great for kids as they made sure that the kids got their food first. The girls loved the Chicken Sang Choi Bao and did surprise us when they tried some dumplings.
Fu Man Lou is fab for families and has a fun atmosphere. My favourite dumpling was the Wontons in Chilli Oil, it is so yummy!
If you are ever in Ballarat and need to get a dumpling fix, Fu Man Lou is your place.
We all had a great time in Ballarat and surrounds. Initially I wanted to be somewhere warm and sunny. However we had a great family holiday and we did not have to fight any crowds.
Maybe we need to look at where others might not go next winter? Nope I still want to go to the beach!
Did you plan to go somewhere and then it did not work out.
Was it the beach and you ended up somewhere cold or was it the reverse?
Let us know. Did you end up having a great time anyway?
