Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts

Thursday, November 24, 2016

24 November - Foodie’s Day

24 November 2016 – 196 220
Foodie’s Day


Today we headed out to explore the foodie areas with the Turnbulls.  Stop 1 was Margaret River Nuts & Cereals – we got to watch the assembly and packing of the muesli and taste various flavoured nuts and some relishes.  I treated myself to some Tomato Relish (I really miss being able to make this regularly) and Hayden and I tried Biltong for the first time (a definite hit!).  
Stop 2 was The Margaret River Chocolate Company – I had high expectations and was not disappointed in the least, needless to say I bought a stash of dark chocolate.  As the dark chocolate here was true dark chocolate and dairy free, even Hayden got to have some.  
Stop 3 was Candy Cow – we were able to watch the gentleman chocolate coat assorted sweets, as well as taste some fudge (I chose Berry and Jaffa to try) and some honeycrunch. 
Stop 4 was Margaret River Silk Road – Australia’s first commercial silk farm, we got to try mulberry green tea and learn all about the silk worms, as well as the silk production.  



We then drove into Cowaramup for a picnic lunch, Drew and I also purchased a book each at a second hand store.  Stop 5 was The Margaret River Dairy Company – we tried Camembert (not to my taste) and their Smoked Cheddar (very much to my taste).  
Stop 6 was The Providore Margaret River – they had the most beautiful vegetable gardens and I realised just how much I miss picking my fresh produce for dinner and eating food that was picked within minutes to hours of harvest.  
We then headed into Margaret River for a little look around, replacing yet another set of thongs and looking at more secondhand books.  What a day!



Saturday, November 5, 2016

5 November - Swan Valley Food and Wine Trail and Whiteman Park

5 November 2016 – 194 477
Swan Valley Food and Wine Trail and Whiteman Park


This morning we got up ready to do parkrun, only to find that they don’t start until 8am; so we didn’t get to do this after all.  Today we headed out to visit Swan Valley and travel the Food and Wine Trail – we visited Heaford Glen Winery, Faber Vineyard, Lancaster Wines, Mandoon Estate, Swan Valley Wines, Talijanich Wines, Twin Hill Wines and Windy Creek Estate; we also visited Mondo Nougat, Morish Nuts, The House of Honey and Whisler’s Chocolate Co.  Drew found a nice Grenache, I found some nice port.  Whistler’s Chocolate Co had two amazing chocolate sculptures that were truly impressive.  


We also visited Whiteman Park – this is a massive park, with some lovely sections and a few shops.
This is a great party for family get-togethers and parties as they have many large undercover picnic areas which can be reserved for a particular group and plenty of space for running around.  When we got back to the caravan park we went for a swim to cool down (it was 40 degrees to day) and we saw friends we met in Kununurra – both sets of kids were equally excited and it was great to catch up with the parents.


Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Cadbury, Richmond and Old Hobart Town


Wednesday 14 January 2015

I started the day with a run along the Soldiers Memorial Path in the Queens Domain.

This morning we visited the Cadbury Factory at Claremont – they make all the block chocolates as well as items such as Caramello Koalas on site. To make filled items, such as the Caramello Koalas, they start by filling the mould with chocolate and tapping it down to remove any air bubbles, then tipping some of the chocolate out.  This leaves a coating of chocolate over all the surfaces of the mould. Next they add the filling and then cover it with a layer of chocolate.  I had always wondered how they did that!
Then I went to the Cadbury Shop!!!
Well …. I didn’t break the bank – if they had the 10kilogram boxes of unwrapped blocks for $20 in Old Gold I may have though!






We crossed the Derwent River on the Bowen Bridge and headed for Richmond to view some of its historic buildings.  I particularly liked the churches – Hayden asked to light a candle in remembrance of Lachie at St Johns Catholic Church, which we did.  We had a look at Richmond Bridge, which is the oldest bridge in Australia.






In Richmond we visited “Old Hobart Town” which is a historically accurate 1:16 replica of Hobart circa 1820.  This is very detailed showing many aspects of town life as well as the architecture and geography.  The children are cleverly asked to hunt for certain items – keeping them busy and amused while older children and adults immerse themselves in the history.







Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Foodie Day in Northern Tasmania


Tuesday 6 January 2015

07:30 before Hayden woke up – he must have been so tired; even so he is still rather grumpy.
I took myself for a run around Sheffield – I always feel so much more oriented once I have been for a run in an unfamiliar place.  Sheffield, while small, has great undulating training hills and no traffic!

Today we hit the roads and Drew got to try out the new car – apparently it has “flappy paddles”, I had never heard of them but I am assured by both Hayden and Drew that this is an excellent feature and that I am truly ignorant by not having knowledge of it.  Drew really likes the car! 

While we were driving we saw multiple jet streams which appeared to go straight up, like a rocket, due to the viewing angle compared to the Earth’s curvature – presumably Planes heading to the mainland.

Stop one was the Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm Café – in all honesty this was very disappointing as it was just a café, with no picking or viewing of the farm available, which is what we were really interested in.   Bonus though – across the road was the Van Diemen’s Land Ice Creamery.  Hayden had Raspberry Sorbet and Lemon Sorbet, I had Rum’n’Raisin Ice-cream and Chocolate Gelato.  All were absolutely delicious!!!

Stop two Ashgrove Cheese- my favourite was their Smoked Cheddar, followed by the Red Leicester style cheese called Red Rubicon.  Watching the making of the cheese was interesting and we could also view the storage areas.  Ashgrove Cheese had the most amazing collection of painted cows throughout the grounds; Hayden and I both loved them and took many photos.  There was even a cow in the colours of rainbow swirl ice-cream – she must be the one they milk to make it!!


Stop three The Cherry Shed – beautiful fresh cherries and every sort of cherry themed item you can imagine!  Here I discovered that I prefer the “Van” cherry over the sweeter and more popular “Lapins” cherry. Of course, we bought some for the road.  They had an interesting display of the growing through to harvest process done with tiny figurines including a number of tiny animals to find in each scene.

Stop four House of Anvers – boutique chocolate, in particular fudges and truffles. They had an interesting collection of antique boxes and moulds.  Once again, we were able to view the factory process through glass windows – we saw them making Chilli, Cinnamon and Cacao Chocolate as well as some type of filled chocolates.


Stop five Devonport for a late lunch and grocery supplies for the week ahead.
In the late afternoon we went to the mural park in Sheffield for a look around – some amazing painting, some with a lot of depth of thought in the layers of meaning.